Basic Workplace Etiquettes You Should Follow

When it comes to working in an office, workplace etiquette matters a lot. Workplace etiquette covers a wide range of aspects like body language, behaviour, technology use, communication, etc. How you present yourself, how you behave with your team members, supervisors, managers, and other office staff, expresses a lot about your personality.

Workplace Etiquette To Follow

Since office etiquettes are so important for professional success, we are sharing some useful tips people can use as they enter the professional workforce, whether as an intern or a full-time employee.

1. Make a Good First Impression

It takes only a few seconds for someone to evaluate you when you meet for the first time. In this short time, the other person forms an opinion about you that can last for years. It is one of the most important office etiquettes you need to follow from day one.

To make a good first impression, make sure you know about the workplace dress code, office policies, etc., ahead of time.

2. Be Respectful To Your Coworkers

All your colleagues deserve respect, even if they are not respectful towards you. You must respect your team, manager, clients, and other coworkers to receive respect from them.

A respectful attitude is a must in workplace etiquette because it increases your productivity and collaboration and also gives you a different level of satisfaction.

3. Understand The Importance Of Teamwork

Professional etiquette is needed to build and sustain a team of employees who can love, respect, and trust each other. It is not a good practice to not complete your part of work on time or to do some personal work when there is already too much workload on the team.

4. Put your Cell Phones Away

Using a cell phone in a meeting shows that you are not interested in the meeting and want it to end as soon as possible. The thumb rule is to put your mobile on silent, not on vibrate because it can distract your colleagues.

If it is necessary to take a personal call, just step away from your desk so you don’t distract your neighbors.

5. Maintain Virtual Office Etiquettes

Because of the pandemic, most of the offices are temporarily shifted to virtual mode. Here are some things, you need to follow to maintain proper workplace etiquette -

1. Take a few minutes to dress up yourself appropriately.
2. Sit up straight during the meeting and avoid seeing here and there.
3. Mute your microphone if you are not talking.
4. Make proper eye contact in the webcam.
5. Have a decent background so that it doesn't annoy anyone.

6. Be On Time

Punctuality is an essential work etiquette. When you are invited to a meeting, whether virtual or in-person, try to stay ahead of time because meetings are scheduled based on the priorities of other colleagues also.

So arriving on time is a way by which you can extend a courtesy to your colleagues.

7. Avoid Gossips

How you treat people speaks a lot about you, so don’t indulge in rumors about other staff in the office. Keep a fair distance between the personal and professional life of yours, and your coworkers' too.

Engaging in office gossip can come and haunt you back someday. So remember that every word you speak reflects your personality, both personally and professionally.

8. Think Before You Speak

For obvious reasons, a workplace is a stressful and challenging environment. Each person has a different personality and perspective towards their work and thus clashes can happen at the workplace.

The easiest thing you can do to maintain a healthy and productive workplace is to think before you speak. Respect others’ perspectives, never indulge in an argument, and never forget to apologize whenever required.

9. Learn How To Remember Names

Greeting people correctly is yet another important office etiquette and for that, you need to remember people's names.

You can create a mental picture that can help you recall their name in your future meetings, repeating the person's name several times can also be beneficial in remembering names.

10. Don’t “Reply All” on an Email Chain

Understand the difference between, “Reply” and “Reply All” when you are replying to an email chain. Think before you reply whether all of the recipients of the email need to be included in your reply. Otherwise, you may find yourself embarrassed as your entire organization can read your reply that was meant to be shared with one or two individuals.

Wrapping Up

In this blog, we have discussed some essential workplace etiquette to be a pro. We sincerely hope that this blog gives you a quick glimpse of some must-follow office etiquettes.

Every organization has a different set of rules but the above tips are valid for almost every company across the globe.

Success may look different for everyone, but practicing good work etiquette, being productive and respectful to people around you will help you achieve your ultimate goal.

“Etiquette is behaving yourself a little better than is absolutely essential.”