Whether you're forgetting about important deadlines, barging into meetings late, or crawling into work at random hours, habitual tardiness tells everyone that you simply don't respect their valuable time. There's a Latin saying that pretty much sums this one up: Excusatio non petita accusatio manifesta. It roughly translates to he who excuses himself, accuses himself. Don't rely on excuses to justify your incompetence. You're just scraping by. You do enough to avoid getting fired and that's it. If your boss asks you to handle something remotely challenging, you react with exasperation. You're not fooling anyone with this act — you risk ruining your reputation with your abysmal work ethic. Not all gossip is bad. Nonetheless, when it comes to the petty, mean-spirited gab, stay away from the rumor mill — it'll hurt only your reputation. It's good to have confidence and you might be very intelligent in some areas, but no one wants to work with an arrogant colleague. You don't have to dumb your smarts down — just get over yourself a bit. You think your company's goals are dumb. You think your organization's CEO is stupid. I don't know, maybe you're right. But if you're truly unimpressed with your company, then instead of wasting your time on snark, you should start looking for other work. Are all your coworkers super-talented wonder workers? Probably not. You might just be a cut under everyone else. You're watching the clock until you're able to leave at the end of the day. You shirk responsibility at every opportunity. You don't care enough to push yourself. You're simply not committed to your job. Yes, it's possible that everyone at your organization is terrible. But have you ever considered that you might be the problem?