Tips for Building a Strong Work Ethic

If you were given the opportunity of a lifetime — bagging the $10 million jackpot in a lottery, would you still continue to work or would you quit your job at once?

Does this seem like a silly question?

You might be surprised to know that according to a survey that was conducted by Frank Newport which was published in a site called Gallup, two-thirds of workers in America said that despite hitting the jackpot, they would still choose to continue working. In fact, the results showed that 23% would want to venture out and seek a new job, 44% would want to keep the job that they currently have, and only 31% of the people asked said that they would quit their jobs once they bag the $10 million jackpot.

As a matter of fact, the percentage of participants who said that they would chose to continue working is higher than it was the last three times that Gallup asked this question between the years 1997 and 2005. This is despite the fact that $10 million is not as much as it used to be during 1997-2005, due to inflation. Frank Newport states that one possible reason why a higher number  of American workers said that they would choose to stay on the job could be because the employees of present times have a deeper appreciation for the value of having a job. 

Which could translate to the people of today having a renewed and stronger regard for strong work ethic.

It does not matter whether you are working in an office, or studying at school, having a good work ethic can be critical to one’s success. Various fields will look for and prioritize different characteristics and qualities in a possible employee, but any good work ethic usually consists of time management, focus, and dedication. If you aspire to build or hone your work ethic, as the preparatory step, you might want to start polishing your sense of time management, strength of focus, and heart for dedication.

What is Work Ethic?

You have probably heard this before from your parents, boss, or even your coworker—having a strong work ethic is a very important part of becoming successful in your chosen field. 

Work ethic is defined as a set of values based on the concepts of hard work and discipline. Establishing a strong work ethic will allow an individual to train themselves so that doing quality work is almost as natural as breathing. Small steps like forming good habits such as focusing, staying motivated, finishing tasks immediately, and more helps to build a good work ethic that will surely impress your future employers.

What can you do to build a strong work ethic?

Develop a can-do attitude 

A strong work ethic needs two ingredients: actions and attitude —what you do and how you do it. 

For example, John and his team were been tasked by his boss to generate 6000 more leads for their company. What John did was to passively wait for his teammates to come out with different social media gimmicks that they hope will generate more leads. When asked why he did not help his team, John answered that he simply thought that the task was too hard to do and that there was no way he could generate that amount of leads.

John is an example of someone who has poor work ethics. He also doesn’t have the can-do attitude. People with strong work ethics always tries to find a way to help and get the job done. What John could have done was to utilize all the tools that we have today, he could have used plugin tool to help him generate more leads such as a linkedin lead generation tool.

Practice Punctuality 

Time is probably one of the most expensive currency in the world, that is why as cliché as the saying ‘time is gold’ sounds, there is actually some truth to it. Once you waste time, you can never earn it back. Time is very valuable, this is why you should practice the habit of being on time or earlier, but never late.

Avoid being late because you are not just using up your own time, but also other people’s time.

Develop professionalism

Being professional goes beyond wearing a well ironed white collared shirt and a tie. Professionalism also involves your values, attitude, and behavior. A good habit to adapt is being positive and cordial. Avoid gossiping, especially while you are supposed to be working. Be respectful of others. Be an employee with a reputation of integrity— this means practicing honesty, justice, and consistency in everything that you say and do.

Cultivate self-discipline Develop professionalism

They say that anything that is worth achieving, usually needs a ton of discipline. You have to train yourself to remain focused on the long-term goal and not being side-tracked by short-term gratification. Learn to avoid distractions, avoid slacking off at work—being so preoccupied with your smartphone, gossiping with your coworkers, sleeping, etc.

Lack of discipline is usually the gateway drug to other bad work habits like not accomplishing your tasks on time, not coming in to work, and poor quality of outputs.

