20 Bad Work Habits to Leave Behind

Photo by Linda Eller-Shein

Maybe you're unaware, but some of the most common bad behaviors at work might be why your work life is unsatisfying. 

You can change your career by recognizing bad work habits like poor communication, less-than-stellar punctuality, and abysmal time management. 

Today, we're diving into 20 bad work habits, how they might undo your career progress, and how to replace them with new good habits. 

We'll work to reduce distractions, improve professional relationships, and allow our changed workday routines to bleed into our personal lives. 

Table of Contents: 20 Bad Work Habits to Leave Behind

It's a win-win! Let's get into breaking the bad and forming new habits.

1. Procrastination

Procrastination is number one because we don't want to procrastinate on it. 

Procrastination at work is often perceived as laziness or ineptitude. However, that's not always the case. More often than not, procrastination comes from a place of good intentions. 

Perfectionism procrastination describes the type of procrastination wherein an employee wants to do "perfect" work. In the workplace, we might avoid a certain important task while waiting for inspiration to strike, only delaying the inevitable. When mood or inspiration fails to strike, we end up completing these big tasks in a harried nature, and the result is further from perfect than it may have been if you had allowed time and space. 

Another type of procrastination is known as boredom procrastination. This happens in the workplace when employees are tasked with repeatable, weekly tasks that are boring. These tasks bring up negative feelings of boredom. As a result, you avoid this task until the last minute.

How to Stop Procrastinating

We all procrastinate from time to time. Finding a task or project that feels either too boring or too daunting to attack is inevitable. As a result, we wait until we have an uncomfortable deadline to adhere to. Often, this results in lackluster work. 

Procrastination is really time management by another name. To combat procrastination, the first step is to overhaul your time management. 

There are several approaches, depending on the type of procrastination you are working against. 

If you're procrastinating on a big, huge, very important project, try breaking it up into pieces and working it into your schedule. Create calendar blocks and alerts to chip away at the big project, piece by piece. 

If your procrastination comes from boredom, find time to breeze through the repetitive work you hate. Time it up with your favorite podcast or with your morning coffee or tea. 

2. Overworking

Hey there, overworked! This is your invitation to take a break from work. We all know that workplace burnout is real—and it is recognized as a medical diagnosis. 

If your bad work habit is overworking, you will experience burnout. It's not an if but a when. 

There are always busy seasons, crazy weeks, and the fear of missing deadlines. In these instances, overworking can seem like the only way to keep your head above water. 

Having a good work ethic is a great employee trait. However, working yourself into a state of exhaustion and illness is a trap. 

How to Stop Overworking

if you identify as a chronic overworker, it's not the type of habit you can undo in one day. However, you can take steps to create boundaries in your life, make time to unplug, and find meaning outside of your work. 

3. Underworking

Doing the bare minimum is not a great look, even if you're fulfilling the basic requirements of your job. We're not here to tell you that your job should offer all the meaning in your life. We actually don't believe that your job should define you. However, it's important to take some pride in your work. 

If you've stumbled on this article on this career site, we assume that you want to work on your professional success. If you want to improve your work performance, catch your boss's attention, and receive promotions, underworking is not going to get you there.

How to Stop Underworking

Remember how we talked about boredom procrastination above? There's also a type of burnout called underchallenged burnout. This type of burnout afflicts an employee who doesn't derive any satisfaction or pride from their work. If you suspect that you're feeling underchallenged and bored because of your job, you might consider launching a job search. 

However, if you once loved your job and believe you could find joy at work again, it's crucial to break this habit.

Here are a few ways to stop underworking at work:

4. Multi-Tasking

If you don't identify as an overworker or an underworker, but you're having trouble hitting your deadlines, maybe multi-tasking is your problem. 

While multi-tasking is often admired and revered, it can actually have a negative impact on your work. 

Studies have shown that constantly switching gears in our brain to bounce back and forth between tasks can have the opposite intended effect. Instead of getting lots done, constant multi-tasking drains our energy, makes us less efficient, and increases our chances of making mistakes. 

How to Stop Multi-Tasking

Focus is the enemy of multi-tasking, so enact some focus.

