Returning to Office? Maybe thinking to move to the rent-to-own condominium near your office? Transitioning from working from home to working in the office has to be as smooth and productive as possible. After almost two years of staying and working from home in your recently bought affordable house and lot, and have been used to the flexible work environment that has been implemented. As a lot of companies return to the office, defining what is work etiquette in the new normal will assist employees in creating and maintaining a pleasant atmosphere that allows employees to thrive and be more productive. Employee engagement, satisfaction, and productivity are at stake – that’s why etiquette is important.
We have witnessed the working world undergo quick and considerable change in the last two years or so. Change that is poised to become the new normal in many industries – from how we communicate with one another to where we carry out our job. However, with those changes come several fundamental concepts that stay relatively consistent across the professional sphere, one of which is the requirement for a specific set of workplace norms and behaviors – otherwise known as work etiquette.
What is Work Etiquette?
Work etiquette refers to an unwritten rule of behavior that governs how employees behave to one another on the job. It is often imposed by the members of an organization and is also sustained by custom. It can range from physical rules, such as grooming, clothes, and mask-wearing, to behavioral guidelines, such as acceptable greetings and meeting decorum.
Why Etiquette is Important?
Etiquette is important in many aspects of your life, including how you dress, eat, and interact with people. Here are some reasons why we have to consider the significance of work etiquette.
1. It will give you your ideal job and make you successful.
In the business environment, excellent business etiquette is acting professionally and with correct manners when interacting with people in your field. Good business etiquette is a crucial skill that will set you apart from the crowd, increase your chances of success, and help you find your ideal job and eventually your ideal Bria Homes house and lot.
2. It will maintain your good relationship with colleagues.
Good etiquette is essential for establishing and keeping a team of employees who trust, like, and respect one another. When one person doesn’t do her share of the work, the other team members are forced to take over and get the job done. If the team doesn’t maintain some standard of manners, its members may have hard feelings about each other. This may result in the company’s lost time and money. When someone at work interrupts you while you’re speaking, arrives late for a meeting, or steals your food from the break room fridge, you’re probably wondering how someone could be so disrespectful. All of these are violations of etiquette.
3. Respect is earned.
Respect begets respect. All of your colleagues need to be respected. It is critical, for example, to respect others’ religious views, political viewpoints, and sexual orientation. You don’t have to agree with them, but it’s proper etiquette to do so. For example, even if you disagree with someone’s opinions, don’t insult her or allow her beliefs to influence how you collaborate. It is equally necessary to respect the property and personal space of others. If your colleague’s office door is closed, for example, do not enter. If you conduct business with individuals from different nations regularly, you should be familiar with their conventions and etiquette. What is work etiquette in other nations may not seem to be the same in another. What appears to be proper manners in one nation may be considered rude in another. Offending overseas clients may lead to lost sales and broken relationships. Avoid cussing and yelling at or around employees; it makes you appear unprofessional and offends many people. Remember to respect others, and they will respect you in return.
4. It will establish a professional, polite, and productive organizational culture.
Office etiquette supports a variety of beneficial effects on the organizational culture. There will be an establishment of a professional and polite work environment. An environment that promotes excellent working practices such as effective communication and consistently professional behavior. Employees are satisfied and at ease and appreciated in their roles and their workplace. Also, there will be the elimination of bad and disrespectful behavior that may have a detrimental influence on the business. It develops a positive corporate reputation among clients and employees.
Work Etiquette Tips for the New Normal
Employees must retain a professional demeanor when they move between the office and home. It’s also crucial to acknowledge prior occurrences and the influence they may have had on people. With those in consideration, here are some simple work etiquette tips to assist the transition:
1. Be on time.
Being timely demonstrates that you value your colleague’s time. Always come on time, whether it’s a critical meeting with a client or simply a routine day at the workplace, or even just an online meeting. Also, while remote work allows for greater freedom, it is critical for your in-office employee to be present and on time for meetings (otherwise, they might as well be logging on from home).
Read Also: 10 Tips on Managing Virtual Workforce
2. Dress cautiously and appropriately.
The office is neither your home nor a social gathering place. Respect is earned via how you portray yourself to others, therefore adhering to the right business dress code. If you’re permitted to wear casual clothing, be sure it’s not too exposing or too laid back. When working from home, make sure to present yourself appropriately and appear professionally.
3. Communicate clearly and frequently.
Leadership’s best bet at this point is to communicate. Encourage team members to ask intelligent questions, share their thoughts, and engage in conversation with one another. Employees should never make assumptions about how their colleagues feel about anything, but should instead be prepared to have open talks. Communication is an essential component of business etiquette. It’s not always what you say, but how you say it, so be conscious of how you interact with your colleagues in meetings and one-on-one talks. When it comes to email, make sure all of your correspondence, both inside and outside of your office, is written correctly and without spelling problems. Remember that email is a permanent record of every communication, so never write anything that you would say in person.
