STM journals strictly follow work ethics in a company.
1. Productivity: There is no way you can be productive without having a strong work ethic. To
attain your goals and that of your clients, you must demonstrate a strong work ethic. Someone
productive has high output compared to the average person. They complete projects on time and
aim to exceed the client’s expectations.
2. Reliability: Reliability is a quality that every freelancer must possess. Whether you are a beginner
or experienced, you must have a strong work ethic to be reliable. Reliable people complete
projects before the deadline and do exceptional work. When you are a reliable freelancer, you
build the client’s confidence. In this way, you increase your prospects of getting future projects
from the same client.
3. Dedication: Another major quality of a good work ethic is a dedication to the task or project. As a
freelancer, you mostly work without supervision and must possess strong management skills. You
must be able to deal with distractions and ensure that you have a good working environment.
With dedication, you will be able to handle your projects and ensure that they are completed on
time.
4. Discipline: Discipline is another important part that assists people to show a good work ethic.
People who are disciplined are devoted to what they do and are determined to complete tasks on
time. They always meet the customer’s requirements and are determined to exceed them. Besides,
discipline includes a strong desire to learn and acquire new skills.
5. Consistency: Consistency is necessary since it lets your client know what standard of output to
expect from your work, as well as the level of responsibility, creativity, and other matters, to look
forward to in your assignments.
6. Integrity: This is one of the most crucial ethical issues of any working relationship. It
encompasses trustworthiness and therefore the level of responsibility that a client can place on a
contractor or freelancer. Areas, where issues of integrity come into play, are in the representation
of a freelancer’s dealings with a client or employer’s finances-such as the amount spent or cost of
a project; level of training, qualification, and experience. Freelancers should not give a better
impression than what the situation is in reality just to obtain work; however, enthusiasm and the
willingness or curiosity to learn a new line of work should not be stifled.
7. Obedience: A freelancer should be ready to follow instructions. A freelancer should also be
humble enough to accept corrections and criticisms and should therefore avoid being hot- or hard-
headed.
8. Loyalty: Your relationship as well as the experience gained from such a relationship with your
clients or employers should be considered when pledging your allegiances or in the selection of
future work and assignments from various clients. Like they say “better the devil you know”.
9. Communication: Always keep your employer posted on your progress or any other issue that may
require attention. This will help in determining the estimated time of completion and delivery of
the completed work, and help ensure that things are going according to plan.
10. Reachability: Always keep in touch with your employer. This is quite vital as there may be new
developments that need to be taken into consideration with the project you are working on.
11. Meeting deadlines: A delay in the delivery of your work as per the expected deadline leads to
delays in other areas; this could be both in your work as well as that of your client.
12. Results-oriented: Freelancers should focus their minds on producing results that are in line with
the contract or agreement; this also means that they should work towards achieving and
maintaining their employer’s satisfaction.
13. Staying informed: It helps the freelancer as well as their employer in producing work that is up to
date, especially where a freelancer is engaged with a particular client on an ongoing basis; this
may include wider reading on the subject, or further training to acquire the most current and
necessary skills.
14. Professionalism: Endeavor to be professional in the way you conduct business as well as in your
interaction and communications. Your language, dress, salutations, correspondences, appearance,
and presentations should correspond to the subject as well as the subject matter that you are
handling. To gain an edge over the competition, a freelancer should always strive for the highest
ethical standards as it is these that will determine their level of recognition in the industry that
they serve and the prospect for future ongoing and lucrative contracts.
15. Clarity: To produce work that meets your employer’s expectations, a freelancer should be clear in
their goals, and objectives, and how these are represented in the work that they do. Seek
clarification as well as clarify issues through proper and timely communication. Be clear in
portraying your ability to meet expectations.
16. Check / Countercheck/ Proofread: Other than handing over your completed assignments to your
clients, the work should, as much as possible be error-free. Where facts and figures have been
used these should be checked and counter-checked to add to the authenticity of the work. For
written work, always proofread your completed tasks. All this is done to eliminate confusion,
repetitions, redundancies, spelling mistakes as well as errors of omission or commission.
17. Conflict of interest: Be guided by your conscience when taking on freelancing work, especially
where this may bring about a conflict of interest; this may occur especially where you are taking
on multiple assignments, and the clients concerned are in the same line of business.
18. Attendance/ absenteeism: Avoid getting into the habit of playing truant and forming a pattern of
coming up with excuses that prevent you from accomplishing your duties. Absenteeism from
work reflects on you negatively and will determine your reputation and whether you get repeat
customers.
19. Be cooperative: Approaching your work with a cooperative attitude makes things go much
smoother than when there is no cooperation or less than what is necessary. It also helps grow a
good relationship.
20. Respect: Do your best to understand the position of all those whom you are dealing with. Respect
their age and experience, where this is the case, and if possible, learn from this. This is one of
those things that your client will notice that may seem minor or of little significance.
Other qualities can help you succeed as a freelancer. However, the qualities discussed above are an
epitome of an individual with a strong work ethic. If you possess these qualities, you are destined to
succeed as a freelancer.