Last week’s column described the seven deadly workplace sins for managers, so now we can truly try to beat the subject to death with the seven deadly sins for the rest of us. (Next week: The seven deadly sins for aardvarks.) Here goes:

— Come up with trite ideas. Oh, wait. That’s not one of the sins; it’s just a note from my editor about last week’s column. Sorry. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming:

— Disrespect talented workers. It’s easy to be a member of the My Boss Is a Dodo Chorus, but people usually get to become managers because they have some talent. Think about what you can learn from them, even if they have serious flaws.

Some ways you can get in trouble: going over the boss’ head, acting like a jerk after you quit a job and, of course, backstabbing. Rich Stiller, who has worked in human resource management for more than 20 years, mostly in high-tech companies, says another danger is to embarrass your boss by raising a sensitive subject at a meeting.

“The place to make a point isn’t in meetings or in (a widespread) e-mail,” Stiller said. “It’s one on one.”

— Live in the past. Sometimes workers are so set in their ways that they will rationalize their way out of learning anything, arrogantly believing that they know all they will ever need to know about the job.

Except for this: The Internet can help any worker in any job anywhere do that job better. That applies even if you don’t use a computer at work. At a minimum, you can get advice or interact with people in your field, finding out how they solve problems and drum up business.

— Be clueless. Even former presidents have gotten in serious trouble by refusing to admit it when they made mistakes. If you’re screw up or get caught in a lie, apologize. (Or, here’s a thought: Don’t lie.) Then move on.

Other examples of random cluelessness include calling in sick on crucial days and having an inflated opinion of your own talent. If you’re seriously ill, by all means call in sick. But some people always seem to be “sick” on the busiest of days, letting everyone else down.

As for evaluating your own talent, ask for honest feedback from people you respect. If you can’t find anyone like that, you’re either working in the wrong place or you have the wrong attitude. Which is it?

— Gossip too much. That should be obvious, of course, but it keeps ruining careers.

— Gossip too little. Sharing information is an essential part of networking, which is an essential part of career success. If all you’re offering is vanilla, you won’t establish much of a network.

Don’t make malicious comments, certainly, but sharing rumors about potential changes in your company is usually all right, as long as you don’t label them as fact or disclose trade secrets. People who wait silently until there are official announcements often react too late when it comes to layoffs or applying for jobs.

— Complain the wrong way. Commiserating with co-workers is usually all right, but many people go overboard. Stiller has seen that happen frequently with flaming e-mails at technology companies.

“They’ll send an e-mail to a large group of people,” he said. “It just pisses people off.”

Don’t complain to your boss if you don’t have an idea for solving the problem. Don’t harp on a complaint if you’ve already been rejected or the boss is powerless to change the circumstances. And don’t go to top managers with relatively trivial concerns.

— See yourself as a victim. Martin Yate, author of the “Knock ’em Dead” books, says workplaces have an inner circle that get things done, and an outer circle of people who complain and do only the minimum. “We choose our circle at work,” Yate said, “and that choice determines our success over an entire career with that company and usually beyond.”

Conditions are often unfair. Find a way to rise above them — or escape them.

Dave Murphy is the San Francisco Chronicle's workplace columnist. His Web site is at www.couchpotatoguide.com.