The Etiquette Edge

The Unspoken Rules for Business Success

Author: Beverly Langford
Pub Date: 2007
Your Price: $24.95
ISBN: 0814472427
Format: Hardcover

• The Etiquette Edge
• About the Author
• Sample Chapter
• Introduction, pp 1-8
• Praise for this book
• Press Release
• Test Your Courtesy Quotient (CQ)
• Table of Contents
• Request an Evaluation Copy, INSTRUCTOR ONLY!

Chapter 13 - Office Space

Make Working Together More Enjoyable and Productive

We can all howl with laughter at the antics of Dilbert© and the long-suffering, cubicle-bound workers in those cartoons. Yet it's not quite so funny when what they endure happens to us.

The open office lined with cubicles rather than rooms with doors has cut costs and made the workplace more efficient. The idea was born from a combination of the move to reengineer organizations with fewer command-and-control managers and the theory that collaboration among peers, even among those in different departments, would improve effectiveness and communication. However, an open floor plan has significant drawbacks. When you're trying to concentrate on a major project, laughter, loud talking, general noise, or the smell of pizza in the next cubicle or down the hall in the break room can really interfere with your concentration and test your patience.

Be a Considerate Colleague

Good manners should extend to all areas of the workplace to make the office environment more conducive to work and to reduce unnecessary stress. Generally, some small behavioral adjustments can make a huge difference between congeniality and conflict.

Remember that a cubicle is someone's office. Although the foam and fabric half walls without doors certainly don't look like our traditional concept of offices, remember, they are still "private" spaces, and the people in them should be spared unwelcome intrusion.

Even workers who still have private offices typically leave their office doors open, so the guidelines for cubicle conduct apply to many traditional offices as well.

Pay attention to your workplace habits. Think about all the habits of coworkers that annoy you. Do you or have you ever worked with someone with a laugh that was just a little too hearty or who spoke in such a loud voice that every conversation he had near your office meant a disruption for you? Irritating behaviors in the workplace are probably not difficult to list.

Now think about your own actions and behavior. Are you guilty of any behavior at work that might irritate or disturb your coworkers? Do you have a tendency toward carrying on phone conversations loud enough to keep everyone around you informed of your business (and even personal) affairs? Do you stop in the hallway and hold conversations outside other people's offices? Take stock of your own behaviors and make sure you are not guilty of any inconsiderate workplace habits.

Keep your workspace tidy and professional. Your cubicle or office sends a message about you and your professionalism. No one expects a busy professional's office to be spotless and organized at all times; however, the opposite extreme is not acceptable either. Colleagues and visitors coming in to your office should not get the impression that you are hopelessly disorganized or downright sloppy, nor should they fear for their own safety trying to navigate the obstacle course from your cubicle or office entrance to the nearest chair. Regularly take time-at the end of each workday or the end of the week-to get things in order. You will not only improve your image, but also increase your efficiency.

Further, if you choose to decorate your workspace with some personal items-photographs, art, or personal items of any kind-keep it low key and in good taste. Make sure that the things you choose don't offend someone else. Off-color or perverse humor and slogans, as well as pictures, calendars, posters, or cartoons that could offend others have no place at work.

Practice healthy hygiene. Everyone admires a responsible and dedicated worker, but if you're sick and sneezing all day long, your coworkers would probably prefer that you were a little less conscientious and used a sick day or two instead. Don't risk making everyone else ill just because you'd rather not call in sick. If you only have a mild cough or cold and you are at work, remember to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, and dispose of used tissues.

Leave the microwaveable fish sticks at home. Although many companies provide employees with break rooms or pantries that include refrigerators and microwaves, this convenience doesn't mean that you should make yourself completely at home. When you pack food to reheat at work or to snack on in your cubicle, remember that what smells innocuous to you might be an unpleasant odor to someone else.

I recently asked a marketing manager of a food service chain to identify her number one cubicle vexation. Without hesitation she tagged "smelly food" as the primary offender. Although what we eat is certainly a personal choice, your choice shouldn't impinge on other people's comfort. You can eat whatever you choose in the company cafeteria, a neighborhood restaurant, your own home, or on a park bench, but, when choosing what to eat in the office, limit your choices to mild or odorless foods.

Avoid other olfactory offenders. A close second to food in the odor-complaint department is the excessive use of cologne or perfume. Even more serious than someone's simply not sharing your enthusiasm for a particular aroma, the reality is that many people are allergic to the chemicals or natural ingredients in these products. Negative reactions can include headaches, nausea, and sinus problems. A growing number of people have claimed to suffer even more severe reactions to perfumes and scented toiletries. The condition, known as multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS), can cause a wide range of debilitating physical reactions, prompting some companies and organizations to implement fragrance-free environments.

