School to Work Unit 4

• Dependability
• Honesty
• Positive Attitude
• Willingness to Work
• How to Deal with Boredom at Work

The goal of this unit is to teach desirable character traits and behaviors necessary in the workplace.

• Present concrete examples of how these traits relate to the workplace.
• Define vocabulary
• Model appropriate behaviors
• Have the students demonstrate behaviors through role playing work situations,
• Provide guidelines with criteria necessary to demonstrate the behavior
• and PRACTICE.

Getting Along with People- self rating survey

Good Worker Traits- 8 definitions

The DEPENDABLE WORKER:

1. Works Independently
2. Has Good Accuracy with Their Work
3. Follows Directions
4. Gets Along with Co-Workers and Customers
5. Has Good Hygiene
6. Is on Time for Work
7. Has Good Attendance
8. Is Cooperative
9. Has a Positive Attitude
10. Is a Team Player

• working slowly instead of a faster pace that they are capable of.
• letting a co-worker clock in for them if they are late for work.
• stealing things from work.
• taking too much break time
• working on personal projects at work.

Attitude

Your Attitude communicates your feelings and mood.  Your attitude is your state of mind, how you feel about your job, your co-workers and boss. Your attitude will be reflected in the quality of work you do. A positive attitude is often the key to getting and keeping a job. Your boss will judge you  not only on the work you do, but also on your attitude.

An employer is interested in how you do your work and how well you get along with others.

Some indicators of a good attitude are:

• a friendly smile
• good posture
• talking in nice tone of voice
• being interested in others
• making complaints in  appropriate ways at appropriate times
• being respectful and courteous
• being calm
• doing a  good job
• handling anger appropriately.

Some indicators of a bad attitude are:

• unhappy look on face
• slumping in chair or while standing
• constant complaining
• telling co-workers about all the bad things about the job
• encouraging co-workers to have a bad attitude
• losing your temper
• whining
• mumbling
• doing a poor job
• ignoring other
Results of having a good attitude at work are: you  keep your job and have a better chance of getting promoted or getting a raise; you make friends; customers are easier to deal with when you are have a good attitude; customers are more likely to come back to your business; and, co-workers work better with you."

from: http://www.workshopsinc.com/manual/Ch3L8.html

 Willingness to Work- Use curriculum materials to present examples of workers who are not demonstrating appropriate work behaviors:

Find or create work scenarios where the students have to read a job performance review and decide what are the good and poor work habits discussed. Next have them decide if the worker deserves a raise and what do they think will happen for the worker in the future.

To connect students with workers and create a learning situation, have the students survey workers and ask the following questions.

    1. What is your job?

    2. What do you like about your job?

    3. How long have you had your job?

    4. What are some of your job duties/

    5. Is there anything you don't like about your job? What?

    6. Has there ever been a time when you didn't feel like going to work?

    7. What did you do?

    8. What can you do if you are bored at work?

The results of these interviews will be shared in class with the focus on the positive behaviors of a dependable worker at work.

Compile results from the 8th question on boredom. Boredom can be an issue with entry level jobs. Especially for a person who has attention or initiation difficulties. It is important to discuss this issue and help the students find appropriate ways to deal with it.

Check out the list of activities we came up with to Deal with Boredom at work.

Qualities Employers Desire

1. Ability to Communicate- Organize and present your thoughts coherently through the written or spoken word.
2. Intelligence- Has "street sense", "common sense", ability to learn.
3. Self Confidence -Recognizes ones own worth, has conviction, will stand up.
4. Willing to Accept Responsibility -Volunteers, takes on challenges, admits mistakes, "I'll do it" attitude
5. Initiative -Self-starter, self-motivated, works with little supervision.
6. Leadership -Take charge, in control, influences others.
7. Energy Level - Works hard, endurance, relishes work.
8. Imagination -Finds solutions, sees possibilities, innovative.
9. Flexibility - Adaptable, not rigid, capable of and receptive to change.
10. Interpersonal Skills - Gets along with people, pleasant personality.
11. Self-Knowledge - Realistic, no hang-ups, know who they are, knows what they can do and want to do.
12. Ability to Handle Conflict- Rolls with the punches, functions under pressure.
13. Goal Achievement - Sets goals, works toward goals, achieves.
14. Competitiveness - Works toward winning, tries to improve, be the best.
15. Vocational Skills - Can do the job, trainable, has appropriate skills.
16. Direction - Know what you want in life, in a job, has goals.

With students who are at a more entry level

I use the Top Ten Work Habits model

The pictures are from Mayer Johnson Boardmaker Program and other pictures as needed to represented good work habits.