Drop those bad habits before they wreck your career

It is difficult to land a well-paying and stable job. But it is even harder to keep that job. This is because circumstances can conspire to take away a hard-earned and well deserved job. Other times, an employee can lose a dream job through improper behaviour.


One such case is absenteeism. Though it may never be entirely eliminated, the career minded individual must take the necessary steps to ensure that their job is not threatened by habitual absenteeism.

To start with, it is important to understand the modern corporate institution. Every institution exists to fulfill some objectives laid down by the sponsors, owners or shareholders. Therefore, the company’s objectives come before everything else and the rest of the supportive structure, including staff, are there to facilitate this process. Though an organisation may condone some misconduct, habitual mischiefs – including absenteeism – will simply fast track your path to the exit.

Major cause

A disordered personal life is a major cause of absenteeism. Getting your life in order should therefore be a primary goal. For instance, getting school transport for your children could be the solution to your habitual lateness as you struggle to drop and pick your children at school every day. Other people are engaged in personal businesses that require personalised attention during working hours, which nibbles away quality working time.

And yet others have taken up destructive habits such as excessive drinking that inevitable leads to absenteeism. Other create all manner of excuses to keep off work. For instance, during a recent matatu strike, an employee was shocked to learn that everyone else turned up for work. Why? They took the strike news as gospel truth and stayed home without bothering to seek alternative transport.

It is important to prioritise issues and plan your life. What is important to you? What must be done now and what can be put off for later.  Not everything personal must be done during working hours as you would like us to believe. You can always call your mechanic to pick your car, as opposed to you delivering it.

Never ending

Your kin can visit you at home as opposed to coming to the office to discuss that never ending family land feud. When it comes to leave, plan well in advance for your annual leave to ensure all your objectives are met. In so doing, you must be realistic and avoid biting off more than you can chew.

Remember that without your job, your life would be quite uninteresting. Take time to reflect on where your career is headed. Critique your own actions and make corrections as you move on.

In any case, if the company were yours, how much of your own selfish behaviour would you take? Make a point to avoid distractions and invest faithfully in your career. At the end of the day, isn’t it wiser to pay now and play later rather than play now and pay later?