You know that feeling when you’re comfortable at your place of work, that feeling of being committed and chill? You know you’re not going anywhere anytime soon, enjoying your job and moving ahead.

Well, regardless of how long you’ve been working at a place, it’s expected to keep things professional, regardless of an upcoming promotion or big bonus.

We’re all prone to picking up a few bad habits, but keep checking yourself by ensuring you haven’t settled into any of these unprofessional habits on the regular.

Making it to your 9 am meeting every day at 9:05? Sure, it’s only 5 minutes and probably not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but believe it or not, people notice.

If you’re running late once in a blue moon, don’t worry, it happens to everyone at some point. However, don’t be “that person” that always shows up late. Make an effort to make it to your meetings on time, even if that means logging into the meeting room minutes before or leaving your house just a few minutes earlier.

If you’ve challenges and things are not going quite how you think they should be in the office, chances are you’ve got a lot on your mind. 

If you’re feeling overwhelmed at work, there are plenty of ways to deal with it, but complaining to your co-workers shouldn’t be a resolve. If you’re struggling with your workload, let your manager know and voice your concerns directly. What you don’t want happening is a “he said, she said” situation that eventually gets to your boss.

So now and then, we’ve all had to interject to ask a question or clarify a point. That’s not a bad thing. But avoid being someone who meddles interrupts before the person speaking can even finish their thought.

You want to be a team player and allow everyone to share their thoughts. Plus, we don’t like it done to us, so be conscious not to do it to others.

You have to walk the talk. If you claim that you’ll have the perfect business case built by EOB Thursday and you only send that document through the following Monday, then that’s a problem. 

You don’t want to commit to quality work in a timeline and not deliver on it. It shows poor reliability and low ability to execute; if you keep doing it, people will start to doubt your capability. 

Better option? Give yourself some buffer room. For example: Commit to delivering it by Thursday ( knowing it will be ready by Tuesday).

In the workplace, it’s best to keep all interactions professional, even if it seems easy or more fun to interact informally. It’s okay to be friendly and conversational, but try not to be too nosy or impose too much on your coworkers’ time. Respect boundaries. Similarly, flirting is not acceptable. Keep in mind that your coworkers should feel 100% safe and comfortable in their place of work. This sense of security will vanish if anyone feels uneasy or pressured to behave a certain way around you. 

Did you see yourself reflected in this list? If so, it’s not too late to turn things around! Improve yourself, and your interactions with coworkers and bosses will  improve substantially. Best of luck!