7 things you do at the office that make you look less smart, less accomplished, and less impressive than you really are

Colleen Hayes/NBC

• Even the smartest people can display workplace habits that make them look unprofessional.
• We listed some of the worst offenses below, based on scientific research and expert opinion.
• Those offenses include telling inappropriate jokes and being too sheepish to ask for advice.

You're a smart person. And your coworkers should know that.

The problem is, too many smart people fall prey to bad work habits that make everyone in the office think they're ... not so smart.

Below, we rounded up some of the most egregious offenses, according to scientific research and expert opinion. Read on to learn about the behaviors to avoid, lest you sabotage your professional reputation.

You act like you know it all

"Piggybacking with a comment either to outdo, correct, or worse, rephrase the comment and claim it as your original thought, is a sure way to make your coworkers' eyes roll," Rosalinda Oropeza Randall, an etiquette and civility expert and author of "Don't Burp in the Boardroom," told Business Insider's Rachel Gillett.

You use emoji in work emails

We know: You're only trying to come off as less cold. But try tweaking the actual language in your message instead.

A series of studies published 2017, in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, found that hypothetical employees who included smiling emoticons in professional emails were perceived as less competent than those who sent the same emails without the smiley face.

The researchers learned that the decrease in competence had to do with the fact that participants saw the smiling emoticons as inappropriate in formal contexts.

You tell inappropriate jokes

"Hey, did you hear the one about the —" No. Just don't.

A 2016 paper, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found telling a successful, appropriate joke at work can make you seem more competent. But telling an inappropriate joke can make you seem less competent. So save the cracks about getting drunk for a night out with friends.