Here are some tricks to help you find real focus at work:

5. Hasty Decision-Making

When work moves too fast, we can all become harried and frantic. This is when we might make decisions that are too quick. Whenever making decisions at work, take a pause. Take extra time upfront to avoid making mistakes or enacting last-minute project changes.

How to Stop Making Hasty Decisions

If you often jump to conclusions, you'll want to slow down. Gathering all the facts, getting feedback from others, and considering various outcomes before making any final decisions is important. What's the big rush?

6. Bad Communication 

Whenever facing a "big" problem at work, you'll likely find that bad communication is at the core of it. 

Especially when working remotely with your colleagues, efficient communication is of utmost importance. If lacking communication is your bad habit at work, we have some communication soft skills you can word on improving. 

Let's talk about how to improve these communication skills to achieve clarity at work. 

How to Improve Your Communication Skills 

Before working on your communication skills, identify what your bad habit is when it comes to communicating with your coworkers.

Excellent communication skills are especially important for managers and leaders. It's imperative that your team has clear instructions and that they feel empowered to ask questions and provide helpful feedback when necessary. 

Here are questions to ask yourself to improve your communication skills:

7. Negativity 

We all have low points in our careers. In these chapters of our careers, whether it's our first job or ten years into our careers, it's easy to get caught in a web of negative thinking. From there, you can experience a lot of fallout from your negative mindset. 

A study from Michigan State University found that negative-minded workers were more likely to become fatigued and less productive at work. 

Beyond the effect negativity can have on your mental health and your work, being consistently negative at work could earn you a reputation. Nobody wants to be known as the complaining coworker. Don't let negativity be the legacy you leave at work. 

How to Stop Negativity at Work 

So, how do you combat negativity at work? Before we dive into advice on leaving negativity behind, make sure it's not time to find a new job. If you hate your job and you hate your boss, it might be time to explore new opportunities. If your workplace is negative in nature, you might be caught in a toxic work environment. 

However, if you're experiencing negativity alone, try to rid yourself of it. 

We're not psychologists here at Career Contessa. If you suspect that your negativity has a deeper root, contact a mental health professional to explore solutions. 

8. Gossiping

Since we are talking about toxic behaviors, let's gossip a little about gossiping. We know that it's so tempting to indulge in some gossip at work. Juicy gossip can be just the thing to break up the monotony of a Monday, and it feels weirdly exhilarating. 

Gossip has no place at work.

If your workplace has many gossipy coworkers, it might be toxic. Steer clear of this behavior at all costs. It's never worth it. 

How to Stop Gossiping

Save your gossip for celebrity tabloids. Indulge in your weekly Bravo habits. Read juicy romance novels. Do anything to get your gossip "fix" if you need it. However, don't indulge in gossip at work. 

A rule of thumb we like is to imagine any gossip—about coworkers or clients—sent in an email to all of your colleagues and clients. Are you proud of what you're saying? Could your "harmless gossip" humiliate someone specific at work?

Avoid known gossipers at work. Don't engage in gossip. If you feel the need to vent, use another trusted loved one as your sounding board. Keep gossip out of the office. 

9. Jealousy or Distrust 

We’re constantly comparing ourselves to others. People constantly evaluate themselves and others in domains like attractiveness, wealth, intelligence, and success.

In the workplace, when all those elements are on constant display, feelings of jealousy can get out of hand quickly. 

Social comparison theory was developed by psychologist Leon Festinger in 1954. It’s the idea that individuals determine their own social and personal worth based on how they stack up against others. 

It’s the equivalent of looking at your neighbor’s homework instead of focusing on your own. 

While social comparison can be good, leading to increased motivation and friendly competition, it can also have huge drawbacks. Jealousy can lead to dissatisfaction, guilt, dishonesty, and other destructive behaviors. 

How to Stop Being Jealous at Work 

Since we've established that jealousy is mostly a waste of time, let's eliminate it! 

Jealousy and envy are literally useless emotions unless they are used for self-improvement. Funnel some of your more jealous behavior into a positive development. 

Sometimes, you also might surprise yourself when you attempt to redirect your energy positively. You might find that you’re actually not jealous at all. When your work BFF was promoted to manager, you might realize you’re jealous of her salary increase, but you don’t even want to be a manager. 

Another good reminder, even if you hate your boss or coworker, is that you’re ultimately on the same team. Team members can and should work together to the best of their ability.