Even if your company has not reacted quite that aggressively, common courtesy dictates that no perfume (or a very light application) in the workplace and unscented personal care products are the best choice.

Don't be a noisy neighbor. For some people, noise ranks as a more serious workplace offender than odors. If you like music while you work, consider headphones, and don't yell across partitions when you need to talk with a coworker. Go to that person's cubicle or office or use the telephone. If you need to get more than two people together for an impromptu meeting, find a small conference room or check with your neighbors before you have a meeting in your workspace to make sure the noise won't disrupt their work.

For the same reason, answer your phone promptly when you receive a call or set it to go into voicemail after only a few rings; also limit your use of the speakerphone. Many companies set aside rooms for conference calls. If yours does, make use of it. It's disruptive enough for people to have to hear your end of the conversation.

Nowadays, cell phones can be an additional source of unwelcome noise at work. If you must have your cell phone on during the workday, place the ringer volume on low, with a ring that signals you with either a simple ring or a beep, or set the phone on vibrate. Be sure to take the phone with you or turn it off when you're leaving your office for an extended period of time. Again, forward calls to voicemail after only a few rings.

Don't subject your coworkers to your personal problems. Another common workplace complaint, especially by cubicle dwellers, involves neighbors who carry on personal or even intimate conversations without regard for who can overhear them. We all have issues and family emergencies, but other people don't need to be subjected to our private lives or our crises unless we want them to be involved. Keep personal conversations in the cube as neutral and inoffensive as possible, and always keep your voice low. If you wouldn't be comfortable having a particular conversation while a coworker is sitting in the cube with you, why do it when the coworker is just behind a screen? Make your personal calls in a place where you have some privacy.

Respect others' space. Treat a cubicle the way you would an office with a door. That means don't walk into the cube (or an office for that matter) when someone is on the phone. If a coworker you need to speak to is on the phone, slip a note on his or her desk, explaining that you need a moment to discuss something, and then exit. In some cases, you may e-mail the person a message that you need to talk.

If someone looks busy, assume their "door" is closed. By the same token, if you don't want to be interrupted, avoid making eye contact with someone hovering around your door. Or you might say, "Is there something I can help you with quickly? I'm on a deadline, but I can answer a question."

If your cubicle or office directly faces a coworker's space, avoid staring into that person's space or eavesdropping on conversations.

If you do overhear a conversation, even if it's a business-related issue that you feel the need to weigh in on, it is still presumptuous to comment about what you heard. What should you do, for example, if you hear a coworker speak rudely to a customer or agree to do something that is against company policy? Of course, anyone working in a cubicle should know that others can hear their conversations, but unless what you heard is an especially serious matter or one involving company security, think carefully before confronting the person or reporting the conversation. If you have overheard something that is incorrect, unprofessional, or that can result in harm to the company or its employees, you must react. Start by talking with the coworker directly, but be prepared to escalate the issue if your colleague's reaction is less than responsive to the problem.

Obviously, if the conversation you overheard is personal, pretend you never heard it, and by no means repeat it.

A Team Approach to a Harmonious Workplace

The workplace has, for many people, replaced the small communities and neighborhoods of past generations. With our coworkers, we experience the highs and lows of personal and organizational successes and failures; we celebrate good times and survive crises. All of the emotions and frustrations of ordinary life are part and parcel of today's businesses.

Even though today's work environment is superior in many ways to that of our predecessors, in many instances the stress level is higher and the pace is more frantic. The more each of us can do to make our workplace a pleasant place to gather, interact, create, and achieve, the better for all of us, as individuals and as organizations.

The Bottom Line

• Open offices featuring cubicles rather than offices with doors have cut costs and made the workplace more efficient.
• Some small behavioral adjustments can make the difference between congeniality and conflict.
• A smell that is pleasing to you may not be so enjoyable to others. Avoid pungent foods and strong perfumes.
• Noise pollution-from loud phone conversations, ringing phones, music, and chit-chat among coworkers-is a common workplace complaint.
• If you wouldn't have a particular conversation while a colleague was in your cubicle, don't have it if someone is in a nearby cubicle. Chances are you can still be heard.
• Good manners should extend throughout the workplace to make an office environment more enjoyable and to reduce stress.

Action Plan:

Over the next thirty days,

I will stop: __________________________________________________

I will start: __________________________________________________

I will continue: __________________________________________________

© 2005 Beverly Y. Langford.
All rights reserved.
Published by AMACOM Books
http://www.amacombooks.org
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