Office Etiquette | Workforce Development

Dealing With an Office Bully

July 16, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Image by Arnaud Meuret via Flickr

It seems like the unthinkable. The playground days are far behind you. Many people come to work with a professional attitude and ready to make beneficial interactions with others through the day. However, being bullied in the workplace is not uncommon. Such actions can affect employee relationships by impacting production and creating tension in the office environment. Let’s take a look at how to remedy the situation.

If you have ever been bullied in the workplace, unfortunately you are not alone. Studies estimate than in the United States alone, about 54 million people have experienced bullying at work. Many times, the situation goes unnoticed. bullying is done either emotionally, verbally, or physically. Other times, employees may not come forward due to a sense of embarrassment or even fear. Instead they resort to suffering in silence, cringing at the thought of coming to work each day.

It’s a good idea to encourage employees to document situations where they feel bullied. Sometimes it’s easier to quietly write down incidents, than to face an uncomfortable situation. Once documented, it is important to bring the incident to human resource personnel. If you are the target of such actions, breach it a clear head and calm demeanor. Be discerning when bringing the subject up for discussion by leaving out names at first. Request with personnel that your discussions about the issue be kept in confidence.

Bullying at the office is a complex situation. Handling it with rationality, tact and clear communication places the situation on the right track to a resolution.

Filed Under: Employees, Office Etiquette Tagged With: bully, Employment, United States

Where is the Line with Cleanliness in the Office

March 25, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Office etiquette requires that individuals maintain a certain level of cleanliness in the office. There are many shared areas in the office and it is important that all of them remain clean and safe for everyone that uses them. This concept may be simple to understand when it comes to very public spaces but can be questioned by some when it comes to other more personal space.

The break room may be the most important space to be kept clean. No workers should use the sink as a dumping space like they may at home. Dishes should be washed and never left in the sink. Best intentions to return right back to the kitchen to clean your mess, may turn out to be the end of the day.

The entry area and hallways are probably the easiest to keep clean and clear with the exception of rainy days. On rainy days many people enter the office with umbrellas. Never leave your umbrella open by the door. If an office of fifty people all left their umbrellas open at the door there would be no way to enter most buildings. If you are moving items in and out of the office try not to stage items in front of the door for too long a period of time.

The most controversial space would be your personal cubical. It is important that this be your personal space but it should also be important to maintain a clean and clear workspace so as not to add to the clutter of an office. The line is not solid here and every office may have different rules, so be sure to stay in line with your offices rules.

Filed Under: General, Office Etiquette Tagged With: Etiquette, personalspace, Public space

Office Telephone Ethics

March 24, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Etiquette in the office requires complete respect of others having equal access to the office space. Space refers to a number of different aspects including the aspect of sound. Office etiquette requires that we respect each others space when it involves sound both in volume and content.

Many offices require the workers to be present many hours of the day. In addition this many office require there workers to work in rooms full of cubicles. These cubicles are not sound proof and offer little in the way of privacy as it relates to sound. It is important that each worker respect their cubicle neighbors and do their best to limit the volume of sound, either on the phone or in direct meetings. This is not always easy but it is necessary. To help with this, office should supply space where office personnel can meet in a private space with clients and other employees.

Another issue in relation to this respect is to respect the content of others phone conversations. Whether a person is a great employee or not, they will inevitably need to do some kind of personal business while at work. The content of this should be respected as private by those that can hear it. it is also important for people making phone calls or receiving them at work that these calls are not all together private.

It is the nature of today’s workplace that there is little audio privacy. It is important for everyone to do their best to respect everyone else. Consider going outside the office or sending a text message for personal business while at work. This will ensure more privacy.

Filed Under: Office Etiquette Tagged With: Cubicle, Office Space, Privacy

Microwaveable Popcorn, Eating at Work

March 13, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

All of those that work in an office environment probably know the smell of microwaveable popcorn. There may be one or two people, that like clockwork, start eating their popcorn at the same time, everyday. For some people it gets to the point where they can’t stand the overpowering smell, and it starts to affect the relationship with the other worker.

