But the day came when I needed to convey something to the partner for whom I was doing paralegal work. Someone mentioned to her a need the partner (her new boss) had. Her response was, "Well, that's not part of my job description." Some years later, I happened to meet the partner again, now having returned to an elected position. The name of that secretary came up in our conversation. The partner spontaneously expressed angst and relief, "Oh, she didn't last."

No matter what your position, you are there to serve the needs of your clients, whether external or internal, unless the needs are simply outrageous. If that is the case, as a diplomat of the company, it is your responsibility to explain why you can only go so far in fulfilling the request. If appropriate, suggest getting permission from the next higher authority or find out a more feasible alternative. It is part of your unstated job description and it's called customer service.

Teamwork is more than merely helping someone out. There are times when even assistance can become abusive if it seems the person somehow is always in need of help. Even still, teamwork is cooperating in order to get the project accomplished, done in a time effective and efficient manner, and done irrespective of what your title is. Teamwork is sort of like being in a bucket brigade. It relates to reliability.

So let's take the bucket brigade analogy a step farther. Let's say our buddy is standing next to us and we (the entire group) are depending on them to pass the bucket so we can collect the next and pass it on. Unfortunately, Buddy says something on the order of, "Hold on a second while I scracth my eye," so we pause. In the alternative, Buddy says nothing, then steps out of the line. In either case, Buddy disappears for several hours. Buddy then shows up again as though there's been no absence. Meanwhile, the barn burned down. Put in real-world terms, the project didn't go out on time, was done but sloppily, or just generally made an extremely poor presentation because the team member with the additional needed input was AWOL.

Another matter that's impotently suggested in the list is the issue of bringing the social life to the office. Rather, the thing that will get you fired is turning the office into your social/dating service. While associations will develop where there are people, it's one thing to develop a healthy co-worker friendship in order to create a healthy work environment. It's one thing to develop a healthy friendship that leads to outside activities because of common interests. Football pools grow out of these types of relationships, as well as lunch bunches, and happy office gatherings that build morale. But the dating service is a distraction to everyone.

The other thing about the dating service environment is that it puts the principle reason for being in the office in last place. The reason the person got the job is because they convinced several people of their interest in working, doing a good job, and assisting the principals of the business that there is an interest and willingness to be part of growing a thriving business. The dating service environment indicates those interview statements were not true.

The other seven things to get you fired, according to the article are:

1. Using the office supplies for personal use
2. Not knowing your job responsibilities and duties or what's expected of you (nor trying to find out)
3. Inappropriate use of company equipment
4. Consistently being late or leaving early
5. Disregarding deadlines
6. Running the gossip mill

There are quite a number of additional things that can be added to the list of "things to get you fired." I could go on for a few hours in writing about them. But, let me turn this around. I'd love to hear your biggies (or not so big but meaningfuls) for the list of things to get you fired.