Save Your Next Job by Changing Your Office Reputation Now Your workplace reputation is one of your most valuable professional assets.
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If you're not sure how your co-workers perceive you, you might want to get a handle on that soon. Amid the Great Resignation, which is more like a seismic reshuffle, employers are being more mindful about creating healthy work environments and avoiding workplace toxicity. A significant part of that approach means paying close attention to the kinds of workers who get hired and promoted.
Your work reputation is priceless. A bad reputation can follow you around from workplace to workplace. It can even prevent you from getting the next job you want. Your behavior from several years ago can affect your job prospects several months from now.
To take control of your office reputation, first find out what your team members think of you with these tactics.
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Ask your colleagues
You'll want to implement this approach carefully. Think about your colleagues with whom you interact regularly and of whom you'd feel comfortable asking these kinds of questions. Don't simply select the coworkers you're closest to, since your friends will understandably want to highlight your good qualities instead of your actual workplace reputation.
In addition to your coworkers at your place of business and any people you report to there, consider asking colleagues at other companies with whom you interact regularly. It's always good to get a broad sense of how you're perceived in your profession at large, as well as in your specific workplace.
Request specific feedback
It's true in almost every context you can imagine: If you're seeking valuable and honest feedback, you need to ask for it specifically. Reassure them why you're looking for this feedback — for genuine growth and self-development — so that they'll be more likely to answer you honestly.
Plan your questions carefully before you approach your colleagues. Think about which qualities are most important to you, whether you believe you're strongly qualified in those areas or need to work on them a bit. Prioritize those topics and traits when you speak to your coworkers.
However, it's also smart to allow them some room to "freestyle" a bit. You can accomplish this by giving them an open-ended question, such as, "How would you describe my reputation in the workplace?"
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Create an anonymous online survey
Some people might not be comfortable giving you this feedback in an identifiable way (via email or face-to-face). If that's the case, consider creating an online survey they can answer anonymously. There are lots of free survey tools on the web that can help you create a simple form for feedback. Keep it short by limiting questions and making responses easy to submit. Don't collect any kind of identifying information such as email addresses or names.
How to improve your workplace reputation
What should you do if you're not happy about the answers you get?
First and foremost, don't panic. You've got opportunities and strategies at your disposal to change things for the better.
Second, consider whether you're a good fit for your current employer and professional context. When you're not in the right environment, others can often interpret that lack of fit as negative workplace traits.
If you think you might be better suited for a different kind of position or workplace, then begin working on making that shift. Regardless, you should still work on repairing any burned bridges in your current workplace. You don't want that reputation to follow you to your next position.
If you believe your reputation is attributable to a single incident or work habit, it's important to figure that out and take responsibility for the fallout. Apologize sincerely to anyone who was hurt or put in a tight spot unnecessarily by your choices. Demonstrate by your actions that you understand where you stumbled before and are working to improve your performance and conduct.
Do this even if you don't think the negative reputation is fairly deserved. It will go a long way towards mending that reputation.
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Five tips to form a good reputation
Here are five tips for creating a great workplace reputation. Implement them in your current job, and if you change positions or companies in the future, aim to behave accordingly from the first day. After all, it's much easier to create a good impression than to improve a negative one.
- Refrain from gossiping. It might be tempting to form social bonds with your coworkers by engaging in some light office gossip. Resist that temptation at all times. Your coworkers might seem to be enjoying the gossip, but secretly they'll stop trusting you.
- Manage anger and stress. One of the easiest ways to damage an otherwise strong reputation is to lose your temper in the office. Stress is an unavoidable part of life, especially in the workplace, so it's crucial to learn how to manage yours without losing your cool. If this is a habitual issue for you, seek therapy and anger management classes.
- Be a team player. No one expects you to do other people's jobs. It's always a good idea to respect your coworkers' expertise. However, offering to pitch in to help meet a deadline or close a deal and remaining friendly with everyone on the team, no matter what their position within the organization, will help cement your positive reputation.
- Own up to mistakes. It'll happen eventually. Everyone makes mistakes, no matter how good they may be at their jobs. What's important to your reputation isn't whether it will happen — it will — but how you handle it. Claim responsibility for your error, apologize, figure out how to mitigate the consequences, and then move on.
- Don't overshare. Sometimes, it feels awkward when you attempt to connect on a personal level with your coworkers. It can be tempting to share personal stories to make yourself seem more relatable and form a rapport with others. However, err on the side of keeping your personal life private in the workplace. Don't share too much information with the team, at least not early on, because it can make others feel uncomfortable. Let bonds form naturally over time without forcing it.
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