How do you differentiate a bad employee from the good one? You must be thinking what kind of a stupid question is this, it’s simple, a good employee portrays good employee qualities like punctuality, dependability, a perfect team member and most importantly a very hard worker. The bad employees are just the opposite.

 In the office, we all want to be a good employee and inspire others to be one, but there are certain personality traits of  a good employee that you must possess in order to become a good employee. Moreover, these days the metrics of assessing a person’s success are changing. So, now more than how much you earn, people are looking into other good employee traits to measure how successful you are in your work.


 Money is important and it will follow you any way, if you can become a good employee. When you are pro-active and take initiatives in completing some of the tasks that others deny, it will fetch you some brownie points in your appraisal, which in turn will earn you higher incentives. Whether you are new in the industry or you are an experienced one, you must make it your aim to get the name on the Hall of Fame of your company one day. 

Most senior employees are seen complaining about the way juniors are working, they think that they lack a sense of responsibility and that is the reason deadlines are not met on a regular basis. Even when it comes to taking the onus on them, they back out and keep putting the blame on others. How to be a good employee
So, you must be curious to know the personality traits and good work qualities of a good employee!

Here are Some of the Qualities that Differentiate the Good Employees from the Rest:

1. No risk, no gain:

The good employees are always ready to take chances. They love to take up the challenges irrespective of how hard things turn up to be. The thought process of the best employee is somewhat like if you do not take challenges, then how come you will know how much potential you have. It might happen that they are unsuccessful but at least their courage is appreciated that when nobody was willing to take the job, they tried to accomplish the job. In most cases, when they accept challenges, they end up being successful in their venture. Stagnant employees never think of taking the plunge, they are happy sitting in one corner and clapping for their fellow colleagues.

2. Possesses leadership quality:

There will be traits of potential leader in them and in the absence of manager, will be able to handle the team efficiently. Self – confidence, ability to decide on his own and managing the team members without showing off the power are some of the leadership and good qualities of an employee.


3. Self-criticism:

We all can name hundreds of negative and positive things about others, but when it comes to point out some of our own personality traits, then we all are dumbstruck mostly. Here is where the good and productive employees differs from the rest, they know where they need to improve and in case they are not able to figure out correctly, they don’t hesitate in seeking the help of their co-workers or the manager at all.

4. Flexibility is the key:

Employee flexibility
Good employee will display the immense amount of flexibility and would be ready to accept any kind of job that is offered to him. He carries a positive attitude and is eager to provide his best to the work that is on his hand. A good employee is never afraid of taking on new responsibilities.

5. Knows his job well:

When the employee is allocated a job, then the manager expects him to work on his own without asking hundreds of questions at every step. The manager has his own work to handle, therefore, if the individual keeps on asking him the question, then it is of no use to delegate the job to him, instead the manager would have completed all the work by himself. In this case, a good employee will take the job and will complete it without asking too many questions.

6. Is fun to work with:

As a good employee, you are the role model of almost everybody out there on the floor, so your behavior and action must be that way only. Others must enjoy your company and must look forward to work with you.

7. Self – motivated:

In order to grow at work place the good employee makes it a point to motivate themselves to learn more about the job . Keep up themselves with the latest updates about the work and gives complete dedication to their job. They don’t look up to someone else to motivate instead the work they do acts as an inspiration.

8. Manages the boss:

Having a conversation with your boss He knows the nerve of his boss very well. He knows whether his boss likes more of verbal communication or relies more on the mail. Depending on the orientation of his boss, he communicates the necessity to his boss. He knows better on when and how to break the bad news to him. Make arrangements of the meeting as per his preference and also make the boss to make him accept the unprecedented in a good way. By doing so, he soon becomes one of the trusted employees of his manager and gaining advantage in his team with sheer hard work and presence of mind.

9. Organized completely:

As a good employee, you are expected to know your role and the responsibilities you will have to share. So, after the completion of those, the good employee will be pro – actively helping their managers with their share of work as it will help him gain knowledge of the responsibilities that a manager has.


10. Knowledgeable about the goal:

The quality of a good employee is that he works with the future goals in mind. He works towards achieving the goal of the project on a broader aspect.

11. Focusing on details:

There is always something that generally employees overlook, but if you have a good employee in your team, you will see how he takes care of everything to make the project successful. In order to be the best and have that creative edge over others, the good employees strives hard and spends time in doing things which the others don’t pay heed to.

12. Get your work done:

If you are a good employee, then you must have enough support to make things done with support from others. When required, others will help you in completing your task just because you have also helped them in the time of their need.

13. Positive energy:

Positive energy at work
Good employees always have positive aura all around them and you will enjoy working along with them. They are always ready to provide their useful suggestions in getting things done and at times they hide away from limelight and do their work quietly. No matter how they are doing it, but the important thing is that they are getting it done successfully.

14. Love what they do:

If you are not doing things that you love, then there is no way you can give your best to the job. Therefore, this is one trait that differentiates a good employee from others. You have to love your job completely in order to be the best in it otherwise you won’t be able to perform better.

15. Patient in nature:

Doesn’t get hyper if something goes wrong, instead keeps his cool during the period and solves the problem without creating a fuss. The good employee will never repeat his mistakes and will not go on back foot just to escape the situation. He would rather go all out of his way to solve the issue.

16. Managerial attitude:

No matter which rank you hold, you must have managerial attitude and qualities all throughout, if you really want to reach that stage at some point of time in your professional career. In order to prove the managerial skills of yours, you can manage the expectations of your colleagues, including your boss and others in the department and try to accomplish the work provided to you within the stipulated time frame. If you want to stand out as a good employee, then it is important that you take interest in making progress report even when you are not asked to without hampering your work responsibilities.

17. Time management:

In order to be good at what you do, you really need to manage your time very well by prioritizing the work you have on your hand. You must not postpone any work that involves more than one department in it because that means due to your fault, all other departments will also suffer. It is not only about managing your time well, instead you must be able to manage the time of your boss effectively too.

18. Open to discussions:

Be open to discuss
When you are sitting in a closed place, it doesn’t mean that you will close your mind too, instead if you keep your mind open to interesting conversation, then it will make the workplace environment even better.

19. Know what’s going on:

They are completely aware of the latest trends and enjoy sharing the details with others too. It is not only about the local trends; instead they keep a tap on what is going on in the world as well. In order to make things happen a little bit of research is required over the weekends.

20. Stands by the co-workers:

They will not only look at what is best for them, but will also stand by others, raise concern, communicate the benefits and also help you take leaves when required.

21. Have an answer for everything:

When you will go up to them for a solution, then they will have just the perfect answer for your query. They would provide you with a solution right there on the spot and this happen because they are completely aware of the pros and cons of the job being a master in it.

22. Honesty is the best virtue:

Lie won’t take you anywhere, instead it will harm your reputation a big time. Therefore, if you are trying to get into the shoes of a good employee, then it is important that you be an honest speaker and try to keep the managers and the customers happy with your true words only.

23. Good Personality:

A good employee always fits in to the team allocated to him without any chaos or problems. His personality would be very pleasing and will be welcomed and loved by most.

24. Presentable:

It doesn’t mean that whether he is good looking or not, instead, he must be presentable in front of the client. He is representing your organization; therefore he must be good in communication and must have enough knowledge of the job, so that he can impress the client and bring in more business.

25. Humble:

You will never see a good employee boasting about how good they are at their work, instead they will be down to earth and modest about their body of work.