The beginning of a new year is a great time to create new habits, especially at work. And, using employee training videos is a great way to introduce new skills, reinforce productive workplace behaviors, and build camaraderie and positive energy in a team. Choose a series of business training videos that cover a broad range of training topics like time management, having a good attitude, sexual harassment, and basic safety awareness.

Choose The Right Attitude

One of the most basic work skills you can possess is choosing the right attitude at work. Having a positive mindset makes you easy to work with, and therefore, a better team player. On the other hand, difficult people consume excess time and energy, making them less productive (and thus, less profitable) team members. The “red flags” of a negative work attitude include whining/complaining, eye-rolling, sighing, sarcasm, and criticizing others.

Instead, successful teams are made of people who choose to be positive, who listen instead of assuming, who are confident, gracious, and take responsibility. Being a good team player with a positive attitude also means treating each team member as an equal, displaying generosity and trustworthiness, and encouraging questions and debate, while not assuming you’re always right. These attitudes and behaviors can be learned with effective employee training videos and practiced and refined on-the-job.

Provide Harassment Training

It’s also important to provide training to all employees on avoiding and addressing sexual harassment. Choose training that not only covers the types and definitions of sexual harassment (hostile work environment, quid pro quo harassment) but also provides concrete suggestions on how to address harassment when it occurs. For example, if you are being harassed, you should tell the offender exactly what you find offensive, that this behavior is bothering you, and what you want to happen (or stop happening). Don’t ignore the problem or blame yourself for the harassment. If the harassment is severe or chronic, it’s best to report it to management rather than try to handle it yourself.

Focus On Safety

Another great habit to establish at work is an awareness of good safety. Many people take safety for granted or assume they don’t have to worry about it since they work in an office setting, but even an office building is not a sterile environment. Train employees to recognize safety hazards and take precautions to keep themselves and the workplace safe. Some of these basic steps include not running or rushing, taking care when lifting (including bending your knees to lift with your legs), cleaning up spills and debris in walkways, standing on a ladder - not a chair or desk - to reach something, storing heavy items in lower drawers or on the floor to avoid lifting heavy things above your head, and avoiding overloading electrical sockets or touching them with wet hands.

Teach Good Time Management Skills

A new year is also the perfect time to reinforce employees’ time management skills. Teach employees what they can do to remove roadblocks to their productivity. They can eliminate procrastination by breaking a project into smaller pieces, setting rewards for completion, setting aside their fear of failure and just DOING it. Other important time management skills are to only “touch” each piece of communication once (rather than setting it aside to handle later - make a decision and deal with it right then), learn to say “no” politely, delegate tasks when you can, only attend necessary meetings and stick to a meeting agenda when there. By knowing how to reduce, if not eliminate, procrastination and re-think how to organize your workspace as well as your thoughts, you can schedule, prioritize, perform or delegate work tasks more effectively while reducing stress.

For a great series of business training videos that includes 24 individual programs on workplace topics like Attitude, Behavior, Communication, Emotions, Orientation, Safety & Health, Time Management and Workplace Essentials, see The Employee Awareness Series. Whether you have new employees for orientation or an established team who need to be reminded of procedures and positive attitudes in the workplace, this all-in-one talent management suite of employee training videos gets the message across with impact.