8 Bad Habits That Employers Say Could Affect Your Earnings
Written by
Jake Safane
Edited by
Rebekah Evans
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As much as you might try to cut unnecessary spending to get control of your finances, there’s a limit to how much you can cut. You also need to consider the other side of the equation — your income. The more you earn, while still managing the cost side, the more flexibility you have in your budget.
However, many employees fall into bad habits that hold back their earnings. Here are some of the most common offenders to watch out for.
Being Too Rigid
If you’re too locked into what your role or career path should be, you could miss chances to up your earnings.
“I often see employees be inflexible in how they want their careers to grow and develop. However, the reality is that the market determines the opportunities. Couple that with the increasingly rapid pace of technology change, and being open to experiment and try on new job duties will be key to future success,” said Kelsey Tarp, director of human resources business partners at BambooHR.
Focusing on Busyness, Not Business Results
Another issue is trying to look busy instead of focusing on ways to add value.
“Too many confuse busyness with impact, but that isn’t the case,” Tarp said. “You need to be able to connect the dots between what you do and why it matters to the business for the activities you spend the most time doing: that is what creates value for your organization, which creates the runway to reward you for impact.”
Ignoring Chances To Upskill
You don’t always need an advanced degree to earn more. In many cases, your current job provides chances to learn new skills that help your career.
“Some team members think they’re not developing or growing if there isn’t formal education or a certificate involved. I’d challenge everyone to continuously improve in their duties, use AI tools as a thought partner, and work to become more efficient and effective,” Tarp said.
Relying on Your Manager for Everything
If you want to earn more money, you need to show your manager you’re capable of stepping up more on your own.
“Constant hand-holding signals you’re not ready for bigger projects or leadership and also tends to annoy them. It’s good to ask questions, but if you can solve something yourself you should try to do that,” said Mike Peditto, founder of Realistic Recruiting LLC.
More specifically, he said you should try to ask better questions like “What’s the highest impact thing I could take off your plate this month?” rather than “What do you need me to do?”
“That alone puts you ahead of most people,” Peditto said.
Not Tracking Your Wins
To get raises, it helps to have clear wins to point to.
“If you don’t document your accomplishments with receipts — metrics, feedback, impact — it’s likely that nobody is. You’ll wish you had this info when it comes time to ask for more money,” Peditto said.
Get specific here.
“‘I updated the onboarding doc’ means nothing. ‘I reduced onboarding time by 20%’ gets remembered and rewarded,” he added.
Getting in With the Wrong Crowd
Misery loves company, but that can hold back your career.
“Don’t let the people known for complaining too much or a bad attitude grab onto you. It can feel comforting, but there is a reason they aren’t being rewarded and complaining about it. Leadership notices these things,” Peditto said.
Avoiding Office Politics
This may seem contradictory to the previous point, but there’s a difference between complaining with coworkers vs. figuring out how to navigate inter-office politics.
“You don’t have to play dirty or get involved in the drama, but you do need to know who actually influences decisions and how work really gets done. The power dynamics in an office are rarely just a straight line down from the top; they are important to know,” Peditto said.
Waiting for Formal Reviews for Feedback
Lastly, don’t wait for formal reviews to get feedback on your performance. You can get more frequent feedback in ways that help put you on a higher-earning path throughout the year.
“Proactively checking in with your manager shows that you care about growth and want to stay aligned. Even something as simple as asking for feedback after submitting a project can spark a valuable conversation. And if you ever get the sense that something feels off, trust your gut. It’s totally okay to schedule a check-in just to make sure you’re on the right path,” said Stacy Feinman, co-founder of The Tropical Agency.
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