So you believe you are a good worker -- ready to take on any job, work long hours, do every single thing it takes to get the job done? Watch out! Your own work ethic could be killing your career. Here are seven seemingly innocent work habits that could turn your world of work into living hell. Are you guilty of one or more of them? 

Rosie is a typical high flyer. Armed with a first and second degree, she's hot property for most employers in her industry. Yet she has not been able to hold down a job for long. For one reason or other, she's moved on, sometimes staying with the company for just a couple of months. On two occasions, Rosie fired her company citing a variety of reasons such as her boss's bad management skills and incompatible company culture. On a few occasions, her employers fired her, saying that her performance was less than satisfactory.

Sounds familiar? Rosie's case is common. She has a first degree in social science and also an MBA. She is intelligent, articulate, presentable, and sociable. So what's stopping her? There could be many reasons, say the experts. The organisation could be at fault for not finding the right person to fit into their vacancy. On the other hand, although she may not be aware of it, Rosie herself could be her own worst enemy. 

Often our own attitudes and behaviours work against us, stopping us short in our career tracks. With this in mind, Central talked to a number of working people as well as personnel development experts to find out which of our bad behaviours could severely damage our careers. We came up with the following seven. 

Reading through them, you will see that these are habits that most of us demonstrate to some degree. In fact, we may even consider some of them to be our strengths. Taken in excess, however, they can be fatal to a career. We look at the problem through the real-life experiences people shared with us. The names of these people and their situations have been changed to protect their identities. 

Deadly Obstacle 1 - I Just Can't Say No 

We placed this behaviour at the head of this list because it is one of the most common problems, and is closely tied with Hong Kong's legendary 'can do' attitude. Being compliant is not a bad thing, but it can be deadly if you take it to the extreme. Take the case of Jessica, who three years ago was appointed to a managerial position in her organisation. 

Jessica who works for a trading firm stepped into the position after 6 years in the sales field, which rarely required her to come into the office. Then a managerial position arose in the product-development department. Although she had no managerial experience, Jessica who holds a master's degree in sales was confident that she could meet the challenges the job offered. She applied, and was appointed head of the department of 10 staff. Jessica started off with enthusiasm, her head brimming with plans on how to turn the department into a profit centre. "I always believed in myself. I was hard working. The department's role was to create new training products for the public. I spent a lot of time thinking up ways to add value to the courses." 

The first year was good, she says. The department created new quality courses. But in the second year, frustration set in. "I believed I had to do everything myself. So I was always working, - 6, even 7, days a week, 11-hour days. The result - I am tired all the time," she said. 

After seeking professional career counselling, Jessica realised that a root cause of her problem was her inability to say 'no'. "Whenever people called me up to get something done, I say 'OK, OK, I will do it'. But I already had a lot of things to do. Afterwards, I would worry about how I am going to get it done. I was already doing far too much." 

Jessica was heading for burnout. Angela Spaxman, a former corporate trainer who is now a career coach to Hong Kong executives, says this is a common problem in people who have a strong drive. "They take on far too much. There could be many reasons for their behaviour. For example, they could be trying to avoid displeasing people, or they could fear losing their jobs. But the fact is, if you take on too much, the quality of your work will fall, and you could end up displeasing people any way, or even lose your job because of it." 

The ability to say 'no' is a vital skill that people must develop, especially in a current business climate which requires people to take on far more work than before, says Spaxman. She asks: "What would happen if you were to say to your boss, 'no', this is all I can do'. The thing is to break the habit of saying 'yes'. Some of my clients find it so hard to do that I actually have to give them 'permission' to say no," she says. 

Jessica is breaking the habit slowly. "I'm learning to say 'no'. I still feel guilty about turning people down. But it becomes easier with practice. I always make it a point to listen to the request, and if possible offer them an alternative - for example, tell them who else they could turn to for help. It makes me feel better," she says. 

Deadly Obstacle 2: Being too controlling 

Jessica's overwork was also due to her reluctance to delegate. Priding herself for her hands-on approach to management, she would want in on every little thing that went on. Although she was acting to ensure that the job was well done, her approach to management was stifling her team. They reacted by leaving her to do everything. So, at 5pm, they would clock off, leaving her to work overtime to complete all the jobs she had taken on. 

K K Lim, head of personnel assessment company Profiles of Hong Kong, shares an example of similar behaviour from his early days at work in an bank overseas. "There was a senior manager who wanted to approve everything. He would say, 'I'm the boss, and I would like to sign off everything." We were in the team which was about 120 people. It created an issue, because at the end of the day, things were not happening because all the decisions had to flow back to the one person. And whenever he was away everything stopped. Morale began to drop because we staff were losing opportunities. In the end, this guy realised the problem and agreed to delegate. He created a level below him. As a result, things started to happen and there was growth," recalls Lim. 

Excessive control can be found in very bureaucratic organisations, says Lim, whose company conducts personnel assessment for Hong Kong organisations. However, bureaucracy in the current business environment can make things difficult for both the managers and the organisation. The business environment is changing so rapidly that that if you do not learn how to delegate, you can lose control, he says. 

