11 Workplace Etiquettes Every Professional Should Follow

  

 

Having workplace etiquette is very essential if you wish to shine in your professional career.

Workplace etiquettes are protocol for how to behave with your colleagues, clients, and business partners. How you present yourself in the workplace defines your personality? One should learn to treat people with respect, care, and politeness. Following a strong set of workplace etiquette will help your business to maintain a well-built reputation and also helps in personality development. 

 

Here are 11 workplace etiquettes one should learn to prosper in their career:

 

1.

Use a full name for the Introduction:

Introducing yourself with your full name will distinguish you from others and will be easy for people to remember. If you have met any person at any business conference, event or party, possibly the person may not remember your name. Introducing yourself with your full name is easy for people to find you on social networking sites. 

 

Introducing using the full name forms a formal and professional tone. While introducing, maintain eye contact. Making eye contact shows you are open to conversation and give full attention to what the other person speaks. It is also important to keep a bright and genuine smile on your face, which shows that you are a confident person. We can achieve these qualities through consistent practice. You can practice in front of the mirror, with any friend or colleague. 

2. Avoid Gossiping: 

Gossiping in the workplace causes a negative impression of you. People can know a lot about your personality from how you treat them. Avoid judging people, unless you really know them. Don't gossip, even if you get frustrated in any situation, and avoid negative talks about your peers. 

 

 If you tell your co-worker something secretive and confidential, the secret will not only be limited to you and you can become the talk of the town. Sharing information about personal issues, family problems, marital problems, love life, and issues with other workers can put you in a difficult situation. Don't give people gossip material. They can use it against you whenever they are not in a cordial relationship with you.

Be truthful while interacting with your co-workers and supervisors.

 

 

3. Develop your Communication Skills:

Effective communication is a significant part of the workplace. Your smart way of talking counts under your positive traits. With mindful conversation, you can certainly influence your managers and colleagues at meetings. Even while writing emails, craft them with no spelling and grammatical errors. Email is a record of your conversation, so never write to put you in an adverse situation. 

 

While communicating, use gestures and postures, which show that you are a creative person and are excited about another person's talk. Communication skills are crucial while speaking, writing, reading, and listening. While communication makes sure your point is clear to the opposite person. For responding, first, it is necessary to listen actively. Effective communication ensures your promotion, career success, and job satisfaction. Learn to speak confidently in meetings and events. If you cannot do this, you will curb your career. 

4. Collaborate in the Work Environment:

Every workplace has different etiquette, policies, and procedures. Whenever you join an organization, they instruct you about the workplace environments in the induction program. You can also learn the workplace rules by following and asking questions to your co-workers. Carefully observing the workplace environment and the practice of others will help you manage professionalism. 

 

To drive success, establish team goals for achievable victory. These little things break the barriers and create a positive work environment. It gives time to interact with every team member. Analyze where you can improve the relationships between your teammates. Maintain cognitive relationships with them to remain transparent in your job. This is the time way to establish trust among them. Work with their strengths rather than pointing out their weak points. Also, socialize outside the office environment. 

 

5. Avoid eating at your desk.

Eat your lunch in the canteen area. Even if you have a busy schedule, and could not find to move from your desk, still prefer to avoid ear on your desk. Eating at the desk also disturbs your co-workers and may not show to your juniors. Eating with your co-workers also makes you socialize and you will get a good time interacting with others. 

 

Eating at the office desk is not conveying that you are multitasking, neither it can reduce your workload. But it will adversely affect your health and decrease your productivity. Eating in the cafeteria with your team members also gives you a chance to interact and know about your likings and disliking. This will also freshen your mood because sitting for long and being stuck to the computer screen can cause strain to your eyes and stress to the brain. 

 

6. Follow the Dress code: 

Your appearance and clothing style is non-verbal communication. People judge your professionalism from your sophisticated dressing sense. A smart appearance makes a long-lasting impression on your colleagues and managers. Make sure your clothes are clean and do not contain any offensive messages. A brilliant-looking person is full of confidence, which ultimately results in increased productivity and motivates other people around. 

 

This will build your impression in front of customers. The dressing is crucial if you regularly host meetings in the workplace. You are ultimately representing your organization before the client, building their confidence to invest in your business. You are instantly recognizable to promote your brand and establish relations with the staff and customers. The theory suggests that when we wear formal clothes; we feel confident. 

  

 

7. Avoid spending time on the phone. 

I observed in surveys that usage of a phone reduces your productivity. Spend a limited amount of time on the phone. It will make others think you are not honest with your work and waste time unnecessarily chatting and scrolling on social media. It makes you disrespectful and rude when you are in a meeting or talking with your colleagues. Keep your phone in silent mode during meetings and concentrate on the conversation. Avoid checking the notifications again and again. So, reply to your necessary messages when you are on break. 

 

We should cautiously use phones in the workplace. Not every organization maintains any strict rules regarding the usage of mobile phones, but the workers should be careful enough. Keep a simple ringtone for messages, calls, and notifications. Your boss will never admire spending too much time on the phone, and this could be the reason for not getting promoted. For taking personal calls, go in the corridor or any private place. 

8. Be Respectful: 

You will be rewarded with respect when you learn to respect others. Be mindful when talking with others. Choose the conversation topic wisely, so that people love to be with you. Never talk about your relationship issues, religion, politics, or any social topic that may disrespect their feelings. During the conversation, make sure your pitch is low and your tone is polite. Be representable and polite. Keep your desk organized and clean. Don't let anyone point a finger at you and draw a negative interpretation of your proficiency. 

 

Your respectful attitude should be beyond gender, religion, and race. If you learn to respect others, your seniors and managers will appreciate it and you may get promoted due to your attitude. A positive and caring nature will always be rewarded. The organization will sense a positive work culture and the exchange of concepts will become easy. You should also learn to manage your anger, for this you can follow some anger management techniques.  

 

9. Don't Disturb Others:

Your activities like loudly talking on the phone, shutting the door, listening to loud music, and getting from one desk to another may disturb others. People may not complain about your misconduct, but these practices really make a bad impression on your personality. Your actions determine your temperament. 

 

It may be the reason that your co-workers may not like you. Some people are hesitant to say that your activities are annoying them and interrupting their work. Make your disciplined first, then you can teach the chapter on discipline to your co-workers. 

On the other side, it may also happen that your co-workers disturb you. Here, you may be smart enough to deal with the situation. 

 

10. Be on time:

Arriving office and going to the meetings on time are examples of your careful nature. Being punctual makes a definite impression on you. It is important in the workplace because you are getting paid to dedicate those hours to your work. Being on time also shows that you are optimistic and value the importance of time in your life. 

 

Punctuality conveys that people can trust you and you handle your duties. You can stand apart from others and set an example for your colleagues. You do not wish to start your day with lots of apologies and reach for meetings late. Getting late makes you stressed and this will make the customer question if they really wish to work with you. Always in a hurry because of the slow start of the day is not a good way to deal with people.  

 

11. Participate in the official events: 

Taking part in-office events gives opportunities to interact with others. Continuously working for hours has been making you dull and decreasing your productivity. To remain active, make your office a happy place to have job satisfaction and result in improving your performance. 

 

Establish your company culture by making the environment supportive and fun. Go on a picnic, trekking, and awards functions to celebrate the success of the team and the organization. These activities will improve everyone's mood and people will be more productive in the workplace.