Seven Deadly Sins You Must Avoid At All Costs at the Office

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With so much time in the workplace spent in close proximity to others, it is unavoidable that irritating habits will be magnified much to the annoyance of your colleagues. The increase of open plan offices and the upsurge in the use of social media have opened up further avenues to create issues in the workplace.

In any social situation there are certain unspoken rules as to what is deemed appropriate and what isn’t, and office life is certainly no different.

Here are seven common office faux pas which should be avoided at all costs to ensure that you continue to command respect from your co-workers.

1.       The Loudmouth

You may enjoy a chat now and again, but others around you will need a clear head to tackle deadlines. Nothing is more distracting to your train of thought than being disturbed with a loud conversation going on at the next desk. Keep loud conversations for lunch time, and in an open plan office be considerate of your volume when on the phone or watching video content.

 

 

 

 

 

2.       Share and Share Alike

Sharing a certain amount about your personal life adds a more human and approachable aspect to your work persona, however there is a fine line which shouldn’t be crossed. Going on about your children, pets and holidays on a frequent basis gets irritating for others when they are trying to get on with their work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.       Messing It Up

Whatever you do with your desk is entirely up to you, but when you bring your untidy habits into any communal areas it won’t be well received. Chances are you wouldn’t like cleaning up after others, so why would you expect someone to do that for you? Clean up the kitchen after making your lunch, and on that note be considerate of any strong smelling food.

 

 

 

 

4.       Facebook Foe

Tweeting and Facebooking have become an essential part of daily life for most of us, but constantly checking your social media profiles is not only limiting your productivity, but making you appear unprofessional. Keep this to personal time, and no, not everyone wants to see the latest images you’ve been tagged in.

 

 

 

 

 

5.       The Office Gossip

One of the worst things you could possibly do is spread information about your colleagues behind their backs, as more than likely they will find out exactly what you’ve said. People may see you as untrustworthy and be less inclined to work with you in the future- not a good move when building relationships.

 

 

 

 

 

6.       Control Your Email

Think carefully before you “reply to all”. Trawling through emails directly relevant to you is time consuming enough, never mind correspondence which didn’t have anything to do with you in the first place and never will. This will label you as the office spammer.

 

 

 

 

 

7.        Don’t Be a Drama King/ Queen

Some people love to blow things out of proportion. In a stressful environment things can quickly get out of hand, but when people say things without thinking or hold grudges in the office, it affects everyone. If you act in this way, people will think you can’t handle pressure and be less inclined to trust you with important projects.

 

 

 

 

In an office environment, there are some things which you should and shouldn’t do. Do you have any more to add to the list?

 

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