Office Etiquette 101

Not long ago, offices were places where legions of similarly dressed people arrived at the same time, sat in neat rows of desks and performed nearly identical tasks.  At noon, everybody vacated the office, then returned in exactly one hour, refreshed and ready for an afternoon of highly predictable behavior.  It was boring, but at least you knew what to expect and how to act.

That was then, this is now:

-     Casually dressed people come and go at different times.

-     Many organizations have reduced office sizes and moved them closer together

-     Some people share offices

-     Some people have no assigned office – they find a workspace when they arrive each day

-     Often there is a kitchen on-site where employees make their own meals anytime

-     There are more snacks available – soda, coffee, candy, bagels etc.

-     There are more meeting spaces mixed in with cubicles, creating “teamspace”

-     There are more open, collaborative spaces for impromptu meetings

-     More people are working part time, flex time, as temps or on contract

-     Fewer people are trying to do more work as a result of downsizing and a tight labor market

Although a relaxed work environment has many advantages for worker recruitment, retention and productivity, new work conditions can create confusion, frustration and stress when noise and other distractions are common.  As casual workspaces and meeting

spaces are mixed with more traditional offices, workers have a greater number of distractions to deal with, while at the same time common behavior rules become blurred. Which behaviors are OK in which spaces?

Developing and communicating a set of shared expectations can create a more positive office atmosphere. Such “rules” reintroduce a sense of predictability, lower stress and allow people to focus more on the tasks at hand.   Some suggestions follow:

Appearances Count

With people working various schedules, it’s becomes difficult to simply track down the people you need to see at any given time.  For example, if one person drives to the office to collaborate with others who are working at home that day, the effort is wasted.  To

save coordination time, it is helpful to set core hours or core days when each member of a work group will be on-site, or otherwise available.

Regardless of how your organization decides to handle flexible work arrangements, there are several group behaviors that can smooth the way:

Etiquette tips:

-     Always use sign-out boards (electronic if possible).  This allows coworkers to quickly and easily locate each other

-    Have a predetermined method of notifying other group members if a person decides to work at home; how to notify, who to notify, when to notify, contact information

-     If you find out that coworkers are inheriting your calls and crises when you work away from the main office, take on extra tasks that help them, or cut back voluntarily on time away until a fair way to manage this overflow can be worked out

-     Coordinate set work times for your administrative support person to be available to the work group.  For example, if the group routinely needs secretarial help preparing for early-morning meetings, flexibility for the secretary to show up later will cause frequent disappointments.  Take the time to work this out before trouble starts.

-     Dressing for success no longer means formality.   But if you are meeting with customers or others who expect more formality, dress appropriately.  If your organization has a dress code, find out what it is.

-     If you have the option to set your own hours, don’t abuse the system or become unavailable.  If this way of working does not get results or causes workgroup problems, everybody suffers and formality has a way of returning.

Let’s Meet

Meetings are frequently named as the biggest office time wasters. They don’t need to be. With people working different hours, meetings are more important than ever as a way to set project directions and get to know coworkers.  Consistent meeting behavior helps make this time count.

Etiquette tips:

-     Be on time.  Busy people don’t want to wait and will bail out if others don’t show up.

-     If meetings routinely don’t start when scheduled, people will stop taking meeting notices