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praise in public: outstanding employees recognise the contributions of others, especially in group settings where the impact of words is greater;
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know when to complain in private: the staff member who comes to you after a meeting to discuss a sensitive issue, which, if brought up in a group setting would have set off a firestorm, does you and the business a favour;
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ask questions for others: outstanding employees have a feel for the concerns of those around them and ask questions others are hesitant to raise;
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start work on time: outstanding staff start working when the workday starts; they hit the ground running, on time;
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tinker: great employees follow processes; outstanding employees go a step further and find ways to make those processes even better, not just because they are expected to, but because they can’t just help themselves; and
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have good manners: outstanding workers have all the above attributes and they do it all with good grace and politeness.
Source: TheMainReportBusiness, 19 September 2011 Back to top
Top Office Pet Peeves According to LinkedIn (the world’s largest professional network) the top three office pet peeves in NZ offices are: •
constant complainers;
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people not taking ownership for their actions; and
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dirty common areas (such as a dirty communal microwave or refrigerator).
The survey uncovered some interesting differences across countries and cultures. For example: •
Americans get more irritated than other nationals by co-workers taking others’ food from the office refrigerator;
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Brazilians are the most annoyed of any national group by excessive gossiping;
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Germans are annoyed by dirty common areas (the community microwave or refrigerator) more than the rest of the world;
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Indians react more negatively to irritating mobile phone ringtones; and
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Japanese are more peeved by office pranks than others.
The country with the most pet peeves is India and the one with the fewest is Italy. New Zealand ranked at number six out of the 16 countries represented in the survey. More is at http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1109/S00869/linkedin-reveals-the-top-office-pet-peeves-in-new-zealand.htm Back to top
Rural Women NZ, enquiries@ruralwomen.org.nz, 04 473 5524
Bulletin Aotearoa November 2011 - 26