New Staff - Primary Do's and Don'ts - Work Place (Office Etiquette)

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New Staff - WORK PLACE (Office) ETIQUETTE - Do's and Don'ts - Lessons in Teamwork from Wild Geese

Primary – Do’s and don’ts

1.Come to Office at least 15 minutes earlier

2.Our office being an Open Office Environment with many departments in one big hall, maintain silence and do not speak in loud noise or crack jokes

3.Keep your mobiles with melodious ring tones at very low volume. Preferably a telephone ring tone, or single beep or vibrator mode

4.Treat your colleagues well

5.Don’t restrict to friendship to your department colleagues only. Move freely with all staff members. Once in while try to sit with them and share you lunch instead of forming a group department wise

6.Don’t gossip or peep into any or other department’s work.

7.When you are in a common space (pantry or corridor or reception) maintain silence

8.When you are in a common space (pantry or corridor or reception) if a superior or management staff is there, maintain a good body language thatshows respect to superiors and maintain a low tone.

9.Don’t waste office resources – Try to save them

10.All leaves should be informed earlier, At least call and inform office, if you had taken the leave unexpectedly either directly or through friends/relatives.

11.If you are smoker and go or smoking outside, see to that you are not in
the vicinity where Management Staff probably can comeEg. (i) Avoid places like places normally Management Staff will go for lunch (ii) Shops in front of Office (ii) Inside Office Compound etc. Smoking is Injurious to everyone’s health. When you give respect, you are always in their good books.

12.Last but not least, irrespective of whether the Senior staff (Managers and Management staff ) belong to your department or not, respect all. Wish them everyday whenever you happen to see them. Whenever you speak to any Management staff, stand up and talk

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WORK PLACE ETIQUETTE… Source DQ, Week NewsPaper

An informal work atmosphere does not let you do away with the niceties

With increasingly informal work atmospheres, are we forgetting the basic rules that govern interpersonal relationships and basic work etiquette? There seems to be a growing consensus that this is happening in many organizations today. While social graces and formal meetings are handled better these days, there seem to be slip-ups when it comes to dealing with superiors, sub-ordinates and colleagues at the workplace.

In Infotech companies, work environments are informal, boss-subordinate relationships are casual and teams work closely together. Does this mean we can ignore basic civilities, the need for professional behavior, the importance of values and certain niceties? Irrespective of how the work environment functions, the respect and consideration while dealing with colleagues, clients and subordinates is an unwritten rule of current day business life.

Are you clued in on some of the niceties of workplace etiquette? If you are, how often and how sincerely do you practice them. For instance, how often do you barge into a meeting that a subordinate is having with someone else, expecting him or her to be all ears?Do you believe in retrieving and replying to your voicemail messages promptly? The list is endless. Many of us slip-up on one or more counts, earning us a black mark in the eyes of colleagues, clients and partners.

The golden rules of workplace etiquette.


"Be punctual" sounds like something you've heard before. How often do you adhere to this rule in all its hues? Being in time for a meeting or an appointment - yes, many of us try to stick to this. How about punctually meeting people whom you have given an appointment and who have come to meet you. Delivering work on time and as promised - the escalating delay in projects caused by delayed delivery by various individuals is quite staggering in today's fast-paced work atmosphere. Do you return calls promptly and run through your voice mail regularly? While on telephone etiquette, do you promptly pick up your phone when it rings, or let it keep ringing in the hope that some one else will? And finally, the king of them all. Do you arrive for work on time every morning, rather than excusing yourself saying you often work late?

- Be considerate of the time and efforts of those around you. Accord recognition to the work done by subordinates, colleagues and bosses

- it could take the guise ofa formal award, a note of recognition, an email message sent out to others in the organization, a small thank you, a brief mention or acknowledgement. Respect the time of those around you - even those sitting at the desk next to you. If you need to butt in and ask the person a question you could start with "do you have a minute to spare?" Schedule appointments with even your colleagues, superiors and subordinates, rather than barging in on them just because they happen to sit in the next cabin. Be considerate of office equipment-slammed doors, lockers, keyboards often bear the brunt of our anger and frustration these days. Printers that seem to endlessly churn out paper that nobody really wants are a colossal waste of office resources.

- Being polite extends beyond just "please" and "thank you". It's visible in the way you convey things, the language and the gestures you use. You might need to practice this to a certain extent - practice your handshake, the way you welcome and introduce people, the way you enter into somebody else's cabin etc. You could even work at the way you tick off people.

- Be discreet about company information and personal information (about you and your colleagues). Remember that confidential or other information that you possess about your company may not be meant for the eyes and ears of others in the same company. You may have access to personal information of your colleagues, avoid discussion of the same with others in your organization. There's yet another one that many of us slip upon. Be extremely careful and discreet about criticizing your colleagues, boss or even your company. It may seem quite the in-thing (satisfying) to criticize your boss, but etiquette demands otherwise. And, it could well backfire some time.

- Be quiet. No, you don't need to put fingers to your lips, classroom style. You could try the figurative version of it. Talk softly both face-to-face and on the phone, so that others around you aren't disturbed. If you must play the latest MP3 music on your machine, tone it down so that only you need to hear it. Try and entertain your visitors in a meeting room or reception, not in an office that you share with others.