Office Etiquette is essentially all about how people expect you to behave in the office. It’s important to have a good office etiquette, because if you don’t you could start to annoy the people that you work with – something nobody wants ideally. So with that in mind, here are some essential tips for having great office etiquette.
1. Be on time!
It’s a basic rule for everything in life. Punctuality is really important when it comes to working in general, and being late can cause you to miss some valuable time that could be spent working on different projects. It can also annoy your co-workers, who may need you to assist with tasks. Obviously being late can’t always be helped, whether it’s Monday morning traffic or a delayed train, but you can offer to make up the time with your manager.
2. Keep your desk organised
It looks bad when your desk is messy, even worse when stuff spills onto the desk next to you. Keeping your desk organised can prevent things from getting lost, makes things easier to locate and makes stuff appear easier on the eye. Be organised!
3. Don’t use speaker phones in open areas
Keep phone conversations between you and the person you’re speaking to. It can be really distracting and annoying for people to listen to a phone conversation not relevant to them, and it will turn heads. Just bear that in mind when it comes to phone calls.
4. Respect a closed door
Don’t just barge into a room. More often than not, a closed door means that someone wants a bit of privacy. It could be a meeting, or just some time to concentrate on a task. Respect people’s privacy by knocking on their door before going in and if they have time to speak, they will.
5. Avoid a smelly lunch
Stinky lunches can leave a horrible smell in the air. No one wants restrictions on what you can eat, but it’s a good idea to keep smelly foods to a minimum. It’s probably best if you leave the Fridge Raiders at home. Smelly food can really bug people and you don’t want to get on the wrong side of people so early in your career.
6. Respect company property
This is a simple step in office etiquette and it goes without saying. If you come across as treating equipment with no respect, it doesn’t come across well at all. Your company provide you with equipment to use and has invested money to do so, treat it with respect.
7. Don’t steal other peoples property
Nothing drives people more crazy than not being able to find things and if they find that you have taken something, it can rub people the wrong way. From a pen to a pair of scissors, or worse someone’s mug (!), it is for the best that you stick to using your own supplies or ask before taking.
8. Keep noise to a minimum
People around you will be stressed, will be focussed and will be working hard, the last thing they want is someone making a lot of noise and drawing attention to themselves. Obviously you can talk, and without a doubt you will talk, but people in accounts don’t need to know what the admin department is stressed about.
9. Be a team player
In the workplace, you are all a part of the team. You may have an individual role in a company, but that doesn’t mean if you are working in marketing you don’t help someone in the Admin department. You will all have one common goal, and helping each other achieve it is the main aim.
10. Manage Ringers
Imagine this, you go for a meeting and leave your phone on your desk, your phone is not on silent, someone rings you and you are not in the room to turn it off. Your ringer just goes on and on and on. How distracting must that be for people in the office? Just make sure you manage your ringers and you should be fine. This can be applied to computers and desk phones as well.
That’s the list, as long as you follow these ten basic etiquette tips, your newly started office life should go swimmingly!
#BeWorkReady