An office is not just a dull place wherein you sit all day and face your computer until the end of your shift. People have to be productive and to do that, they have to do certain tasks that will require them to be busy most of the time. Those that are truly successful are actually those that can get out of their cubicle and do extra ordinary tasks. For that reason, you should also try to look for some tasks that will help boost your chances of success in the office.

But that doesn’t mean any extra task handed to you should be accepted with open hands. There are some tasks that might do more harm than good to your career.

Extra Task for Everyone

Those who often seek to become a leader can easily fall in this trap. The scenario goes this way: there is a task at hand that should be given to the group. But instead of doing the task as one, one big responsibility was given to you. This sounds great since you will be able to show what you can really do. But since you are a team, your achievement does not highlight you as an individual. It might even be possible that someone else in the team can get the credit you just made for the team.

Promises

This is very common in start-up companies who seem to be on the verge of a break-out success…or utter failure. The bosses will ask their employees to work a bit harder or extend an extra hour of work a day for the sake of the company. They can say that "a little sacrifice can do wonders for the company" and everyone is working really hard just to get the company to success.

But a promise of success is highly dubitable in a highly competitive environment. You may be working really hard just to get the company through but who really gets the benefits? Be careful on these promises especially if you don’t see your bosses do the same hard work and sacrifice.

"Do Your Own Thing"

Your company asks you to do a task without giving you standards. Doing the said task will mean absolutely nothing in your career. You can use the extra task as a way to convince them that you should be promoted but they can always argue that you did not prove anything to the company. You just did something that anyone can do with the same results.

"Great Work" Syndrome

You have to watch out for these supervisors and co-workers. They will always praise you even for some menial task that you did. But they do have some hidden agenda behind the recognition. Some are sincere in giving out appreciation but others are thinking of giving you some extra task because you think you can do a lot of things.

Always watch out for some events in your office. Some of them can be considered as a rare chance of success while others will just use your talent without any recognition.