Workplace Etiquette

Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot. Clarence Thomas

True. Good manners and a good conduct can make you go places you may have never imagined. It's your entry to winning the people around you. The best B-school or a aristocratic lineage does not grant a person with manners or workplace etiquette guidelines. Etiquette are cultivated by each one of us through years of observation coupled with instinct for good taste in life. Workplace etiquette are an unwritten code of conduct, which decides the way you behave in a professional environment. Let's see what are the governing factors of workplace ethics and etiquette.

Workplace Etiquette Guidelines

Dress Code
The dress code is the most important part of workplace etiquette. Just as you get appropriately dressed for a party, a wedding ceremony and any other occasion, an office, demands the same too. A professional environment demands a proper attire that is respectable and presentable. Formals is what you need to dress in at a workplace. Clean, ironed clothes, combed hair and polished shoes are the minimal requirements of a workplace dress code. As for women, make sure your hands and feet are well manicured and pedicured. Dressing up as though you are heading to a night party, just to make a fashion statement at the office, would be the gravest blunder.

Keep it Low
Being at office is different than hanging out with friends at a cafeteria. You need to monitor your volume, while you are at office. Speaking loudly, getting to loud squabbles or leaving your cell phone on a ringing mode while you are at office will get you all the attention you want. However, such inconsiderate behavior is severely disturbing to the others around you. So, please keep it low while you are in office premises.

Desk Etiquette
Workplace etiquette rules make a strong suggestions of desk etiquette. Mindless post-its stuck around your computer screen, papers and files scattered all over your table, over flowing paper bin, disposable coffee glasses stacked up as souvenirs of yesterday make up an extremely hopeless sight. Firstly, the space in office is not yours. You don't own, so you can not it mess it up. Keep it clean, it will bring out some organization and efficiency.

Avoid Relationships
A workplace only harbors business. This is the reason why your boss is not going to be very happy you get pally with your colleagues. So don't get very optimistic about love relationship at workplace, since they have fat chance of jeopardizing your professional career. It is difficult to avoid get friendly with office colleagues, since you spend maximum time of the day with them. So a suggestion here is, keep it down while in office premises.

Social No-Networking
Limit you social activities in the virtual world, while you are at office. Hours of online chat with friends and sending mails through corporate mail-id, can get you into trouble in the long run. Every employer keeps a close watch on his employees and monitors his/her action. There is no point in contesting this, since it will lead to your loss at the end. So just be careful of what you are browsing through while you are at office.

Eating Habits
Be considerate of others while you are eating at your desk. If you are a non-vegetarian, avoid bringing aromatic food items such as fish and mutton at the desk. Finish it off in the dining area or eat it while your co-worker is away from the desk. If the food item is oily, make sure your wash your hands before you touch anything else at the desk as oil tainted documents make a terrible impression.

An integral part of workplace etiquette is to keep your emotions and your intentions clear from each other. Following these aforementioned etiquette will not guarantee a successful career, but it will surely help you earn an insurmountable goodwill with the colleagues and the bosses. And trust me, that's all you need to make a rock steady career!