Power skills | Office etiquette
How to stand out in the workplace for all the right reasons
Mastering good etiquette creates a smooth working environment, fosters positive relationships with colleagues, and ultimately helps you excel in your career.
Good office etiquette doesn’t just contribute to a mutually respectful, happy and productive work environment; it will get you valued as a professional and team player.
Focus on ‘incremental gains’ which is where lots of little actions that you do add up to create a big impact. This is what can happen if you focus on making a positive impression in the workplace whether you’re sending an email, attending a meeting, talking to someone on the phone or passing them in a corridor.
Why does office etiquette matter?
People want to work with people they like (as well as people who do their job role well) so in using every opportunity you have to make a positive impression you will be increasing your chances to get chosen to work on projects or for promotion if you’re seen to have the right attitude.
What goes around comes around and every employee should take responsibility for playing their part in making the office a productive and happy place to be. You can create a butterfly effect when you’re kind and helpful to someone else—they will be far more likely to go the extra mile for the next person and so the cycle continues. This will create better communication and collaboration, foster creativity and reduce conflict. And in turn will feed down into client relations and customer service.
Succeeding at office etiquette
How to positively stand out in the workplace
Start creating good habits for yourself so that you’re seen as a pleasure to be around at work. People will often judge others on their most recent interactions with them, so it’s never too early or late to begin making the extra effort to be known as someone who has excellent office etiquette. The soft skills required for this are cited over and over again as the expertise hiring and promoting managers look for. This is because technical skills are thought to be much easier to teach somebody than soft skills and having the right attitude.
Pay attention to the culture of your company. This will determine things like how it is deemed professional to dress and how flexible they are with working hours. But most of the skills and habits you put in place to improve your office etiquette will be useful and transferable, regardless of company culture.
Ask yourself what type of person you’d like to have a reputation for in the workplace and then take the action to make it happen. Remember you can get better at anything with practice, even having a positive attitude. The trick is self-awareness —start being mindful about it and, even if you’re not doing all of the correct things right now, to notice that, and even say out loud to yourself (where there’s no one else around) ‘I was late to that meeting, that will make me look unprofessional.’ Motivation follows action, so put a few things in place and you’ll begin to see the reactions it gets, feel more inspired and things will start to become second nature before too long.
Five soft skills you need to raise your etiquette game
QUICK TIPS
Five easy ways to go the extra mile in the office today
1
Be kind
Treat others how you’d most like to be treated and make the effort to smile at everyone.
2
Have a clean
A tidy desk is a tidy mind. And it makes the environment nicer for everyone. Empty your bin, have a dust and a hoover, get rid of any clutter or rubbish and don’t encroach on other people’s space with your things.
3
You’re on mute
Keep your phone on silent in meetings and don’t be tempted to look at it for personal reasons. Turn any unnecessary pings and rings off when you’re at your desk so you don’t disturb others.
4
Bring in food to share
The office baker will always be popular. If you’re good at cooking or baking, consider bringing something in every now and then*, especially if there’s something to celebrate.
*Check any allergies and dietary requirements.
5
Organise a team outing or activity
This could be as simple as asking if anyone fancies going for a walk at lunchtime or you could ask your manager about arranging after work drinks or a team activity. Make sure whatever you do is inclusive and accessible to everyone in your office or team.
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