How to Ruin Your Work Reputation Slowly

April 29, 2010 RSS Feed Print

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Slide Show: 9 Little-Known Ways to Damage Your Reputation at Work

It isn't hard to ruin your reputation online these days—blogging about your boss, Twittering about your customers, posting Facebook pictures that involve copious amounts of alcohol and otherwise inappropriate props. But there's a danger in all of the conversations and lessons about online etiquette: Forgetting that most reputations are made or lost in the office.

[Slide Show: 9 Little-Known Ways to Damage Your Reputation at Work.]

While some workers make big, reputation-destroying mistakes (think plagiarism or sexual harassment), the vast majority make a series of choices that can quietly build or ruin their professional image in the workplace. "What I find is that most people undermine their credibility in little ways and they do it because they don't mind their '-ilities,'" says Emily Bennington, coauthor of Effective Immediately: How to Fit In, Stand Out, and Move Up at Your First Real Job. Think punctuality, dependability, humility, accountability. "It's not so much that they make these major mistakes ... What they do is that they slowly chip away at it."

Careful communications: E-mail is a sensitive area. These typed communiques can easily impress groups of colleagues with a worker's communication skills, or lack thereof. "Reputations get destroyed by this so frequently," says Sandy Allgeier, author of The Personal Credibility Factor: How to Get It, Keep It, and Get It Back (If You've Lost It). For one thing, E-mail reveals a worker's sensitivity to the office culture and others' time. If you're frequently cc'd on mail that has no bearing on your work, you may begin to doubt the sender's discernment.

Then there's the ominous "reply all." Everyone knows the accidental office-wide reply can be devastating, but there's plenty of harm in the intentional "reply all." An E-mail reply that's terse, caustic, or cryptic might make sense to a single recipient who knows the writer well, but it rarely translates to a broad audience. Replies that are driven by organizational tensions or are an emotional reaction can be particularly dangerous. E-mail generally seems like a quick way to communicate to a broad group, "but it can become the most inefficient thing in the world," Allgeier says. Large-audience E-mails are rarely wise for dealing with a controversial issue or for being humorous. A regular habit of insensitive, unwise digital communications can leave coworkers with a negative impression that's "almost irreversible," Allgeier says.

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In the public eye: Meetings are another danger zone.New hires are often eager to look good among more experienced colleagues, so they're quick to raise a hand when there's an opportunity. Younger workers who are ambitious and want to be seen as contributors can have quick responses that are not helpful, Allgeier says. Better qualities to display: attentiveness and inquisitiveness. "You should really be feeling free to ask more questions," she adds. "This is especially true of people who are trying to make their mark." Young professionals sometimes feel that they will be judged if they've sat through a meeting without saying anything, Bennington notes. But a contribution needs to have a strong basis and foundation to be useful. "Sometimes you can be too eager," she says.

Similarly, employees who interrupt their boss or embarrass their boss in a meeting will quickly chip away at their reputations. "Make sure you understand the rules of behavior," says Roy Cohen, an executive coach in New York. "That's critical." It's crucial to have your boss's back when you're in a public setting. Even then, your loyalty should come across as thoughtful, not blind.

Relationships: It's easy for professionals to get caught up in their relationships with managers. For many, this is the most important factor in whether a job is worth sticking with. The downside of constantly nurturing your relationship with your boss is its effect on your relationships with coworkers. "I've noticed that new professionals coming into the workforce don't appreciate that their success is as dependent upon colleagues as it is upon their boss," Bennington says. When they have impressed their managers enough to get promoted, these workers often find that the colleagues they've jockeyed for position don't want to work under them. The promoted workers become lone rangers. "I think it's human nature that we want to be superstars and we want to be the best," Bennington says. "It's wonderful to have high expectations for yourself, but it can't come at the expense of the team."

Tags:: careers,; corporate culture

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I am 50 years old and have lived and worked in Pittsburgh my entire life. I am on my 2nd life career and 3rd professional job. Not bad for my age. However, I must say, I have never had a manager who knows how to "manage." They are frequently disorganized, selfish, unaware of what my job responsibilities entail, poor communicators and thin skinned. They are so concerned with being the "boss" and having control over others. My last supervisor never accepted responsibility for his mistakes and displayed the worst characteristic I can think of in a manager in that he is passive-aggressive! He was quick to correct others for things like mis-pronouncing words and he will tell one they are wrong about something, even though they are 100% correct, just so he could make you feel bad and feel like you were wrong. I was afraid to say anything to him. He was unable to do anything for himself, had no memory, frequently lost documents and had absolutely no concern for his subordinates issues. The whole firm was this way. The entire management team swept all of the office problems under the rug as they tolerated bad behavior such as cursing and screaming at co-workers and slamming doors on others faces. They tolerated office extra-marital affairs and slackers and they even praised them, because they had seniority. Management had 2 sets of rules. They tolerated those that padded the billings, ignored others, did not work as a team and behaved badly as explained above, as long as they were in the "favorite" group. The office does not have low moral it has no moral! Management thinks it is a great place to work and cannot fathom and are insulted if anyone wants to leave. They have some employees with seniority only because they have no other experience, have nothing more than a high school education and could not get a job anywhere else. This group is jealous of anyone who has an education or solid experience and they treat them horribly. The company loves these non-achievers. The company wants others to think it is a wonderful place only because the employees with no education or skills hang on there forever. The benefit package is horrible, pay is substandard, unless you are a partner in the firm of course. I could go on and on but I am sure you get the picture. I am so afraid to get another job only to have the same issues again, since they are so prevalent here.

DME of PA 3:09PM March 20, 2013

There is so much psychological tactics going on in the workplace from management and co-workers. What happened to respect? Employees should understand that doing their best in the job they are hired to do and treating fellow employees with respect are foremost important. Jealousy and envy can motivate a co-worker to do harm to another co-worker (verbal or physical). Managers should manage to keep a peaceful work environment. Besides having an open door policy for an employee who needs to speak with his or her manager, managers should be approachable and an employee should feel comfortable approaching him or her. There should be staff meetings to discuss how to maintain a pleasant and respectful workplace. There is nothing wrong with some co-workers who are not as sociable as other co-workers. They have the right to be who they are and the right to be respected. People have their own likes, dislikes, opinions, and preferences. It's how they verbally express themself when communicating with others that matter. People want to go to work, do their job, collect their paycheck, and leaving their jobs with peace. Who in their right frame of mind wants to work in a work environment that always have chaos and confusion? Managers, do your job.

Jane of CA 4:21PM August 07, 2012