To cement your reputation as an irreplaceable team member at work, you have to remember that no matter how positive the first impression you make is, you’re only as good as your last mistake. Everyone makes mistakes occasionally – we’re human. What matters is how you fix your errors. The employee who stays late to mend it, or goes to whatever lengths necessary to create an opportunity out of their blunder is the employee that will never lose his employers’ respect – and this is why you should never get too comfortable at work.
Why You Should Never Get Too Comfortable at Work
#1 They’re watching your every move.
You are being paid to do a job. For this reason, employers will always have a mental (or written) review sheet of your performance. Every time you arrive late, give attitude or make avoidable mistakes, you’re earning yourself another red cross next to your name. Once you accumulate a few of these, you’ve created a negative reputation for yourself which is incredibly difficult to turn around.
In large corporations, there are always people around – and boy, do people love to talk! A bad reputation spreads like wildfire.
#2 Comfort = laziness.
When you start getting comfortable, you place less importance on your timekeeping, production, and workflow. Complacency translates as unenthusiastic laziness and not someone who is pulling their weight. Attitudes are contagious. Employers want a team who drive one another every day to push harder with positivity and enthusiasm, not a weak link who encourages others to get comfortable enough to be mediocre too.
#3 You are not irreplaceable.
Even some of the highest performing geniuses in the world are replaceable, so don’t get too comfortable at work. People are always relocating, hiring and changing jobs. Anyone who is not pulling their weight or delivering results is already halfway out of the door. If the opportunity appeared to hire someone with 5-fold your skills for the same salary, no matter how much the hierarchy may like you, it no longer makes business sense to keep you, and you will get replaced.
Work smarter – make yourself a valuable team member who is reliable, organized and brings innovative ideas to the table. Predict which skills new projects and campaigns may need, and offer to put in the extra hours to learn these skills. Make yourself irreplaceable.
