Part 1—Career Exploration Chapter 3 What Your Employer Expects

Chapter Objectives Explain what your employer expects of you as a worker. Identify things you can do to promote good working relationships with your supervisor and coworkers.

Key Concepts Personal qualities are important to your job success. Your personal qualities will affect how you relate to your supervisor and coworkers. Accepting constructive criticism will help you improve your job performance.

Personal Qualities Needed on the Job Employees are expected to use their attitudes, skills, and knowledge to help the business operate and make a profit. You should work to the best of your abilities. continued

Personal Qualities Needed on the Job Positive attitude. Good attendance. Punctuality. Good performance. Initiative. Cooperation. Courtesy. Personal appearance. Good health and fitness. Ethics in the workplace. Accepting criticism.

Positive Attitude Attitude: An outlook on life. People with positive attitudes tend to get along well with others and be more productive. Self-esteem: Having confidence and satisfaction in yourself.

Good Attendance Being present every day is a standard expectation of your school and employer. Being absent at work causes more work for other people. Personal errands are not appropriate during work time. In true emergencies, you should contact your employer and work coordinator.

Punctuality Lateness reflects poorly on your attitude. Plan ahead to allow for poor weather, traffic, or construction delays. Arrive a few minutes early instead of a few minutes late.

Performance Your employer will expect you to possess the basic skills needed in your area of employment. Individual responsibility: A willingness to answer for your conduct and decisions. You will be expected to work to the best of your ability. Organizing your time and assignments is another important part of your performance.

Initiative Initiative: Making oneself do what is necessary without being told. Self-management: Another term for initiative. Employers want employees who automatically proceed to the next task. One way employees show initiative is looking for new skills to learn on the job.

Cooperation Pulling together and being part of a team involves cooperation. Getting along with your supervisor, school coordinator, and coworkers is important to your job effectiveness. Sociability: Interacting easily with people.

Courtesy Showing concern for others and being mannerly is being courteous. You represent your employer every minute you are on the job. Your courtesy will affect the success of your employer.

Personal Appearance Your appearance has to do with your success. Grooming and clothing are important aspects of your appearance.

Good Health and Fitness Your employer expects you to be alert when you arrive on the job and remain alert for the entire workday. Your health and fitness, both physical and mental, influence your alertness and job performance. continued

Good Health and Fitness To be healthy and fit, you need to: Eat well-balanced, nutritious meals. Get adequate sleep and rest. Stay physically active and exercise regularly.

Ethics in the Workplace Ethics: A guiding set of moral values. Integrity: Quality of using firm moral values to guide actions. Employers consider integrity necessary for effective workers. The long-term success of a business is influenced by the ethics of its employees. continued

Ethics in the Workplace Qualities of ethical behavior include: Honesty. Confidentiality. Loyalty. Qualities of unethical behavior include: Lying. Cheating. Stealing.

Honesty Honesty is expected of every employee. If you loaf, purposefully work slowly, steal, leave early without permission, or falsify records, you are being dishonest. You have an obligation to report a coworker who is doing something illegal or against company policy. Dishonesty is grounds for immediate firing and possible prosecution.

Confidentiality Confidential: Private. Discussing confidential information with outsiders could harm the company’s future or give the competition an unfair advantage. Confidentiality extends to personal information relating to employees or supervisors.

Loyalty Doing your job faithfully is displaying loyalty and contributes to the team effort. Loyal workers are proud of their company and the products or services it provides. If you disagree with company policies or decisions, talk with your program coordinator instead of gossiping with coworkers.

Work Ethic Work ethic: The way you feel about your job and how much effort you put into it. You are totally responsible for your work ethic. Your dedication to a job reflects the strength of your work ethic.

Accepting Criticism Constructive criticism: Pointing out a weakness and ways to improve it. Job evaluation: A written review of your work performance by your supervisor. It is your responsibility to accept criticism and improve your performance.

Thinking Back Which personal quality do you feel you need to work on the most? Can you think of any other important personal qualities that were not listed? What influenced your work ethic?