signs you may be the office jerk

Mondays are not my most favorite of days; not only do I feel lethargic, but I also feel antagonistic to almost everything around me, most especially to people’s behavior. So today I will nitpick on covert and palpable signs and symptoms of workplace attitude and behavior that can mess up happy and healthy relationships and careers.

In short, what makes you a jerk according to my standards. Pardon me for trying hard to be Dr. Phil today.

Signs of workaholism

Workaholics are unaware of their addiction; if they are, they overtly deny it. Workaholism isn’t bad per se; it’s only so when it gets in the way of personal, family, and social relationships.

Like when you can’t take your mind off from work during meals (some of which you skip), during bedtime (you think of work solutions before sleeping rather than canoodling with the animal…i mean, the person beside you ), even on your vacation (you call up the office or cut short your vacation to report back to work). You’re accessible to bosses (read: kiss ass) for work-related concerns 24 hours a day—even on Black Saturday. You give up social (and blind) dates to fulfill self-imposed deadlines. And you always get sick, and when you’re sick, you feel guilty about not working.

Signs of procrastination

You find yourself neck-deep in pending tasks, but can’t seem to find the “right moment” to start. You know your high priority—high importance projects (and their value to your dull career), but you opt to preoccupy yourself with the irrelevant (like excessive cybertrotting or taking loooonger breaks). You wait for all resources to be available before acting, but when time is up, you scramble to get the job done—hoping for an extension! (hmm, sounds like how I do my thesis. hahaha!)

I read somewhere that self-imposed delays are an indication of the fear of failure: people put off what they perceive to be a difficult task in the vain hope that it becomes easier tomorrow. And when procrastination becomes habitual, projects are poorly managed (lagot, bad shot ka sa boss!), opportunities (for kissing ass) are missed, and personal working standards become (even more) mediocre.

Signs of insecurity

Lack of self-confidence is noticeable in two types of people: those who show it and those who try hard to mask it. People who are excessively withdrawn, who compromise too easily or belittle their own abilities, are most likely suffering from poor self-esteem. Then there are those who exaggerate their accomplishments, who deliberately control everything around them even those beyond their command, who grab credit from others, and who always have a scapegoat—they are the power-hungry breed, which I really detest for obvious reasons.

If you find yourself unable to find joy in other people’s success or unwittingly feel satisfied at their failure, then it might be insecurity getting the best of you. When this happens, the insecurity that you’ve always wanted to hide becomes all the more apparent and people around you notice it—sooner than later.

Signs of god complex

Are you fond of using “I” and “me” instead of “we” and “us”? Do you take every opportunity to flaunt your abilities (whether real or imagined)? Do you dominate conversations with (boring) stories about yourself? Do you join discussions thinking only your opinion matters? Do you feel the need to be always heard? When looking at others’ work, do you always think you could do a far better job?

Self-confidence is a necessary ingredient for professional development, but when it’s too much, it becomes self-defeating. The effects of your egotistical behavior can drive people away: they avoid talking to you except when they have no choice; when you enter a room to join a discussion, people suddenly become silent and they walk out one by one; when they see you approaching from the opposite end of the hallway, they automatically enter any conceivable door (the Fire Exit, the storage room) just to avoid contact with you.

So what do you do if you find any or some of these warning signs in your own attitude or behavior? Well, first, don’t talk to me on a Monday; you will never hear the end of it. Then, you may click here and here for other answers.