10. Bragging

Every workplace has had a braggart at one point. Cue the eyerolls. 

It can be kind of funny when someone has no self-awareness. It could be a boss who makes 10x your salary talking about how they *just can’t decide* which island to summer on this year. The coworker comes in every Monday boasting about all the love interests they’re fielding. 

It’s your boss who—hey, wait a second—is bragging about the work you’re pretty sure they stole from you. Nobody likes a braggadocious person. 

Remember that most accomplishments in the workplace are a team effort. If you have an audience to brag to, it's likely that they helped you get where you are in some manner.

Don't forget to share the wealth. 

How to Stop Bragging 

Here at Career Contessa, we usually find that we're encouraging folks to celebrate their wins more often! We definitely think you should celebrate your success with your teammates and encourage them to do it, too. 

However, braggart behavior is different. 

Know your audience. Assess what’s an appropriate conversation for work. If you know you're earning a bigger paycheck than your coworkers, maybe save the decadent details of your Italian getaway for yourself. 

If you’re a leader celebrating a huge success, make sure praise is lobbed on every member of the team who made it happen. 

11. Over-Apologizing

Do you apologize for breathing too loud? Do you apologize for others' mistakes? It's a strange phenomenon, but it's commonplace. 

The habit of apologizing often might seem harmless on the surface. However, apologizing too often can undermine your authority and your confidence, portray you as weak and indecisive, and even damage your credibility.

Though often attributed to women, apologizing isn’t just a female problem. Psychologists explain that people who compulsively apologize might do so because of a nervous tic or a social disorder. Frequent apologizers may be insecure, introverted, or just overly self-conscious.

How to Stop Over-Apologizing

When communicating in the workplace, be brief, specific, direct, and unapologetic. If there's a problem or issue, simply state the problem and how you’ll fix it. No apologizing is necessary. 

If you find yourself apologizing as a habit throughout your life, try to take note. Replace your apologies with other language options. Instead of "sorry," do you really mean to say "excuse me"?

Instead of "sorry for the delay," maybe you mean "thanks for being so patient with me." Find ways to replace weak language with strong alternatives. 

12. Not Listening

We touched lightly on listening earlier, but it warrants its own section in this article. Listening is so important in the workplace—even if (and especially when) you're the leader. 

Here's the thing with the worst types of listeners. They're not even listening. More often than not, they're just waiting for a pause long enough to start talking themselves. 

When neglecting to listen, you're missing pertinent details and more underlying, nuanced details. It's crucial to be a great listener at work. When you really listen, you'll find that you hear much more than the words being said. 

How to Start Listening Better

To listen better, you can actually try different types of listening, depending on the situation.

13. Neglecting to Speak Up

It can be tiresome to fight battles in the workplace. Keeping the peace is tempting, especially for all my people-pleasers out there! People-pleasing often comes from a place of low self-esteem, low self-worth, fear of rejection, or lapses in confidence.

These all feed into negative emotions—especially in the workplace. The last thing someone with low self-esteem might want to do is rock the boat at work, even when they're feeling unheard or disrespected. 

The way to garner respect and recognition in your career is by speaking up—even when it feels so uncomfortable. 

How to Speak Up

Speaking up might feel too daunting if you identify as a more timid or reserved person at work. Perhaps there's a coworker who unloads their work on you, and it feels too confrontational to call them out.

Take small steps. You don't need to "speak up" for the first time in a high-stakes situation where you might feel intimidated or even emotional. Make small goals to start amplifying your voice at work. 

Start by raising your hand at a meeting or volunteering to share a fun fact about yourself at a team event. Work your way up from there to find your voice and speak confidently at work! 

14. Defensiveness 

How do you like feedback? If your answer ranges between "not so much" to "not at all," then your workplace habit might be defensiveness.

Defensiveness is an especially bad workplace habit for leaders. I hope you managers are reading closely here! 

When your instinct is to become defensive of yourself or your work, ask yourself why you might receive this feedback. Become curious instead of defensive. Employees, and especially leaders who open themselves to meaningful feedback, are more likely to find new approaches to old problems. 

Opening yourself to feedback is a free personal development tool. Use it! 

How to Stop Being Defensive:

Open yourself to feedback. It's easier said than done, but it's possible. First, know your triggers. There are likely pieces of feedback that will bother you more than others. Typically, we can become more defensive on weaknesses that we have already identified in ourselves. 

