Disturbing the Peace:



The biggest complaint in any office is usually people disturbing the peace and quiet in the office. People thing that because they are in a cubicle they can talk on their cell phones or play a radio and no one will hear them. I am here to tell you this could not be further from the truth. The people around you can hear every word of your phone calls and hear every note from your radio, and no matter how nice you think the music is the people around you may not think so. Try to keep personal calls to your break time or walk out of the office when you have to take a personal call, and if your boss allows you to listen to the radio use headphones so you do not disturb the other people in the office.

Office Rumors:

Every day people loose their jobs for talking about other people they work with and spreading rumors. When you work in an office anything you tell someone will eventually come back to you, and if you say something bad about another co worker they will eventually find out that you are the one who said it and if they complain it is called creating a hostile workplace and not only can you get fired but you and the company can get sued for it, even if what you said was the truth. If you hear something, keep it to yourself and you will not have any problems.

Communicating with the Real World

Bosses know that their workers are going to make and receive personal phone calls and emails when they should be working, but that does not mean it is acceptable to spend all day having conversations over email or constantly having to go outside to take phone calls. Some bosses actually expect you to do some work while they are paying you. It is also important receive large attachments at work. Receiving thinks like video clips can take up much of the offices bandwidth for the time it take to receive them. This means that the other people who may need to use the network resources may be denied because of your download and I can tell you from experience that this angers bosses.

Don’t Walk Around for no Reason:

Very often office workers need to give something to someone on the other side of the office or maybe talk to someone in another department so t not be at your desk all the time may be common, but that does not mean that sitting and talking to someone else is acceptable. It is one thing to ask someone how they are but to have a 10 minute conversation on company time is just bad work ethics on your part. If your boss sees you talking too many times instead of working you will be looking for a new job with no one to blame but yourself.

Food:

When I used to work in an office I often had to work thru my lunch and eat at my desk to get things done on time. As much as I hated to have to do it what was I going to do things have to get done on time. When this happens to you make sure the food you bring into the office is overly aromatic. The last thing you want is for someone to make a complaint to human resources, because you had some food in the office that bothered someone. This may seem silly, but trust me I have seen this happen.

Smells:

Try to remember that people in the office do not want to smell you, so before you pour on the perfume or cologne before going to work remember that some people are very sensitive to smells and do not want to get a headache because of you.

Pimp my Cubicle:

Many people want their cubicles to reflect their personality, and they will put up pictures and jokes and little knick knacks. The problem with this is that it does not look professional when outsiders visit the office, to have a few pictures on your desk is one thing but to have a small aquarium or collectables on your desk may be a bit much for any office. Before sprucing up your cubicle make sure to run it by the supervisor. You would not want to get a letter from human resources for having inappropriate items on your desk.

Before you do anything in the office always ask yourself if it could in any way bother a fellow worker if the answer is yes then do not so it. No one wants to lose their job over something stupid.