Unhappy with your office job? Planning to coast your way through the corporate world? If so, a promotion is unlikely to come. However, that’s okay if you don’t want one, and if you’re content with simply continuing the same routine day in and day out. Change and new challenges can be difficult to maneuver. Here are 10 ways to stall your office career and lose every opportunity at a promotion. You’re just another body in a computer chair now.
Show Little Initiative
One way to resist climbing the corporate ladder is to show little initiative. Imagine working on a project and needing information that someone else has. If they don’t respond to your email right away, consider reaching out to your supervisor for assistance. They will be annoyed that you are bothering them with a trivial problem. If the coworker didn’t respond to you right away, you could send another email or try calling them. This type of initiative is what bosses want from their employees. If you don’t show initiative, though, your office career is not just stalled, it’s at a standstill, and a promotion is a distant dream.
Communicate Poorly
Collaborating with a coworker on a project? Only communicate with your team occasionally and refrain from keeping them updated on any advancements. Poor communication can not only annoy your coworkers, who want to be informed when things change or tasks are completed, but also disrupt team dynamics. Being an ineffective communicator doesn’t make you look good in front of your boss. The company aims to promote workers who are responsive to their emails and phone calls, and can communicate clearly and respectfully with their employees. Not a good communicator? A promotion is unlikely to head your way, and the team’s success might be at risk.
Resist Feedback
Bosses promote employees who can take criticism and use it to improve their work. Employees who resist feedback are unlikely to change, and they will continue to make the same mistakes repeatedly. Feedback is vital for work performance evaluations. If there is something that could be improved or made more efficient, a sensible employee would like to make the change. Someone hoping to stall their office career would ignore any feedback. They subscribe to the old idea that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, which is false.
Have a Negative Attitude
Do you often complain about your work? Do you have a negative outlook on your job and your company? Employees will pick up on this. People tend to avoid those who have a negative attitude. Bosses are more prone to promote employees who have a positive attitude. After all, those good vibes rub off on people and that makes them feel good too. If you heavily sigh when your boss tells you to do something, they will pick up on your physical cue. Don’t be annoyed when your boss gives you a task, unless you don’t want to climb the corporate ladder and earn a higher salary.
Don’t Be a Team Player
Companies value employees who work well with others. Some projects require a team of people who need to collaborate and work together to complete tasks. If you don’t pull your weight on the team, or if you complete tasks without involving your team, no one will want to work with you. Bosses want employees who can work together to complete complex tasks. If you protest the ‘two heads are better than one’ adage, don’t expect to be getting a promotion anytime soon.
Perform Inconsistently
Companies seek employees who consistently produce high-quality work. Employees who perform inconsistently—sometimes they’re on and sometimes they’re off—probably aren’t likely to be seeing a promotion anytime soon. Put your full effort into each work task and your coworkers and boss will notice. However, if you like where you are and don’t want to climb the corporate ladder, continue producing inconsistent work.
Don’t Build Work Relationships
If you don’t have any intentions of getting a promotion there really isn’t a need to build relationships with your coworkers. Did they invite you out for drinks on Friday after a successful project? Say you have plans already. Do they invite you to lunch? Say you brought your own. If you want to stall your office career, don’t make friends with your coworkers. You’ll become that weird loner that everyone talks about behind your back. But that’s okay, you’re coasting.
Don’t Seek Out Professional Development Opportunities
Employees who are motivated take the initiative to attend professional development sessions. These opportunities enable employees to acquire new skills or enhance their existing ones. If you don’t want to impress your boss or coworkers by becoming more efficient or faster at your job, ignore any and all professional development opportunities that come your way. Bosses are looking to promote employees who are enthusiastic about learning and improving their work. Don’t plan on making it to the next salary tier? Tell them you know everything already.
Be Overconfident and Arrogant
Building on the previous attitude, another way to stall your office career is by being arrogant and overconfident. That means even if you are wrong. Tell coworkers how to do their jobs and boast about the lack of effort it took you to complete your own project. Coworkers will not enjoy working with you, and your boss will notice. Bosses want to promote employees who are driven and confident, but not those who lack humility.
Avoid Accountability
Did you make a major error? Deny it. Did you fumble a client account? Blame someone else. If you want to stall an office career, don’t take accountability for your mistakes. You already know everything there is to know about how to do your job and you don’t make mistakes. So there’s no need to change anything or learn. Coworkers will begin to talk about you and your boss will notice. They won’t want to promote someone who won’t take accountability. For us? No problem.
