Your career satisfaction can be largely dependent upon how you’re treated as an employee, as well as the culture of the company. Creating a cheerful work environment can be as simple as helping your manager have more time to put toward leading the team and less time managing disruptions, which can be counterproductive to the success of everyone.

Here are simple tips you can deploy today:

  • Be fully present– In today’s work environment it’s easy to stay in touch with friends and family through your cellphone or social networks. Do yourself a favor, turn off the distractions. You’ll find great satisfaction in checking off items on your task list as you put your energy into the tasks at hand. While in meetings, keep your phones turned off so you can participate and be prepared to take on the next steps you’re assigned.
  • Show initiative- In improv comedy, actors must maintain the dialogue—it keeps the scene moving forward, which develops the audience’s interest. The same can be said for you at your business job. If a manager constantly has to assign you tasks, it takes away from their ability to drive the company toward larger success. Find ways you can take on more responsibility, which will increase your value and broaden your skill set in your business career.
  • Meet deadlines- Is there anything worse than waiting on the cable guy to show up? You feel like time is standing still as you become more frustrated by the second. Each member of the team is a working cog and when one doesn’t complete the tasks they’re assigned in the allotted time, then everything comes to a halt. Take responsibility for your piece in the process by ensuring you take every step possible to turn in your assignments on time.
  • Less talking, more working– Socialization is a key component to team building. There is not a way to silo off home life and work life, but it’s imperative to monitor how much of your conversation is about last night’s dinner and how much is about next week’s business proposal or networking event.  You can probably think of someone who seems to be spending more time at the water cooler than at their desk. Don’t be that person.
  • Be a team player- If you were to write a job description for the ideal co-worker what adjectives would be included? Scan the job board and you’re bound to see: hard-working, positive, visionary, driven, and high-achieving—these characteristics are going to be listed throughout job openings whether it’s for an entry level position to work in business or requires an MBA to be president of a company. These attributes are ones that create a strong individual candidate while enriching a team. When each player takes personal responsibility for their part in a project, it ensures a higher success rate for all.