Developing a good work ethic is directly proportional to building a successful career, and often paves the way for interesting and challenging opportunities.
A strong work ethic is typically displayed in your behavioral tendencies and general conduct. It influences your daily decision-making, and allows you to create strong values that eventually go on to define you as an individual.
Before we go on to look at the top 8 work ethic values to develop, here’s what the term “work ethic” actually means.
What is Work Ethic?
Work Ethic is the general principle that hard work and commitment constitute the recipe for overall success at one’s workplace. The principle of work ethic is tied closely to being consistent - you can only show proof of a great work ethic if you’re consistent.
A strong work ethic can sometimes come across as inconspicuous, as employers are often focused around results. Nonetheless, it significantly influences your climb up the organizational ladder, as consistency eventually becomes evident, and delivers.
Top 8 Work Ethic Values to Develop
It is no surprise that the right work ethic draws praise and appreciation from peers and superiors across corridors.
In order to develop the right work ethic, it is important to possess certain values.
Here are 8 important work ethic values to develop in order to be successful at your workplace.
1. Discipline
Being disciplined is a key ingredient in concocting a great work ethic. How would you define discipline? Well, it is in doing right the smaller and finer things at work. Wondering how to get started with exhibiting great discipline at work? Well, for starters, making sure to come-in on time and making fruitful use of the time spent at work can be a good beginning in inculcating the right discipline.
2. Reliability
Reliability is a super-important trait that symbolizes a great work ethic. Reliability doesn’t just show up in the closet - you’ll have to work consciously towards it by displaying the right behavioral characteristics.
A good way to showcase your reliability at work is to voluntarily take up tasks/projects and finish them before deadlines. If the project(s) involves linking-up with cross-functional teams and coordinating tasks with them, make sure you’re on top of things by constantly monitoring updates and taking action whenever required.
3. Productivity
Productivity is a key work ethic value to develop - it speaks volumes about how effective you are at work.
Individuals who display high levels of productivity often taste quicker success in moving up the rungs.
We’re sufficiently aware of the importance of productivity and its impact in influencing a great and successful career. If you wish to display a great work ethic, make sure to start off by being productive.
4. Professionalism
Being professional with your peers and superiors is another necessary attribute to have. Professionalism is reflective in the way you choose to dress, the language and tone you adopt while conversing at work, and the general sense of ownership and seriousness in executing a task/project.
Note that individuals with a strong work ethic never fall shy of behaving in a professional and upright manner.
5. Integrity
Integrity is mostly about taking a strong moral stance on issues concerning work, and being honest about outcomes and results.
Integrity is an essential trait to have in developing the ideal work ethic. It inspires trust and puts you in a great position to take up additional roles and responsibilities.
6. Commitment
Commitment is the earnestness involved in completing a task or project assigned to you. To display a strong work ethic, you must display a strong commitment to get things done, and deliver unblemished results.
7. Responsibility
Responsibility here refers to taking ownership. To take absolute responsibility for the outcome of a project is a supreme leadership attribute, and one that comes with a strong work ethic. Responsibility is closely tied to commitment and integrity, although it manifests independently at varying degrees in individuals.
Challenging roles at work often require unwavering commitment and responsibility, attributes that typify the ideal work ethic.
8. Cooperation
Cooperating with fellow coworkers is important for a multitude of reasons ranging from sourcing the right information to monitoring the progress of tasks. Especially if the project involves cross-functional efforts from many teams, it becomes all the more important to be cordial and cooperative. While that’s necessary, it is also important to be firm and unwavering towards your commitment.
How to improve your Work Ethic?
There’s always scope for improvement as far as adopting certain values that contribute to good work ethic is concerned. Here are some ways you can improve your work ethic:
Eliminate distractions at your workplace
To eliminate distractions, the first step is to recognize them. Distractions often come in the way of productivity, causing long term damage to progress and reputation.
In order to develop a good work ethic, begin with eliminating distractions.
Stick to your commitments
If you’re committing to submitting reports or projects within a certain time-period, make sure to stick with it and do anything it takes to prevent overshooting of deadlines. Sticking to commitments at work is a trait that’s valued extensively, and can contribute to your growth as a trustworthy individual.
Be dependable and deliver
Be vocal about taking on tasks that fall in the realm of your expertise. Being dependable is about volunteering to take on responsibility and not shying away from challenging tasks.
Start your day early
A rather understated work ethic principle is starting early. Starting your day early can give you a tangible head start in work-related activities, and can help you prioritize better.
On the contrary, starting late can attract uninvited roadblocks, impeding progress in the process.
Don’t leave work hanging at any point
If you have a task at hand, make sure to complete it and not leave it hanging. Prioritizing effectively is important in this regard, and often helps with monitoring tasks and their progress.
Set your own standards
Set your own standards and stick with them. Don’t change them for anybody; don’t allow them to drop for any reason. Maintain a high standard and inspire others to set the bar high too.
Don’t get influenced by ill habits of fellow coworker(s)
Don’t get influenced by ill-conceived habits of coworkers. Besides hampering the progress of assigned tasks/responsibilities, it can be damaging to your personal reputation as well.
Additional Reading: 21 Job Interview Tips to Make a Great Impression
Why is it important to develop a good work ethic?
Having a good work ethic brings with it a ton of advantages. Here are the most prominent reasons why it is important to develop a good work ethic.
It highlights your reliability
How reliable you are in your job and at your workplace will almost completely depend on how good your work ethic is.
Employers look for reliability as a prime characteristic that employees should possess. As such, reliability isn’t something that can be determined over the course of a two or three-hour interview. Being reliable is a gradual process that must stand the test of time, and mostly exists in the shadows until the right moment springs up. And when the moment does show up, how reliable you are will almost completely depend on how good your work ethic is.
It showcases your integrity and commitment
Possessing a good work ethic often showcases your integrity and commitment at your workplace. Both these traits are super-important to have, and employers lay considerable trust on individuals who’ve actively displayed strong work ethic attributes, reflected by their integrity and commitment to a task handed out to them.
To incorporate integrity requires the courage to the right thing, which often comes with adopting values at your workplace.
It opens up new growth horizons
Encountering new growth pastures often comes with adopting a good work ethic. Employers automatically rely on individuals who have proven records of successfully completing tasks ranging from simple to complex, in their previous capacities. Over time, it is almost indisputable that a good work ethic will bring visible reward in the form of growth - both personal and professional.
It contributes to monetary success and upliftment
Ultimately, success at your workplace manifests in getting offered higher increments and bigger and more challenging responsibilities.
Possessing the right skill-set and experience to carry out a particular role/responsibility is essential to unlocking greater career highs, but eventually, real, measurable success is an outcome achievable only by developing a strong work ethic.
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