Employer Expectations & Respect in the Workplace

Goals:

• To discuss need for employees to know what is expected from them
• To gain an understanding about supervisors and their relationships with their employees
• To stress the importance of attendance and arriving on time

All employers have expectations that they want employees to meet. Understanding what’s expected will help you to be prepared for employment

Although employers and employees work together toward getting the job done, the expectations are not always communicated or clearly understood. It’s important to recognize this and be aware of some of these expectations

For most of us, once we’ve learned our jobs, employers can expect us to perform our duties to the best of our abilities and work with some degree of independence and responsibility by:

• Managing our time without being reminded
• Being the judge of our own work performance on a day-to-day basis
• Knowing how to behave at work
• Handling our personal problems without letting them interfere with our work

We contribute our skills, our knowledge and our commitment to the workplace. In return, we can realistically expect to:

• Receive adequate training
• Be treated fairly and with respect
• Have rules, policies and changes in our duties explained
• Be told what is expected of us as workers
• Be informed of things that affect us directly before, rather than after the fact
• Have tolerable and safe working conditions
• Have a reasonable workload
• Receive fair wages and benefits
• Have a reasonable amount of control over the work we do
• Be given the opportunity to make suggestions and have them considered
• Have our work fairly evaluated and to be given credit for it
• Have a reasonable opportunity to use our knowledge, skills, training or experiences
• Be told where our work fits into the overall scheme of the organization

Job dissatisfaction often results however, when several of these expectations are not met. The most common cause of frustration and dissatisfaction stem from:

1. Incompatibility of work values between employees and employers
2. Personality conflicts in the workplace that are difficult to resolve
3. Not having a sense of belonging, acceptance or importance as a person
4. Poor communication between management and employees including a lack of feedback to employees about their work
5. Too heavy a workload
6. Lack of recognition for the work done

Even though most employers want to meet the expectations of their employees, they may not be aware of what those expectations are, since they are rarely discussed openly. It is the responsibility of both employers and employees to communicate their expectations to each other – especially if they want them to be met 

Employers expect you to have:

• Interpersonal skills:
  • Working well with others
  • Not criticizing jobs and co-workers publicly
  • Being patient with others and your tasks
  • Listening carefully
  • Understanding instructions
  • Acting appropriately
  • Maintaining a positive attitude
  • Being diplomatic: the person you put down today may be your boss tomorrow
• Competence
  • Improving your skills
  • Asking questions
  • Admitting mistakes and learning from them
  • Accepting criticism
  • Showing initiative
• Time Management
  • Being on time
  • Avoiding procrastination
  • Prioritizing tasks
  • Identifying the best part of your day to work on challenging tasks

• Compatibility
  • Avoiding gossip
  • Limiting socializing during work
  • Dressing appropriately
• Responsibility
  • Being productive and responsible
  • Encouraging self-improvement
• Dependability
  • Willingness to produce
  • Completing tasks
  • Abiding by company policies
  • Meeting work deadlines and schedules
• Professionalism
  • Doing your job to the best of your ability
  • Maintaining high standards for yourself
  • Taking your job and your responsibilities seriously
  • Respecting your employer, fellow employees, and the public
  • Following workplace rules and regulations
  • Acting in a professional manner
  • Contributing well-thought-out ideas
  • Caring about the results of your work

We spend about 1/3 of our day at work. How we conduct ourselves at work is important to making the most of our working lives

Employee do’s and don’ts

Do’s:

• Arrive early 
• Be willing to engage a co worker who asks for your help
• Create a proper email address
• Jump at the chance to complete a new task
• Be flexible
• Make sure your ear buds are plugged in securely to your computer
• Be open-minded
• Always wear a smile
• Take notes
• Ask for help

Don’ts:

• Bring your personal emotions into work
• Gossip about fellow coworkers or your boss
• Wear weekend attire to work
• Apply for a job you don’t want
• Don’t forget that at work socials, you’re still at work
• Peek at your co-worker’s passwords, codes or personal information
• Be nervous, but also don’t overstep your boundaries
• Goof around
• Sleep at work
• Tell your boss what to do
• Criticize others

Understanding the importance of good relationships with supervisors is important to any new employee. The employee needs to be aware that supervisors play an important role in their success and happiness on the job. The supervisor often has great influence in such matters as promotions, salary increases, employee dismissal and a good reference for future job opportunities

Below are some tips for meeting new people

• Introduce yourself
• Shake hands
• Learn their names
• Greet with a smile
• Accept praise
• Great customer service
• Don’t need to impress
• Careful when sharing personal information
• Be service-oriented
• Ask for clarification
• Look your best
• Don’t stereotype
• Expect to like everyone

It’s important to listen to the Supervisor about your job performance, both the positive and the negative comments. Sometimes communication between supervisor and employee can be informal, including words of encouragement or demonstrating an easier way to get the job done. Job performance communication is usually more formal such as one-on-one discussions, reviewing performance appraisals, etc.