He believes that the degree of control is usually determined by individual managers rather than by organisational culture. Lim who has worked for five banks in the past was CEO of Australian investment bank MacQuarie Bank's HK International Property Funds Management and China operations before he set up Profiles of Hong Kong. "From the organisational point of view, I would see a manager who exercised excessive control over work as being insecure," he says. "Either these people do not trust their colleagues, or they do not trust themselves." 

Says Spaxman: "Fear is often the reason behind control. What people are afraid of can be different to everyone. For example, they may be afraid of being wrong. Or they may be afraid that others won't do well, and it will reflect badly on them. And so they feel they need to keep control." 

Francis Fan, a master trainer in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), a system of psychotherapy and personal growth widely used in the training industry in Hong Kong, agrees with Spaxman. "The place to start would be to look at the intention behind the behaviour. There could be any number of reasons. But the manager should remember that leadership is not about control, it's about managing. If the boss does all the thinking, then it may make all the subordinates happy. But the question is, can he or she really afford to do it. A leader should control the quality of the product or the result, instead." 

"Some companies encourage a hierarchical culture based on control," says Spaxman. This is particularly true in factories or production-focused businesses where people are treated like parts in a machine. This may work well for a particular business but the individuals can never achieve their full potential in such an environment. In fact people are likely to make more mistakes when they are so afraid of making mistakes. The company will always rely on only a small number of leaders or thinkers to do everything. In the long run, this limits the potential of both the company and the individuals." 

At the time Central met Jessica, she was putting into place systems that would ease her workload. On the top of the list was delegation. Second, was recruitment of a personal assistant to take on the administrative duties including filing. She was also planning her holidays. 

Deadly Obstacle 3: I'm just a small potato 

In Maximum Success (Doubleday, 2000) authors James Waldroop and Timothy Butler, directors of the career centre at Harvard Business School, identify self-doubt as an obstacle in the way of executives and promotions to the highest level of the organisation. In a recent article in Fast Company, Waldroop highlights the case of a charismatic, smart, articulate and qualified executive who had been promoted to the post of company president, but who persisted in making dumb decisions that got him fired. Conversations with the young man revealed that he had not felt comfortable in his role. He told the authors that during board meetings, he would always feel like an impostor. Yet, write the authors, he was incredibly intelligent and capable. 

Spaxman attributes self-doubt to childhood conditioning. "People do it unwittingly all the time," she says. "You hear them putting themselves down - sometimes as a joke, or sometimes to make themselves more accessible to people. They may say, 'Oh, I'm just a small potato, or Oh, I'm really not that good…' And if you say it often enough, it becomes true. For some of the people I have worked with, it's been a huge thing just to realise that they put themselves down too much." 

"In NLP we would say self-doubt is one of the core attitudes that results in all sorts of negative behaviours," says Fan. "For example, self-doubt can result in the desire for excessive control, or the inability to say 'no'. So bringing this issue under control can actually solve a lot of problems. Self-doubt can cause them to feel insecure, and so they try to feel better by appearing to be more confident, or popular on the outside. They may work extra hard to please the boss; or become very controlling to show that they are capable of being in charge." 

Says Lim: We all go through phases of self doubt. I went through that, saying I probably was in the wrong place, wrong company, but I think that for those who doubt themselves continuously will see failure in whatever they do because they do not have the confidence to overcome challenges. What they have to realise is that in addition to weaknesses, everyone has strengths. The answer is to find out what your strengths are, and build on them, and then learn how to manage your weaknesses." 

Deadly Obstacle 4: Don't blame me 

At the beginning of this article, we mentioned the case of Rosie, the high flyer. Rosie never had trouble finding a job. In fact, every time she left or lost a job, she always found a better one. The start of every new job would find her bursting with enthusiasm. A month or two later, Rosie would begin to complain: "The boss doesn't know what he's doing. My boss did this and that to me. This is a lousy company," she would say. Within months, she and the company would part ways. 

Says Spaxman: "A negative way to put it is lack of responsibility. These people do not realise that they have control. You would hear them blaming people, but you don't hear them say, "I provoked the boss, or I allowed him to do that, and yet I'm still in his company." They don't realise that everything that happens is within their control. If the boss yells, there is a reason." 

A good example of how to take control of a negative situation comes from the best-seller The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Simon & Schuster, 1989). Author Steven Covey writes about an organisation, headed by a brilliant and capable young but tyrannical CEO. He would come into the office, order people around and change plans at random. As a result, he alienated most of his executive team, who would grumble about him in the corridors, and around the water-cooler, blaming him for everything that went wrong in the organisation. 

However, writes Covey, one of the executives decided to be proactive, protecting his team from his boss's weaknesses by playing up the man's strengths and playing down his weaknesses. He analysed the situation and came to an understanding of the CEO's deepest concerns. He then addressed these concerns in a report, giving additional information and recommendations. As a result, his boss started to think of him as a partner rather than an employee. 

Writes Covey: This man was proactive, while his colleagues were reactive. His success was not dependent on his circumstances, but on his chosen response to those circumstances. 

