1Pay Attention

If you really want to be a good employee, you should pay attention when you are working. Don’t just go through the motions. Every problem that turns into a significant issue started with a small problem.

If you see something in your daily workflow that doesn’t make sense, let your boss know about it. If it turns out to be nothing, you will have learned more about your job and why it wasn’t a problem. If it turns out to be the beginning of a big problem, your boss will be really, really happy that you brought it to their attention.

2Make Your Boss’s Job Easier

In the business climate of today, everyone has too much to do and too little time to do it in. This includes your boss. They are in the unique position of having to deal with people who are above them as well as below them. The best way to be a better employee is to make your boss’s job easier. The best way to make their life easier is to do your job, and do it well so they don’t have to worry about your part of the work.

3Be an Adult

Your boss wants people to work for them who recognize that they have a job to do. They are your boss, they are not your babysitter. Your boss is going to know if you spend too much time on the phone, leave early for lunch or are away from your desk too often during the day. They may not tell you that they know, but they will know. Sometimes you won’t discover that you are at the top of the list when they have to reduce the size of their staff.

4Don’t Take Advantage of the Rules

An easy way to get on the “bad” list is to take advantage of the rules. If you work in an environment that allows you to change your schedule for appointments once in a while, only do it when you have to. If you change your schedule once a week, your boss will have to take time out of their day to write it down and keep track of your hours.

5Don't Make Excuses

If you make a mistake or do something you should not have done, admit it.

Few things will drive your boss as crazy as having to deal with someone who has an excuse for everything. Accept responsibility for what you did and make sure to not let it happen again.

Everyone makes mistakes from time to time. How you deal with those mistakes will play a large role in determining whether you stay on the good list or the bad one.

6Find Out Why You Are Doing Something

What your boss really wants is for you to develop into someone who can make your own decisions during the day so you don’t have to bother them. However, you have to truly understand why you have to follow the steps that you do for this to happen. When you know why something has to happen a certain way, you can decide how to handle exceptions as they come up. If you don’t know the “why”, you could make a decision (with the very best of intentions) that ends up causing more problems.

7Keep Your Boss Updated, but Don’t Be a Pest

Don’t let your boss find out something about your workflow from someone else. If the numbers that you track for a certain process are higher or lower than normal, let them know. They may or may not need to do anything about it, but they should know.

However, make sure that you aren’t being a pest and keeping them too updated. There is a fine line here and you have to find it to have the best relationship possible with your boss. There is a big difference between keeping your boss updated on the status of your work and running to them with every little thing that you see.

This is especially true if you think it’s your job to also let them know if your co-workers are talking too much or bothering you.

It’s your job to do your job well. It’s your boss’s job to make sure everyone else is doing their job.

8Summary

The best way to improve your job security is to become so valuable to your boss that they can’t afford to lose you. The best way for you to do this is to be an adult, do your job well, pay attention and let them know when things happen within your workflow that they should be aware of.