Ways you undermine your worth at the workplace

The ground is slowly levelling out and women are slowly being given the same opportunities in the workplace. Sometimes though, by our sheer nature, we squander the opportunity by undermining ourselves among our colleagues. Here are some things women do that sometimes put them down at work;

1. Crying during meetings.
I think it’s about time we realised that no matter how bad a performance review or brutal a boss, it’s never okay making a scene crying in a meeting. Plus it freaks people out.

2. Keeping candy at your desk
It doesn’t need to be your responsibility to ensure that everybody in the office is sugared up. And this one is for men, too. This is really more about sucking up to everyone. At the workplace, women’s natural urge to help anyone is, sometimes, seen as a deep-seated need to be liked, which makes them ripe for someone to take advantage of.

3. Exposing too much of your life
Try not to burden everyone else with the details of your personal life; just figure out how to balance it with office time. You never hear men say they have to be out at 5pm to catch that match, do you? Do whatever you have to do without giving the details of how your personal life is interfering with your work.

4. Worrying too much about what people think.
If you need to make someone stay late, or tell them their work was appalling, go for it. Don’t worry about them thinking you are a cow. Chances are, if you are a manager, they will, anyway, because that’s currently the most common profile associated with powerful women, and that’s not something you can tackle today.

5. Constantly apologising.
Whether it’s for a mistake, or for not knowing something that you should, resist the urge to act like your behaviour needs to be forgiven all the time. You are at the job because you are competent. So get over it and move on.

6. Dressing like a tart, or like a man.
Somewhere between a corset and a boxy gray suit lies your perfect professional attire. Maintain your personality, but try not to draw more attention to your wardrobe than to your brains. And please, do not lead with your cleavage when you walk into office.
If you can see your cleavage, so can everyone else, and you will probably be remembered more for it than your contribution in the meeting.

7. Not taking the credit
This is definitely something women can learn from men. Giving credit where it is due is a critical skill in the professional world, but attributing credit to anything other than themselves is something that women can stand to do less of.

8. Gossiping.
Of course, it is known that men gossip, too. But there’s something about a woman being catty, especially about another woman, that can make it seem especially snarky.
Most people will relish a “girl fight” but it’s one of the fastest ways to label yourself as an unprofessional female.

BOOST YOUR SELF CONFIDENCE
There are studies which show that women only apply for promotions at work when they feel they have 100 per cent of the qualifications, whereas men will ask even if they feel they only meet 60 per cent of the qualifications. Therein lies an illustration of two of the things about women that undermine their self-confidence.

1. Perfectionism
The emphasis women place on perfectionism eats away at another essential workplace skill: risk-taking. All too often, women are not willing to take a risk or seize an opportunity unless they feel they can do it perfectly.

2. Fear of failure
Fear is the flip side of perfectionism. Women need to get comfortable with the idea of failing rather than being perfect at every task taken on, as men can often shrug failure off more easily and learn from it. Power lies in your ability to take the spotlight off yourself and thinking about your mission in bigger terms.

Compiled by Eunice Rukundo