10 Habits to Have in a Workplace

Written by: Chane da Costa

A quote by Aristotle “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit”. This is true in all aspects of our life. To excellence exceptionally well in what you do, you need to have good habits. A habit is a regular behavioral pattern that is followed until it becomes as involuntary action.

As majority of the working economy work about 40 -45 hours a week, most of their time is spent at work. Therefore, it is crucial to develop good working habit in the workplace, as living well is to your emotional well-being and overall health. Creating good habits in the workplace will lead to an increase in your job effectiveness and adds value to the organisation.

For those entering the working world, forming good habits will come easier than for those who have been working for more than a year. This is because those who are entering the working world, the concept and everything that goes along with it is new. You have to create new behavioral patterns and habits to follow. Whereas those who have already been working for a while, are already in a routine of habits, and we all know how challenging it can become to make and break a habit. This does not mean that those who have bad habits shouldn’t turn them around and start practicing good habits.  Good habits are as addictive as bad habits, but far more rewarding.

10 Good Habits in the Workplaces

1.       Positive Thinking – People are naturally attracted to optimistic people, no one likes to be around someone who is constantly negative and bringing things down. How you think affects how you feel at work and how people look at you. Think positive, see a better future and help yourself, others or the company get there.

2.       Be Yourself – it is important to be yourself in your work environment. Pretending to be someone you are not, will slowly catch up with you. People who pretend to be someone they not and get caught out and then their morals, values and trustworthiness will be brought up to question.

3.       Be Punctual - For all organisations time is money. If you anticipate you are going to be late, it is important to inform someone as soon as you know, not 10 minutes before. If you are going to work, a meeting or anywhere where you have made an appointment ensure you set enough time for daily commuting with unforeseen circumstance like weather or traffic back-ups. If you are not punctual people start to lose reliability and don’t make you a preference anymore. It also represents your sense of responsibility.

4.       Voice your Opinion – As an employee you need to know your role and when to speak up. If you have a new idea or concepts mention it to your manager. A good manager will always listen and consider input from their employees – they are also human. If there is an issue that has risen in the office or at home, informing your manager of the issues will help make your working environment comfortable for you. Voicing your opinion also ensures that you are fully engaged and your input will be considered in making decisions in the workplace that will initially affect you in the end.

5.       Be a Team Player – as employees in an organisation we interact with many different types of people on a daily basis. Each person’s contribution to the workplace makes it function successful and therefore, learning to work with different people is critical for your own success. Many hands do make light work and with that being said it is important to have mutual respect, compromise, be open and understanding in the working environment.

6.       Have Balance – Having a balanced lifestyle helps you perform at your best. To ensure you lead a balanced lifestyle leave work at work.  Making time for your friends and family ensure that you incorporate time for recreational purposes that refreshes your mind and body. You will feel happier and healthier by having a balance between work and play.

7.       Prioritise – Many people get overwhelmed with the amount of things they have to do and end up doing

nothing and procrastinate about it. To become an effective and efficient employee create a well-prioritised To Do List to help you stay on track. By prioritising the urgent and difficult tasks to be completed first, the

temptation to complete the easiest tasks will be reduced. If you are getting stuck and wasting time on a difficult task more onto an easier one and then back to the difficult task. This normally helps reduce stress. Whilst creating your To Do List ensure that you leave space for flexibility and crisis situations.

8.       Keep Moving - Staying in one position the whole time can put you in a slump in the workplace.  Have some form of activity stimulates blood flow, relaxes muscles and reduces stress. So by getting up, moving, stretching it is one way to have some form of de-stressor. You can also take up a sport or exercise out of working hours to keep a balanced lifestyle.

9.       Eating Healthy – It is so easy to fall into the bad habit of going down to the café and buying lunch every day.  The reality is that most of the time the food is unhealthy and you will walk out with a chocolate and a can of coke. By packing a healthy balanced meal you every day you not only eating correctly you save yourself a lot of money.