Some people would say that there is a hard line and some things should just not be allowed at work. Some would say, making microwaveable popcorn goes over this line. Some would say that the sound of chewing from the next desk is too much and should not be allowed. Others consider the office, the sea of cubicles is a public space and everyone should be allowed to do as they please. Is there a line that should never be crossed.

The answer to this question of office etiquette does not have a standard answer that every office has to follow. There are certainly laws that have to be followed. Laws against such behaviors like sexual harassment or any kind of discrimination are important and should not be crossed anywhere at anytime. Other questions are more situational. In some offices the smell of microwaveable popcorn is tolerable.

The important point to take with you to the office is to communicate with those that you share space with. The cubicle world should be considered shared space, not a separate office in all respects. In order to be considerate and be considerate it is important to talk to you neighbors. Not unlike grade school, we all share the same space. Unless you find yourself in a home office, alone in the house, you are going to have to try to compromise. Popcorn on Fridays? Talk to each other.

Filed Under: Employees, Office Etiquette Tagged With: Fridays, Popcorn, Popcorn bag

Don’t Kiss and Tell at the Office

February 23, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

Office relationships can make a lot of trouble, even those who aren’t involved in the relationship. Romance at the office – or any workplace – can become public knowledge fast and rumors get started. Surprisingly it can make some people jealous and some even give preferential treatment to their lovers, while putting off people who deserve raises and promotions.

Remember this advice:

Find out what the company’s policy is on dating in the office. Many firms have a no fraternizing policy and will fire someone who dates within the office.
Don’t tell anyone about the relationship unless it’s solid. Telling others about dating someone just to break up in two months will only start rumors and gossip. If more than one person at the office has been dated, this also will start rumors and give the impression that the person is promiscuous.
Dating someone in the direct chain of command. This is just asking for favoritism. If someone dates a boss or manager, they should ask to be moved to a different department or manager so there’s no accusations of favoritism or conflict of interest.
Don’t hold hands, kiss, flirt, and especially don’t have sex in the office. Displays of affection can make others uncomfortable and even jealous.
Avoid posting about the relationship on social networks. We read all the time about people who got fired because of Facebook posts.
Send flowers or gifts to the person’s home, not the office.
Keep business and work separate. Don’t talk about the relationship at work and don’t give information about the lover or share fights. Few people can really keep a secret.
Don’t use company email to communicate love or sexy messages. Company email can be read by higher-ups and reveal things they shouldn’t know.

Just be professional and don’t create gossip about yourself. If the relationship doesn’t last, keep it quiet and don’t kiss and tell.

Filed Under: Employee Relationships, Office Etiquette Tagged With: Dating, Facebook, Intimate relationship, Kiss, relationship, The Office (U.S. TV series)

Should Politics and Religion Enter the Workplace?

January 28, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

The most controversial topics between individuals are usually politics and religion. Many people cannot help themselves and launch into discussions about the current events and have to voice their opinions on matters. Friendly discourse can always be enjoyable between co-workers, but when the conversation turns to tones of negativity and statements against a party or an affiliation a person walks a fine line. It should be understood that not everyone will agree on certain viewpoints. Although many employers establish policies requesting the issues of politics and religion to be left out of the office, human nature will always bring the topics into conversations. Office Arrow had a few suggestions on talking about politics in the office. Some suggestions are not to ask about candidate choices in elections, do not talk politics instead of work, and respect the viewpoints of your co-workers.

The beauty of freedom is the ability to choose what to believe in, but the workplace is not the environment to discuss your views in a way that is confrontational to degrading to another person. Even outside of the workplace it would be nice if all people would remain civil in their discussions regarding differences in political or religious opinion. Yet, tempers will always flare and someone will always get offended in one way or another. So it is best as an employer to try to prevent these clashes within the office as best as possible. Policies should be created to help reduce the risk of confrontational discussions or arguments between employees. Training to help employees identify issues that may be considered offensive may also be considered. The workplace should be a neutral environment for all employees. As an employer or manager it is important to ensure that a person is not being harassed due to political or religious affiliation.

