Why You Should Imitate Elle Woods in the Workplace- What like It’s Hard?

By Mackenzie Anderson:

Elle Woods, the ditzy sorority queen from Legally Blonde, is the perfect example of work ethic. Although her First Runner-Up Award at the Miss Hawaiian Tropics is hardly an accomplishment, she does possess many other qualities we should try to emulate.

Elle embodies some of the most sought-after qualities by employers today. She is open to a challenge, creatively rocks her brand, has a great work-life balance, posses a competitive nature and has confidence in herself.

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Here at Red Branch we continuously harp about these 5 qualities. We don’t reiterate them so often for no reason, they are important! 86% of millennials consider it a main priority to work for a business that conducts itself ethically and responsibly. With such a staggering response of individuals that look to their company to provide ethics, why do we often hold ourselves less responsible for developing appropriate work ethics?

Now that I’ve got your attention, let’s look to the pink-wearing, recently heartbroken girl to see how she crushes it in the impeccable work ethics department.

Quality #1: Always Open to a Challenge

Once Elle gets accepted to Harvard Law she joins a class where the professor asks her if she would rather defend a client who committed a crime malum in se or malum prohibitum? After initially answering “I would rather have a client who’s innocent,” she raises her hand and rescinds her statement by saying she would pick the dangerous one because she’s not afraid of a challenge.

Recruiters want employees that can be fearless in the workplace. They seek individuals who can contribute to their work environment by challenging the system, getting curious and creating new effective ways to get stuff done.

They want their social media strategists to relay awesome sites they’ve found to implement into the social strategy, and they want the design team to learn a new program to stay relevant with top competitors. Be committed to working to better your company not just compliant to doing your job!

Quality #2: Creatively Rocks Her Brand

Whether it’s creating a Harvard video submission instead of an essay or branding her resume, Elle can be quite creative. She certainly has a guideline she likes to follow, pink, but she is willing to go the extra mile to impress people and create a brand for herself.

No, I’m not trying to encourage you to put on your swimsuit for an interview or use only pink bubbly font for your emails. However, try to inspire yourself to take risks at work and stand out. Think of your role at your organization like an SEO title– you want to do your job appropriately, but you also want to be someone that stands out and is creative.

And for the record, color increases brand recognition by up to 80%, so maybe that means implementing a little pink wouldn’t be the worst thing! If you are interviewing for a position remember it is important to be yourself. If that means throwing on a pink shirt under your blazer, go for it!

Quality #3: Has a Great Work-Life Balance

Elle finds her sanctuary at the nail salon. She goes here to escape her tough days in class or court. Simply taking care of her nails allows her to collect herself and get back to business the next day with a positive attitude.

If you are struggling at work, know when it is time to take a break. It can be as minute as going for a walk after work to clear your head or planning a trip in the future. The average US employee who receives paid vacation only actually takes 54% of the allotted time each year. Don’t burn yourself out in your job by pushing too hard, it takes a lot of respect to know how to treat yourself to be better professionally.

Quality #4: Possess a Competitive Nature

Throughout Legally Blonde, Elle was always competitive. You saw this when she was trying to get a spot on Callihan’s internship program or defending her clients in court. Elle always fought for the justice she felt was deserved.

Friendly competition can be an instrumental part of developing a good work ethic. Being competitive allows you to stay on your toes and constantly try harder. If your company doesn’t implement competition in the workplace, create it yourself.

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Ask a coworker to compete against you by writing copy for a client and have someone judge it. It encourages you to try hard and benefits the company by providing them with more material.

Quality #5: She Has Confidence in Herself

When so many people judged Elle and immediately had the wrong first impression, she still believed in herself. Elle never doubted herself. She knew she wouldn’t need backups for Harvard and she could get a 139 on the LSAT’s. She constantly pushed herself and knew she needed to be her biggest advocator.

Have confidence in yourself at work, it will allow you to crush all the other categories listed above. Having confidence will make you crave a challenge, inspire you to be creative, allow you to respect work-life habits and encourage friendly competition.

So if you are struggling with perfecting your work ethics just ask- what would Elle Woods do?