“James” (name changed) didn’t realize he was causing anger and frustration among his coworkers. Because he scheduled meetings back-to-back, he would regularly show up to his next meeting 10-15 minutes late. James also checked his email messages and took cell phone calls – during meetings.
Worse yet, because James wanted his manager to view him as productive, he rarely took days off when he was sick; choosing, instead, to come to work and expose his coworkers while he coughed and sneezed his way through the day.
Sound familiar? Unfortunately, the workplace can become stressful when employees don’t follow basic office etiquette.
Why is office etiquette important? Because bad manners at work can be bad for business by negatively affecting employee morale and productivity.
To ensure a happy and productive work environment, every employee (not just management) should act as a role model by demonstrating the following good manners:
- Stay at home when you’re sick.
- Always show up on time for meetings. If you’re usually running late, try scheduling meetings in 45 minute increments to allow enough time to get to your next one.
- Keep meetings to the scheduled amount of time. Don’t force the next group to stand in the hallway outside the conference room waiting for you and your group to finish.
- Put your cell phone on vibrate mode to prevent disturbing others.
- Pay attention during meetings and avoid multi-tasking, such as scrolling through emails on your smart phone or computer.
- Don’t hold meetings in your cubicle and distract those sitting close nearby. For meetings with three or more people, go to a conference room or a break area.
- Eat lunch in the cafeteria or break room. Avoid eating smelly food at your desk.
- Be aware of how loud you speak on the telephone if you work in a cubicle environment.
- Avoid wearing perfume or cologne at work.
- Don’t wear revealing clothing. Let others see your skills, not private body parts.
- Respect your co-worker’s property (and company property).
- Don’t take things from others without asking. Refrigerator lunch food stealers – that also means you!
- Don’t yell and scream at others. Compassion and empathy will serve you much better to earn respect.
Tired of bad manners in your office? Here are tips for dealing with offenders:
- Don’t reciprocate bad office behavior.
- Stay calm and don’t get emotional or angry. We all have bad days every now and then; sometimes a sympathetic comment is the best way to direct a coworker toward better behavior.
- Meet with the person in a private location and explain how his or her bad manners are affecting you.
- Make sure you understand your company’s business ethics and procedures for reporting infractions.
- If the bad behavior continues or worsens after you’ve spoken with the offender, seek help from your manager or a representative from HR.
A coworker pulled James aside and, while chatting over coffee, pointed out his poor workplace manners and how they were negatively impacting others. The coworker then expressed her own frustration and anger with how James had disrupted a meeting she had recently led. James was shocked by the feedback; he had been unaware of how his poor manners were affecting others. The good news? He immediately changed his behavior and even apologized to several coworkers.
To improve company culture, don’t be afraid to approach coworkers (or managers) who display bad manners at work. The worst scenario is to allow poor behavior to continue, as this can decrease employee morale and productivity – it can also send a message that this type of behavior is OK (when it isn’t). So speak out, but do so with kindness and compassion.
~ Lisa Quast, author of award-winning book, YOUR CAREER, YOUR WAY!
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