Filed Under: Business, Office Etiquette Tagged With: Chats and Forums, Current events, Employment, Northern Ireland, Politics

Pet Peeves in the Office…Learning Some Manners for Office Gossip

January 8, 2011 by admin Leave a Comment

In every office there is always either one person or a group of people who provide the daily scoop of office gossip. Although everyone at one time or another has participated in this grapevine of office politics, it can be very dangerous ground. When information is being spread from one corner of an office to another usually by the end it is stripped of almost all truth. In the process, damage can be done to not only the person of whom the gossip is about, but also to others who may get caught in the crossfire. When rumors are abound what can be done to reduce the collateral damage?

If the gossip is damaging to another person and it seems to be out of control it may be necessary to address the source of the gossip. If it is so widespread no one person can be determined as the source, management should decide on a method to best address the issue without causing further damage to the gossip’s subjects. There is no specific remedy for alleviating office gossip as the topics range from who is sleeping around to what business decisions are being made by management that are supposed to be confidential. Some situations may require simple consultations while others could even result in an employee’s termination if they are leaking confidential information.

As an employee who walks into the middle of a situation where gossip is being spread some courses of action can be taken. The simplest solution is to simply walk away. If you just stay away from the gossip you will reduce your chances of getting caught in the tangled web of office rumors. If you cannot get out of the situation try not to take sides and keep in mind the information may not be correct. Management or your human resources department should be alerted to any harmful gossip circulating so they can try to protect the individuals involved.

Filed Under: Employee Relationships, Office Etiquette Tagged With: Celebrities, Collateral damage, Gossip, People

What Does Employee Expects From You?

December 28, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

This is the one question that bothers most of the companies across the world. The employer really doesn’t really know what the employee seeks from him / her. This makes the position of the employer very weak. You should know what to expect from the employee and not be surprised. Here are some benefits that every employee seeks from his / her company.
Most of the employees are worried about commuting between home and office. There are chances that some of your employees are located at a far place from your office and have to shell out a lot for reaching the office. It may also be possible that they cannot afford a vehicle to commute between Office & home. When such being the case it is very important to give them that benefit and make sure theyâ€™re happy with it.
You may choose to hire a vehicle and combine few employees and arrange for a pick up & drop. This will help the employees to reach the workplace on time or early which in turn increases the productivity. These are the basics things that you need to concentrate on in order to increase the productivity of your business.

Apart from this you also need to give various other benefits to the employees to lift their spirits. This could include incentives, gifts, refreshments, holiday packages and various other things which prompt the employee to give their best to the company. All these are very essential for the employees to build a good relationship with their companies.

The employer should also concentrate on giving extra incentives such as working from home option once in a while to make the employee work when theyâ€™re busy. This will reduce the number of leaves and thus increase productivity. Just follow these simple tips for a better relationship with the employee.

Filed Under: Business, Office Etiquette Tagged With: Employee Expects From You?

Is Social Networking A Big Boon For The Companies?

December 20, 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Many of the companies are reeling under lesser productivity thanks to the addiction to social networking sites by their employees. These days we see almost every individual is addicted to these sites and spend a majority of their office time checking the messages by friends. This has really become a problem for the companies.

Social networking is no doubt affecting the productivity of the companies by as much as 10%. A research has revealed that almost 30% of the working hours are spent on these social networking websites and this proves that fact that the company is failing to curb these activities by the employees.

Internet is perhaps the one facility that is required in every workforce and you just can’t be curbed. However by setting strong firewalls in the network you can prevent your employees from accessing their social networking accounts. There are many tools through which you can actually identify as to how many of your employees as accessing these sites. You can take the next course of action very easily.

The importance of social networking is also every growing in the office environment as they’re involved in a network of friends. This makes it very difficult to break the chain. The companies have to take a huge step forward to stop their employees in wasting the productive time for these things. It could prove to be very crucial for the success of your business.

Many companies are actually okay with these activities as they feel that their employees would can exposure to using the social networking sites which are actually used by them for promoting the business. In such a case it helps the employees to mix the work with fun. It is the most preferred way of doing the things in easier way.

Filed Under: Business, Office Etiquette Tagged With: Companies