• Don’t respond to feedback with anger. Sometimes feedback from your Supervisor may be negative – there is no point in getting mad, making matters worse
• Know what it is you have done wrong. Always remember to ask questions at your workplace. Always be calm
• Thank Supervisors for their training time
• Ask for feedback. This shows job interest, willingness to improve, etc.
• Just roll with the punches. Slow down and take a few deep breaths
• Learn from your mistakes

Good attendance is one of the things an employer wants in a worker. When someone doesn’t show up for work, everyone else has to work harder. Feelings of resentment can emerge if absenteeism isn’t handled appropriately. Arriving late to work will have a negative affect on a person’s ability to maintain employment. When you arrive late, even to your workshops, the group is distracted.

The 4 Ws of attendance

• When - Inform your employer as soon as possible. This may be weeks ahead if it is an absence for a special occasion
• Who - Who you talk with, matters. If possible, speak directly to the person who is in charge
• Why - Employers expect workers to be at work unless there is a good reason for them to be absent
• What - What you say is important. Plan ahead so that your statements are clear and concise giving all the information needed

Reason or excuse

Reason - a cause or justification that makes good sense, as it is of logical conclusion

• Car broke down
• Snow storm caused blocked roads
• Emergency child care arrangements need to be made

Excuse - Trying to be free from responsibility, or to clear from blame. An excuse is a pretended reason, something said to explain a lack of planning, a mistake or a failure in order to escape from being punished

• Had to get gas on the way
• Pants were in the dryer and I had to wait for them to dry
• I didn’t have a ride

On the job behaviour is critical in determining success in the workplace. Below is a list of things you can do at work to hold on to your job.

• Do what is expected of you
• Be punctual
• Learn to accept criticism and direction
• Control your emotions – an angry outburst may cost you your job
• Discuss problems with your supervisor and not everyone else
• Treat customers like royalty 

• Listen and ask questions
• Own up to your mistakes. Be honest with your co-workers. A lie will always get found out eventually
• Be at work when you are supposed to
• Be positive
• Dress like others in your department or at your level

Studies show that 75-84% of fired employees are fired due to an inability to get along with people

Other reasons include:

• Incompetence
• Misconduct
• Absenteeism
• Personal values/goals at odds with the company’s goals/direction
• Did not meet the requirements of the probation period

If you’ve been fired, take the time to assess the situation and learn from it. This is not a time to blame others. Be brutally honest with yourself. What was your role in the scenario? If many other people experienced the same things, odds are it was a poor job choice and the company needs to change. If not, you may want to look at your work relationships more closely

Being on time

• Arrive 15 minutes before your shift starts
  • Get a reliable alarm clock
  • If you’ll be late make sure to phone the Supervisor right away to let him/her know
  • If you need the day off, arrange this ahead of time. If you are sick call work right away so they can arrange someone else to come in
• Don’t take breaks longer than scheduled – usually 15 minute coffee breaks and 1 hour lunch breaks (get back to work when you are supposed to)
• Don’t leave work early

Be Fit & Alert

• Your private life affects your work life if you combine the two
  • Get enough rest
  • Eat properly
  • Don’t drink too much the night before

Know your work and do it well

• Listen carefully to instructions
• Watch what your coworkers do
• Ask a co-worker or a supervisor if you need help or direction
• Try to learn new things
• Read the guidebook or policy/procedure manuals
• Remember the proper order of doing things
• Take notes (Each day you’ll notice that you don’t look at your notes as often)
• Do tasks completely & carefully
• Don’t slack off; linger in the washroom or outside. Put in an honest day’s work

Personal Grooming & Appearance

• Shower, shave and use deodorant daily
• Neatly style your hair each day
• Limit the amount of makeup and perfume (perfume allergies)
• Dress according to the dress code: no dirty or ripped clothing, nothing too revealing, etc.

1. Manage the expectations
2. Communicate 
3. Ask questions
4. Display a positive attitude
5. Be a team player
6. Become self-motivated
7. Keep your skills up-to-date
8. Be flexible 
9. Pay attention to detail
10. Differentiate yourself

Tips for Effective Organization

• Straighten out your work area; clutter is confusing and distracting. If your work area is neat and clean, you won’t waste time looking for things
• Set goals for yourself: if you have a deadline to meet, either make that your goal or aim to do better. If you have a goal in mind, you’ll be productive
• Break down big tasks into little ones: as you complete one little task, you will feel less stress, feel like you’ve accomplished something, and then build momentum toward finishing the whole job
• Don’t try to do too much at once: put your tasks in order of importance, and then aim to complete a reasonable number of tasks each day 

Organization is the key to good job performance, and time management is key to good organization

• Prioritize: Put things in order and deciding what has to be done first. What tasks are most important and what can wait?
• Follow through: After you set your goals and your priorities, follow through with action. Don’t get distracted
• Do related or similar activities at about the same time
• Look for new ways to save time on tasks

6 Tings to Remember as a New Employee:

1. It’s not a contest 
2. Prove only that you are teachable
3. 80% of success is just showing up
4. You are incomparable
5. Focus on progress, not perfection
6. Measure your progress bit by bit

Prevention is always the best policy. If there are problems at work, try to address them as soon as possible. Wherever possible, try to leave on good terms since future references from this employer may be needed. Don’t say things you can’t take back or that will bite you in the bud later