A recent article triggered a series of arguments in the office about the stigma that gets attached to people who leave work on time. Whilst most jobs finish at 17:30pm the vast majority of people in these roles stay past this time either by 10 minutes or several hours. This is mainly done because they have a large work load and don’t want to leave their current task half finish. If you have an individual who doesn’t stay late or leave as soon as the clock hit that magic leaving time then it can start a number of tongues wagging and could lead the manager to question an individual’s commitment levels. If you are hard at work at your desk after everybody else has left or if the whole office is still working and one person leave this could create a great deal of animosity and disrupt the team spirit that had taken so long the develop.

One story that was told several years ago was of an individual, who we shall name Bob. Now Bob was a very hard working individual who had always stayed late whenever he needed to and was early into work every day. Bob did this so much that the senior management took it for granted that he would do so and were angry when due to other circumstances he was no long able to do so and he was even called into the Senior Manager’s office and berated for the lack of commitment! This immediately disappointed Bob who started to look for a new job where he would not be taken for granted and he left only a short while later.

This is a very illuminating story as it is easy to see how much an employee could be taken for granted and the dissatisfaction that can arise from both parties when people’s commitment is question. Now you might be asking what has this got to do with Sales careers and finding a new job? Simple – If you are a hiring Manager who looks after a team and wants to hold onto your employees who help attract new talent do not take your staffs commitment for granted – even if it is a simple word in their ear and a thank you just to let them know that you have noticed.

If you are unhappy in your job and are actively seeking a new opportunity try not the alter your daily schedule and working practices to much as it might raise a red flag to your manager. This is especially true if you are seeking a new position because you feel undervalued by your current company and no long want to go the extra mile for them. You can also use these additional levels of commitment to help sell yourself in an interview. Whilst most people focus on the remuneration on offer for their existing or potential new role there are a number of non-financial rewards that could be on offer to the hard working individual who can show that they are not afraid to put in long hours and plenty of hard work.