Deadly Obstacle 5: Looking for an ideal 

Closely tied to Deadly Obstacle 4, is the poor me syndrome. There are times at work when we can't help but feel sorry for ourselves. We feel that we are being underpaid, misunderstood, ignored and neglected. We crave for an ideal office environment and we leave to find another job. Most of us go through such phases when we hit a problem, but then something good happens to us at work, and we forget the bad times. Sometimes, however, we may remain in a state of self-pity. This is what happened to Nick in the publishing field: 

"I came to Hong Kong 5 years ago. I have a degree in environmental science, but could never find permanent work. So I found a job in a bar. But the pay was very low, and I had to work very long hours. One day, a friend offered me a break in a newspaper. I took the job. At first it was very interesting, but then I grew very stressed from having to work to very tight deadlines. They were exploiting me. I had to do everything, from making tea to thinking up story ideas. I had to work with a colleague who was constantly finding fault with my work. I resigned and found a job in the publishing arm of a corporation. There was a lot of office politics there, and I felt that the manager didn't like foreigners, so after a month there I quit. I then joined a web site, but after a while I began to have problems because the editors didn't approve of my working style. So after a while they fired me." 

One of the reasons for unhappiness in the job is that we tend to take things too personally, says Francis Fan. "When a subordinate does not agree with us, we think it's because that person does not accept our authority, and then we begin to feel that our dignity is affected, and we begin to feel hurt. When that happens, you have to realise that it is only your belief, which is not necessarily correct." 

"In NLP, we have two kinds of behaviours - people who are towards, and people who are not. The people who are towards, will work with the situation. Then there are people who really want to avoid any conflict who will try to stay out of the picture altogether," he adds. 

"Usually, a situation becomes a problem when you deal with it, and how you deal with it. If for example, you present a idea for a new project at a meeting, then there will be several people thinking different things about it. Some may disagree with you, because, perhaps, of lack of resources, or time or some other real problem they are facing. But if you label their response, office politics, and then decide to drop the idea because of 'office politics', you will be the loser. Instead, if you try to find out the context in which people react, then you may be able to find a way of achieving what you want within the situation." 

"You can't solve a problem by running away from it," says Spaxman. "Often, you will find the problem repeating itself in your new job, and it will keep doing that until you find a way to overcome it. The way you choose to react can help you to overcome problems." 

Deadly Obstacle 6: I work best under pressure 

How often have you said in a job interview: 'My strengths? I work best under pressure.' In moderation, the ability to work under pressure is a strength. But taken to an extreme, it can become hazardous, not just to your own career, but to the organisation and to your health. 

Jennifer is a communications executive who often procrastinates on speech writing. Her excuse was that the last-minute rush got her creative juices flowing and helped her to work better. This strategy backfired, however, when Jennifer put off an important speech that was to be delivered by her CEO until the last moment. Then she fell ill at the time the speech had to be completed and just couldn't get the job done. It had to be out-sourced at a high fee in order to meet the deadline. Jennifer herself could not justify the delay. 

Bad time management, you may say. True. But there may be more insidious cause - addiction to adrenaline. People like Jennifer often find it hard to get things going when work is proceeding at normal pace. 

"There are people who are always running late, unrealistic about their time frames and promise more than they can deliver," says Spaxman. "The reason is addiction to adrenaline, a drug that we manufacture ourselves and which we become addicted to. People hooked on adrenaline won't start anything until it is almost too late because once the adrenaline kicks in, they become afraid, and start to work real fast, quickly. Everyone is like that a bit - but it's actually quite unhealthy. Every time we get this jolt of fear, it's very hard on our body. Someone like that will need to get off the habit. They would have to consciously stop all the related behaviours -- like being late, and even begin to learn how to enjoy doing nothing. Only then will they find out what naturally motivates them." 

There are other reasons for procrastination. For example, reluctance to face reality, especially if it is unpleasant. "Procrastinating on problems can be damaging," says Lim. "I have a problem with people who do not address problems immediately, just because they are unpleasant. The trouble is, if you do not address it immediately, it will grow. I like to tell people, the deadline is today, not tomorrow." 

In an office environment where the work of one person is usually just one link in a long chain of activities, procrastination by one person or party can create havoc, causing delays and lost revenue. 

Deadly Obstacle No. 7: Workaholism 

Jessica is proud of her strong work ethic. In fact, she describes herself as a workaholic. There's no doubt that she is willing to work very hard to achieve her goals. But is she working smart? 

Working seven days a week, she had little time to spend with her husband and young daughter. In addition, she was subjecting her body to undue stress, leading to loss of alertness. 

"I have met managers who tell me they have colleagues who are not going to get ahead because they are workaholics," says Spaxman. "People who work too hard get to a point where work begins to interfere with their ability to think and be clear about what they are doing. People who work too much also don't look after their bodies - they don't have time." 

Spaxman says she has worked with a few people who have turned this bad habit around. They have made a real effort and made things work for them. Those people report that they feel better and they think better, like working smart not hard," she says. "People who are successful look after themselves."