Assume good intentions. When someone is giving you feedback, it's possible that they feel nervous, too! Assume they are interested in working together to reach a positive solution. Remember that you are on the same team. 

Be curious. Instead of becoming immediately defensive, ask questions like these:

15. Excuses 

Just like being overly defensive, having intricate and ridiculous excuses for everything is tiresome for everyone around you. We’ve all made excuses before, and some of us continue to do so occasionally. It's part of human nature. 

While some excuses might appear harmless, constantly making excuses will keep you from reaching your potential—and, worse, you might even begin to believe many of your excuses! 

In the workplace, you’ll miss opportunities to learn and grow in your career as your colleagues begin to think of you as flaky and unreliable.

How to Stop Making Excuses 

Own up to your mistakes, missed deadlines, or workplace flubs. Instead of making excuses for why things happened, use your mental gymnastics to create solutions. This is how you learn, grow, and avoid making the same mistakes in the future. 

Find ways to recognize your flakiness at work and stop making bad excuses for being late, overpromising, or canceling. Nobody wants to hear the excuse. They want the solution instead.

16. Disorganization

Are you disorganized when it comes to making meetings on time, remembering to send emails, and being able to locate paper or files that you need? 

When you're disorganized at work, you open yourself to several additional problems. Being disorganized increases stress and anxiety, reduces productivity, and can create a reputation for being unreliable or, worse, a complete mess. 

Organized folks have more flexibility with their schedules, less stress, and a reduced risk of burnout. Another huge benefit of being organized at work is that you can create space for creativity.

How to Organize Your Work Life

To become organized, you'll first need to assess yourself and your work style honestly. 

Where is your disorganization most apparent? Do you forget small details or to-dos? Do you make promises and forget to follow through? Figure out where your disorganization has the most negative effect and work on it. 

Here are a few ideas to help you get organized:

17. Distracted 

 Wait, sorry, where were we? 

Another bad work habit is being constantly distracted because—oh look, a doggy! We get it. There are tons of distractions out there. if you're feeling unmotivated or bored at work, these distractions become more and more enticing.

Before you know it, you have checked your email 2,367 times today and accomplished nothing of note. 

How to Stop Being Distracted at Work

How do you reduce distractions at work? it depends on what exactly distracts you. Here are a few specific ideas to reduce distractions at work, depending on your worst habits. 

18. Tardiness

You're late to work again. You're consistently the last person to join the Zoom call. Five minutes here and there might not seem like a big deal to you, but everyone notices.

Trust me, I'm a Virgo, and I'm (almost) never late. 

How to Stop Being Late

As we discussed earlier in the disorganization section, create padded calendar reminders if necessary. If you typically need 20 minutes to drive to your office, give yourself 40 minutes to account for traffic, parking issues, or any other hiccup that makes you late. 

19. Working Without Goals in Mind

Goal-setting is the best way to keep track of your career. Without any goals, how do you track your progression? How can you learn new skills, identify weaknesses, and progress in your career without setting goals?

Also, goals can change. That's why setting and resetting goals as your life and career change is important.

How to Set Goals

Nobody hits ambitious goals overnight, even when it seems to look that way. By setting SMART goals, you're setting yourself up for success.

SMART goals are:

Use SMART goal-setting to set all types of big and small goals. Setting a big goal can be kind of intimidating, especially when your goal will likely take months or even years to accomplish.

Setting small goals that are easily accomplished in a shorter period of time—some even in just a day—can help you get through those rough patches and stay on track in the long run.

Try setting (and achieving!) smaller goals. Once you feel the exhilarating rush of accomplishing smaller goals, you can set bigger and loftier goals. 

20. Neglecting to Celebrate Wins

We're ending on this one because it's important—and we're pretty sure everyone is guilty of this bad habit. 

Imagine someone asking you what you accomplished this month or this year. If you're like many of us, you probably draw a blank. Because life moves so fast (and because it can feel like Doomsday is always around the corner), we rarely slow down long enough to give ourselves that proverbial pat on the back. 

How to Celebrate Big (+ Small!) Wins

Remember to celebrate them. Show yourself some love by building small acknowledgments and celebrations into your weekly routine.