HABITS AND SAFETY

Habits are the small decisions you make and actions you perform every day. According to researchers at Duke University, habits account for about 40 percent of our behaviors on any given day. 

Getting promoted at work or making crucial achievements in your career doesn’t just happen or fall into your lap. Many times, everything you attain needs to be earned and worked for. Earning your success means committing yourself to hard work, a great attitude, and dedication. For this reason, it’s important to develop the right habits at work.

HABITS – HOW THEY WORK

Look at habits as three-pronged process. The first part is the trigger, the second is the routine or behavior itself, and the third is the reward.

Examples

You are a welder and every single day you JSA, but many days there are times you choose not to lower your helmet while welding. Why do you choose to follow one safety procedure but not the other? Maybe you complete your JSA every day because you have to turn it in at the end of the day and you have learned that it gets reviewed. The reward would be not getting disciplined by a supervisor so you choose to do the JSA every day. On the other hand choose not to lower your welding helmet because it is hard to see trough and you know supervisors rarely enter your work area. The reward is that you feel it is quicker to do the task, you can see better, and you have not been injured yet. In your mind there is no consequence that will most likely come that is more negative than the reward you receive from not putting the helmet down so you continue the behavior.

HABITS OF PEOPLE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL AT WORK

Here are some of the habits of people who are highly successful at work.

• Scheduling is Everything

Scheduling means keeping to a set time and not deviating from what should be accomplished. Successful people know there is no room to delay what has to be done now.

• Prioritize

They focus on being excellent at what they do. They do not multitask. Knowing that multitasking often gets in the way of productivity, successful people rather prioritize and eliminate what will not gear them towards their success.

• Don’t Take Yourself Seriously

Rather than focus on their flaws, they do well to get better at what they do by engaging in more work. 

• Plan

Successful people know how to plan. They make it a habit to plan their activities. 

• Accountability

Successful people hold themselves accountable for how their time is spent. 

• Focus

They understand how important the deep and rigorous task could affect their success, so they throw their energy at their top priorities first. 

• Exercise Regularly

When your body feels good, so does your mind. Getting exercise regularly helps you focus, gives you an energy.

• Get Enough Sleep

Using electronics while lying in bed, eating foods high in sugar before sleeping, or maintaining high stress levels throughout the day can all get in the way of a good night’s sleep. 

• Keep a Positive Attitude

Maintain a positive attitude and see solutions rather than problems, opportunities rather than failures. 

• Grateful

Successful people boost their self esteem and self worth by appreciating the people around them. They can say thank you and show appreciation for anything good they have received. 

THINK HAPPY-TAKEWAYS

To ease your stress, work on your personal habits. You might need to get more sleep, eat more healthy foods, and get into a good exercise routine. If managing your stress doesn’t boost your positivity as much as you had hoped, try the following:

• Smile.
• Change the way you think about things. 
• Before you complain, pause. 
• Anticipate problems and plan how you’ll respond to them. 

FINAL WORD

Pay attention to the habits you hold on to and how they affect you daily. How many of these habits are positive ones and how many are negative? Look at the choices you make at work and if they lead to negative behaviors then look at changing them. By addressing the trigger or experiencing a different reward for your behaviors you may find a way to change bad habits.