10.   Limit your Caffeine Intake – Although caffeine boost your energy, consuming too much caffeine can give you jitters and cause dehydration. You should limit your coffee to no more than three cups a day.  Try drinking more water in summer and herbal teas in winter.

Nurturing Basic Human Rights for your Benefit

Written by: Chane da Costa

Our legendary former president Nelson Mandela once said “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their humanity”. These are wise words spoken by a man who is greatly respected and has influenced many worldwide. Many employers forget about basic human rights and focus only on workplace rights, which can be of disadvantage to the company. So how are you able to nurture basic human right in your company?

Right to Equality

The right to equality is an important aspect to retain your employees. Many employees resign because they feel companies do not deal with matters fairly. Although there is the right to equality, we all know some employers will promote an employee because they are male/female or African/Caucasian depending on friendship or for the company’s status. Instead employers should focus on those next in line for the position and who has the top performance. By nurturing employees’ growth accordingly and respecting each employee as an individual, they will feel the company works fairly and will most like stay loyal to the company.

Right to Dignity

Everyone has a right to dignity and this should be respect especially in the workplace. This includes not being subjected to torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In many situations in office environments employees are physically, sexually or verbally abused against their will and feel trapped and unable to leave their job. Employers should respect their employee’s dignity and should deal with matters accordingly for both parties’ interests. If there is an issue, a one on one meeting with HR would be the most appropriate situation to resolve the matter, for either the employer or employee.

Right to Privacy

Privacy is important to many individuals and an invasion of privacy can make many people uncomfortable and potentially lead to them resigning. Unless stated in a contracted or a signed agreement an employer should not search or enter an employee’s property without their consent unless it is for a reasonable cause/stipulated by law/ deemed acceptable in an open and democratic society. This includes interference with employee’s private communications, spying, and secret files on the employees without their consent.  A reported case in America was brought to the public’s attention when an interviewer did not hire candidates who would not give them access to their Facebook accounts.

Freedom of Association

Freedom of association is important for employees, as a lot of employees form or join trade unions, religious and social and cultural bodies. Trade unions are available to help resolve disputes and negotiate employee matters with the employer. Providing employees with the freedom to association with their trade union shows them that you care about them. Allowing employees to be themselves by associating with organisations they feel fit for them, allows them to feel accepted as an individual and comfortable with who they are in the company.

Freedom of Religion

Everyone has the freedom to commit a religion of their choice and this should be tolerated in all organisations. Places with religious observances must be respected and no one shall be barred from entering them on the grounds of race. Employees appreciate workplaces that respect their religion. Practising Muslims pray every Friday and every day during Ramadan. Employees who have employers that respect their religion tend to be happier and productive because they can satisfy their religious needs appropriately.

Freedom of Language

The languages of South Africa are, in alphabetical order Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa and Zulu. The employees right to speak their own language in the work place is important.  As in African cultures many African people still think it is pompous if they speak English to each other when they have the same cultural background. However, out of respect for one another,  the most commonly understood language should be spoken so that everyone understands in situations where meetings or discussions in the work place are taking place.

Property Rights

There have been many instances where employers confiscate employees’ phones and personal possessions during work hours to try increase productivity. Although in some cases this might work, it is actually violating a human right to remove them of their personal property. Each person has the right to undisturbed enjoyment of their personal enjoyment unless it conflicts with public interest. Employers can however put clauses in their contract stating that employees may not use their personal property during working hours.

Although there are workers’ rights in place, employers often forget about the basic human rights. These two are very similar and both consider each other, but there are always gaps and advantages both employers and employees take advantage of. It is important to know your rights and what you can do about it. Trade unions often assist employees with workplace issues but another option could be to report the issue to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).

Employers need to consider the above aspects carefully in order to protect themselves, and even more so when trying to create a happy and productive environment for employees to work in. Although the primary focus in business is the bottom line, the sole drivers of a company is it staff component. Therefore, it is essential to nurture employee rights for both their benefit and the companies’.