Work etiquette is part common sense and part culture and can depend on the company you work for. For example, the corporate culture at the company you work for, might have a list of unwritten rules about work etiquette. It is up to you to know them, and if you don’t make, an attempt by asking someone who has been at the company longer than you have been. All workplaces are different, but basic work etiquette is pretty universal within a country.
Here is an excerpt list of technology workplace etiquettes from a recent article by Deborah Lynn Blumberg titled 8 tech etiquette rules for the modern workplace.
“Shut off your cell phone
It can be tempting to zone out by checking personal email on your smartphone or scrolling through Facebook during a team meeting. Resist, says Diane Gottsman, a national etiquette expert and founder of The Protocol School of Texas. When you’re on your personal device, you send a message that the meeting and work aren’t your priority.
Be mindful during conference callsYou wouldn’t crunch a bag of potato chips during a department meeting or send out a flurry of personal tweets. So, don’t do it during a conference call, says Gottsman. A general rule for video calls is to imagine you’re in an in-person meeting. Be especially careful if you’re calling in from home.
Know your email etiquette
Email subjects should clearly communicate the point of your message, Gottsman says. She also advises to be cautious when using the Bcc or blind copy features. You run the risk of the person who’s blind copied responding to everyone, she says. “There’s secrecy in blind copying. A cc feels more upfront.”
Think before adding an emojiEmojis can soften the tone of requests you make of your employees or colleagues. But, they also create the potential for misunderstandings. One recent study found that using smiley faces in work emails makes readers perceive the sender as less competent. It’s safest to use emojis with colleagues you know well, says Senning.
Keep notifications in checkIf you’re using your personal laptop for a work presentation, build in time to disable notifications that might pop up. For Belanger, who received that mid-presentation question about her date, it was an instant message, but it could also be Facebook alerts or even calendar reminders.
Don’t friend-request your boss
We spend most of our days at work, and that’s where we build our relationships. So, friending a co-worker on Facebook might feel natural. But it’s also a risk. You might see a picture from their personal life that makes you uncomfortable. If that’s the case, “there’s nothing wrong with unfollowing someone,” Gottsman says.
When F2F is better than screen-to-screen
Senning says part of good tech etiquette is knowing when not to use it. Relying heavily on email presents a genuine challenge to our ability to empathize, he says. For issues that are sensitive or could impact the relationship between colleagues or between a supervisor and her direct report, it’s better to meet face-to-face. It doesn’t have to be formal, a quick coffee or a “walking meeting” often works wonders to facilitate clear communication.
Say you’re sorry
Inevitably, despite our best intentions, embarrassing tech mistakes will happen. “Technological tools are extremely helpful,” says Gottsman. “They make our job and life easier. But at the same time, they can complicate matters because we don’t use them right, or we get too comfortable. We need to use technology responsibly and politely.”
Bottomline-Many of these work etiquettes mentioned here are not hard to adopt, and as previously mentioned, most of them comes down to common sense.
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