Are you committed to being a better employee? Showing up on time and doing the bare minimum might be enough to keep your job, but it probably won’t make you feel invested, connected or productive. Here are 5 ways you can get more job satisfaction by being the best employee you can be.
1. Improve your focus
Are you constantly busy but you feel you never get anything done? This could be because you’re feeding your energy into distractions rather than focusing on your work. Whether it’s emails, a phone conversation, social media or chatting to other colleagues, it’s easy for your mind to wander especially if you work in an open plan office.
If you have a task with a looming deadline, then improve your focus and concentration by turning off your phone and email, and avoiding conversations with people, until it’s completed.
Another good way to track how often you get distracted is keeping a note each time it happens. Soon you’ll see a pattern emerge that you can change.
2. Prioritise your workload
Always feel like you’re juggling a lot of balls in the air? Unfortunately, the chances of dropping a few are quite high if you don’t prioritise your workload. While it’s good to be busy, being too busy is actually counterproductive because you never complete any task to the best of your ability.
But prioritising your workload will help you feel more in control. As you complete each task and cross it off the list you’ll feel a sense of satisfaction and progression.
At the beginning of each week, do a stocktake of everything that needs to be done and categorise tasks by deadline. If they don’t have a deadline you can sort them by difficulty or time it will take to complete. Start with the tasks with the closest deadline or easy tasks that you can get a quick win from.
3. Show kindness and respect
Being a great employee means being a team player, and being a team player means that you show kindness and respect to the other people that you work with, and yourself. Chances are you’ll find yourself working with people from all walks of life. They could be of different races, religions, ages or opinions than your own.
If you can’t respect others in the workplace it can cause unnecessary tension and start arguments. Be a better employee by showing tolerance of others and starting discussions instead.
4. Kickstart your personal development
Taking an interest in your personal development will keep you hungry to learn as much as possible. Consider your current job as a stepping stone in your career path, and look for ways it can help you reach the next level, whether it’s a promotion or another job with more responsibilities. Let your boss know that you’re open to any internal training opportunities and endeavour to improve your education and technical skills by taking courses and conferences outside the workplace.
5. Speak to people
As well as advancing your career with technical skills, striving for excellent communication and interpersonal skills will help you to be a better employee. Knowing how to network with others is especially an invaluable skill in this day and age. It’s often about who you know and not what you know if you want to advance your career.
Collaborating with people face-to-face can also help speed up decision making and reduce stress if you’ve been over-focused on your work. Simply saying a friendly ‘hi’ as you walk in the door, or ‘have a nice day’ can help to boost a colleague’s morale and make you feel more positive about your workplace in general.