In an ever tightening labour market where it is becoming increasingly difficult to hire or even discover superstar talent; we need to realise that there are certain qualities that make employees top talents in any organization. Work ethics is one of these qualities that usually get over looked because of which people fail to understand its importance and how it can help one become valuable assets in their industry of choice.
Strong work ethics is an encapsulation of various qualities like professionalism, punctuality, loyalty, integrity, dedication, discipline, motivation and a lot more of these really good sounding terms. More often than not it also decides the fate of an organization as in if ethics are compromised upon at the top then the propensity of that behaviour being copied down through the organization stands high.
A few ways examples of good work ethics are as follows:
- Punctuality – This one holds really high among necessary ethics at a workplace. It is said that 90% of success is showing up. Employee tardiness takes a toll not just on productivity but also on workplace morale signalling lack of commitment. Employees need to schedule their travel, meetings, deadlines etc. to be in the best practice of punctuality thereby minimizing bad elements like procrastination, delays and thereby increasing quality time spent at work.
- Focus – Staying focused at the task in hand is one of the greatest challenges employees seem to face in today’s work environment especially when you have endless distractions around. Gossiping employees, cell phones, stress and fatigue, not prioritizing tasks are all a few examples of how one can easily lose focus at work. It is imperative to understand these situations and work hard on bringing back focus on priorities so as to end the day constructively.
- Dedication – Dedication and staying focused sort of works hand in hand. You need to stay focused in order to be dedicated to the work you’re carrying out. Staying dedicated for a day keeps you on the right track, upholding the dedication for weeks and months puts you on the track for prolonged success in that it leaves you disciplined and resilient in the face of any obstacles in your way. You’re left with a sense of ownership which level once reached enables you to carry the task at hand to fruition.
- Professionalism – One of the most important qualities is how to be a thorough professional. It shows a great deal about how serious an employee treats his work to be. It is about being capable of seeing the bigger picture, realizing the greater benefits of work, being a team player rather than being individualistic, being responsible for one’s actions, staying positive in times of difficulties and doing their job to the best of their abilities.
- Personal improvement – A good employee is one who constantly upgrades and updates himself striving to be better than he was yesterday. An incessant hunger and a die hard passion drive him to excel not just at work but generally in life. Monotony tends to kill the growth drive in an employee and once this negative development begins to take form it leads to stagnation which is unpleasant. Therefore a constant undying desire to improve helps a great deal in remaining focused and dedicated.
- Initiative – Successful employees and great leaders are the ones who take initiatives and act on them. The ability to act independently is a crucial element of having a good work ethic —no matter how talented someone is if they need to be micro-managed, they’ll hold your team back.
- Productivity – Maintaining all the above qualities would be of no use if ultimately the numbers don’t show qualitatively and quantitatively, which all boils down to the term ‘productivity’. All that matters to an organization at the end of it is its productivity which decides the results and profits for the organization. Candidates with a good work ethic find a way to get the job done, no matter the challenge, no matter how they are feeling that day.
In summary, having a strong work ethic involves upholding the values and goals of the company by performing your job to the best of your ability. It means focusing on completing assigned tasks on time. An employee with a strong work ethic is professional in attitude and appearance. They honour their employment agreement by working the required hours, which may involve overtime to meet deadlines. They also understand the significance of how their role fits within the company. While they are primarily focused on performing their role, their main focus is helping their company succeed.