If you’ve ever managed someone, you would know that it’s nearly impossible to tell them what to do for a full day. Let alone a week, month or year.
Thus, for any employee, there will be things that you do that no one told you to do. For some people, this comes easily while others seem oblivious to the notion of doing something without explicitly asked.
Today as I was checking out at the grocery store, say on aisle 15, the employee scanning the items had his hands full. There were dozens of items which he was trying to bag and scan. While this happened, two employees in aisle 14 talked. About movies, random stories, ice cream, and other random topics.
Someone told them to work aisle 14. If aisle 15 is overflowing, it’s not their problem. No one told them to worry about aisle 15.
Do things before you’re told. Seek to add value whenever possible. If you’re in a uniform and on the clock, don’t take a break in public. No matter what the situation, there is always some way to leave the situation better than you found it.