Stay balanced

Working 24/7, not taking any time offs, keeping your eyes glued to your computer monitor, not eating because you are afraid that you might miss out on anything important at work— all this is not what having good work ethic is about. Good work ethic involves the ability to achieve equilibrium between your work life and your personal life. In order to avoid burnout, make sure that you are getting enough hours of sleep, eating right, and taking time outs so that you can relax and breathe. Having a clear grasp of your priorities in life can help you maintain a proper perspective while you’re at work.

Maya Angelou once said, “Nothing will work unless you do.”

Cultivating a strong work ethic is something that will not only benefit you as a person but it will also help you be a better team-mate. A company with hardworking employees that have a can-do attitude is more likely to be more successful as compared to a company that has a pool of workers that are lazy and always tardy.

References:

https://www.saintleo.edu/blog/how-to-develop-a-good-work-ethic-in-5-easy-steps

https://www.cornerstoneondemand.com/performance-tips-developing-strong-work-ethic

 

My Thoughts on Self Care

Self-care is something that we often overlook.

When we have a good relationship with ourselves, we are able to easily navigate through the day.

Our moods are improved and we rarely get affected by simple problems that otherwise have ruined our day.

A lot of people do understand what self-care is, but they’re rarely able to pinpoint the specific ways on how they can take care of themselves. 

Self-care needs to be something that you enjoy.

It is an activity that doesn’t take a lot of mind-power because it’s your mind and body’s way of resting.

We all have different opinions about self-care.

And the one thing we need to understand is that how one takes care of themselves is not the same as others.

If some people take care of themselves by eating chocolates, by all means, let them.

If you see someone spending the whole day reading a book or devouring collection of random facts to keep them occupied, then let them be.

In different countries, there are many definitions of self-care.

In Switzerland, a trip to nature. In Taiwan, it’s sleep. In Italy, it’s all about long social dinners. In Pakistan, it’s as relaxing as a coconut scalp massage. In England, self-care is synonymous with a cup of tea.

In the same way, we all have different sets of priorities.

Some things may be important for me, while the same thing may be trivial to you.

And if you think about it, no situations are alike.

Why should you compare an adult’s struggles to someone in their adolescent years? They are totally different people with totally different problems.

I remember someone at work, who questioned why I went to the gym even though I had a very heavy workload for a week.

“I thought she was busy, how can she manage to waste time at the gym?”

Outside, I was rock solid apathetic on the comment. But deep inside, I was blaming myself for reasons I couldn’t even put my finger on.

I began questioning my self-worth and skill.

I was on the verge of believing that I just have a lack of responsibility and cannot be helped.

Good thing that I always had a strong opinion on self-care.

Not long after I heard the comment, I immediately told myself that it’s okay.

I need to pat myself in the back for taking good care of myself and prioritizing my sanity over anything, especially work.

And you should, too.

If you ask me, ‘I just don’t feel like going to work, do you think I shouldn’t come?’

It wouldn’t take me a second to reply, “why, not?” I wouldn’t even ask why.

And it’s not that I’m encouraging laziness or negligence.

What I’m encouraging is allowing yourself to take a break, allowing yourself to rest.

But if work is your priority, I’m not in the position to question that.

That’s your kind of self-care. That’s your life.

And when someone asks you why like you have to justify yourself, just tell them to shove it off. Or say, “just because.”

Let them wonder how you’re able to be so careless about “important things.”

Time away is self-care

Permission to not be helpful is self-care.

Something unproductive is self-care

Connecting to art and nature is self-care

A break from responsibility is self-care.

Pampering yourself is self-care.

Eating to your heart’s content is self-care.

Not talking to people is self-care.

Talking to strangers to keep you occupied is self-care.

Whoever tells you that it’s not is wrong. 

The world is hard to navigate enough that it’s not helpful to be working against yourself.

Don’t be hard on yourself.

Just because is a good reason enough for doing things or not doing things.

So learn to say no.

Or learn to say yes to things that you really enjoy.

That’s what taking care of yourself really means.