4 bad habits that bosses can’t stand

You could be working on your boss's nerves with your bad habits. (Shutterstock)

A manager can usually tell which member is dragging the rest of the team down simply by observing their habits.

Each employee is first and foremost a person with likes, dislikes, and a unique combination of personality traits. However, some characteristics are more annoying for bosses to have to deal with than others.

It's when your personality traits stand in the way of productivity: your own, your colleagues’ or your boss’s. A company’s bottom line is of utmost importance in judging the success of a team or department and if reaching a goal is somehow hindered, the entire team is shamed- even if it's only one person's fault.

So which habits have the potential to kill overall productivity and subsequently annoy a boss? Well, when an employee persistently does one of these 4 things:

Always Complains

If you are the type of employee who runs to the boss every time someone hurts your feelings, stop. If you are the type of employee who always runs to the boss when you’re stressed, confused, overworked, or when someone else does something you don’t like, stop!

It wastes time. Rather, keep your head down and keep producing.

Read: The 10 most hated co-workers

As a professional, you should be able to discern between problems that affect the bottom line and ones that don’t. Those who are able to deal with small hiccups on their own before involving management, are admired.

Always procrastinates

If you are the type of employee that keeps putting tasks off, usually affording too little time to do a decent job or leaving you to juggle multiple tasks which would've been manageable had you done what was needed earlier, then your boss is definitely annoyed with you.

By putting things off you’re failing to help your team reach its targets. Superstar employees know that any task should be completed with time to spare so that wrinkles can be ironed out and improved upon in time.

Not being able to handle responsibility is annoying. Also, if your boss requests your report early, you’ll be able to hand it over, save the shame and be impressive at the same.

Always has an excuse

“It’s not my fault” is one of the most annoying things bosses hear from their employees.

A mature and productive employee would have things put in place before d-day to safeguard any potential last minute delays. There are almost always things you could’ve done beforehand to prevent messing up or missing a deadline. And if you use too many excuses, your boss will start thinking you’re just lazy, not a planner, and you’ll be last on the list for employee of the month.

Shifting the blame doesn’t mean you’re ‘getting away with it’ because your boss is smart enough to see right through you. You’re only digging your own hole deeper.

Always checks-in

If you’re the kind of employee that’s always second guessing every decision, running to management for confirmation before taking a step, your boss is highly annoyed with you.

Unless you’re a new hire, you should already know the ropes and you should know which co-worker can help you first. Your boss has his own to-do list, one that’s most likely a lot longer than yours. If your boss can’t trust you to take initiative and get your own job done, everyone will be wondering why on earth you were hired in the first place.

You need to start believing in yourself and your abilities.

Read: Are YOU an annoying co-worker?

If you’ve identified yourself in any of these statements, you should try to find ways to curb your bad habits. Start counting how often you need help, how often you miss deadlines, make excuses, and how often you complain about things at work to your boss. Start doing these things a little less each day because you are standing in your own way and stalling your career growth in the process.

Do what’s best for the team and overall productivity. And once you pull up your socks, your boss will love you too.