Work rules and your style are essential and significant. They reflect who you are and your professional journey. Breaking or changing them for any reason, even to avoid embarrassment, or because you adopt “trust” as a principle in your work and profession, is wrong by all standards. The following points will clarify why:
Don’t Break Your Professional Rules
Whether it’s the number of drafts you provide, the number of revisions, or even the agreement you present before starting the work that guarantees your and your client’s rights, these are fundamental elements that showcase your professional identity. Your continuity in this field may largely depend on these rules, their simplicity, comprehensiveness, and professionalism. Don’t treat them as unimportant documents that can be ignored or waived for the smallest reason.
Don’t Change Your Work Style
Don’t change your work schedule or disrupt your personal life to suit a particular client or entity. Even your communication style, work methods, or the way you organize your tasks and notes should remain consistent. Don’t scatter your focus just because the client prefers disorganization. Establish a logical approach that suits both you and your client, test it, then adopt it as a rule. Prioritize comfort and focus over everything else.
Don’t Break Your Financial Rules
Don’t alter your method of collecting fees or the cost of the work. Don’t make bargaining your standard, and don’t skip the initial payment due to trust or to facilitate the process, or to encourage continued collaboration. Those who return to work with you will do so because of the quality of your work, not because of lower costs or easier payment terms.
Don’t Forget Your Rights and Your Name
Never sell your work rights, even if you’re offered 10 times what you charge. Rights don’t necessarily mean having your name displayed everywhere, but it does mean attributing the work and effort to you or adding it to your portfolio. This specifically applies to freelancers, not necessarily to those in employment, as the situation can be different and depends on several factors, primarily the agreement with the entity. However, in freelancing, you are compensated for your expertise and the reputation you’ve built over the years, not just your time.
Don’t Break Your Rules with Your Employees or Colleagues
Don’t prioritize relationships or emotions over quality, time, and commitment. Don’t create a false bubble that could harm both you and the individual, just to encourage them, for example, or to follow a false approach that doesn’t reflect you and your ambitions. Achievement and commitment to work are the standards.
Why?
Because they reflect your professional identity, they are you. Breaking rules becomes the standard, and people get used to it. You won’t be comfortable in your work and profession if you compromise your rules. Flexibility is different from professionalism, and success and achievement are linked in some way to the rules. Your personal comfort in what you do is the foundation for your continuity.