4. Establish expectations for Zoom and the office.
If your company, like many others, has a section of its employees that work a hybrid schedule, splitting time between the office and at home, you’ll need to establish criteria for each. Make it clear to employees what kind of engagement is anticipated in each situation: do remote team members need to have their video cameras turned on? Do presentations have to be done in person? Is it necessary to wear masks in the meeting room?
Read Also: Everything You Need To Know About Using Zoom
5. Keep the camera on.
Keep the camera on during video calls or an online meeting in which you are the main participant. Handle every online meeting as if it were a regular face-to-face meeting. It would make the online meeting feel engaging, participative, and active.
Be Personable Yet Professional is your decision whether or not to disclose information about your personal life, but be cautious about what you share; some colleagues may be more open than others and may choose to keep their personal lives private as well. Similarly, you may wish to restrict personal conversations, emails, and other non-work-related duties until after-hours. It’s fine to include personal touches in your workstation, but keep in mind that your colleague will view the area and interpret it as a reflection of your professional personality. Finally, getting to know your colleague is a wonderful thing, but remember to always respect others’ space. If you need to talk to them about something, don’t simply stroll in; knock or make your presence known, and always offer to organize a meeting for later in the day if they are busy right now.
6. Encourage cooperation and collaboration.
One of the most significant advantages of having people in the workplace is the chance to cooperate and bounce ideas off one another. Encourage your employees to take advantage of this chance and collaborate on projects.
7. Establish contact and social separation guidelines.
Handshakes used to be the customary greeting, but the pandemic seemed to change it. Today everyone has a different level of comfort with being near one another or coming into physical contact, some do elbow bump, fist bump, or wave. Or a greeting – as long as you make your presence felt and acknowledge the presence of your colleague.
8. Encourage empathy.
You never know what another person is going through. Employees may be more stressed than normal, so encourage them to be attentive to and mindful of the needs of others. Keep an eye out for others in the workplace. Many employees have become accustomed to working alone throughout the day, and they may have lost the practice of accepting calls discreetly or sharing their workplace. Remind your employee to think about their colleagues, be considerate of different schedules, use headphones, and assist others as required.
9. Implement safety protocols and guidelines in the office.
Determine a mask policy, such as requiring all unvaccinated personnel to wear masks while those who have been vaccinated do not. Standard physical distancing has to be properly implemented and followed. Create a group that can monitor and check on this implementation.
10. Make check-ins more common.
Maintain open channels of communication. Ensure that employees are pleased with the changes that are taking place in your workplace, and listen to any recommendations for improvement they may have. With rising levels of anxiety at work and in life, employees may benefit from mindfulness training, a cognitive method that has been proved to increase overall wellbeing.
11. Maintain a healthy work-life balance.
With the return to work, it’s more crucial than ever to promote work-life balance — and, separating home and work can even help employees achieve a better balance. During the pandemic, the work-from-home setup has somehow blurred the line between work and home. Encourage employees to eat a healthy lunch. Consider your options before asking a team member to remain late or sending out after-hours communications. Ensure that management is setting a positive example by adhering to working hours.
12. Make accessibility provisions.
If you have employees who are unable to physically come to the office daily due to a personal handicap or a family issue, provide a mechanism for them to ask for an accommodation or exemption. Keep these team members engaged via remote activities and meetings.
Things to bear in mind when you set yourself up for success
What is work etiquette when you don’t have employees who are following these tips? Your team’s support is required for your new guidelines to be effective. Remember that your employees are happiest at work when they can be themselves. The standards you put in place should eventually help people execute their jobs efficiently, without the extra burden of not knowing how to act in the workplace. Here are some suggestions to help the employees feel supported.
1. Encourage new thoughts and expressions.
Try to follow conventional business decorum, but don’t go too far in terms of personal expression or liberties. After all, the organization needs a diverse range of viewpoints to survive, so your standards should still encourage everyone to speak out and express their thoughts.
2. Make diversity a priority.
A varied workforce necessitates different policies. When defining standards, keep diversity in mind, and make sure your work etiquette norms don’t silence any voices or discriminate against any identities.
3. Determine the order of priority.
Decide if these are regulations that must be followed or ideas that employees can choose to follow — and state your position clearly so there is no ambiguity.
4. Keep things simple.
The idea is not to push individuals to do things that make them uncomfortable, but rather to alleviate the burden of determining what is appropriate in the workplace.
Now that organizations and companies have slowly returned to the physical office, employers must prepare the employees’ work environment and themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally to be back at the desk. These calls for employees to follow the rules and the safety protocols and guidelines in the new normal, be sensitive and mindful of other people’s responses, body language, etc., and respect each other by avoiding certain topics even the vaccination status, political views, unproven theories, etc. and also, be empathetic. The emerging professional etiquette consists of two simple, guiding values: self-discipline and graciousness to others. Even in the office, a role model is required. Set a positive example by adhering to these fundamental work etiquettes. Once put into practice, the vital life lessons learned will change the employees into better, efficient, and productive employees. That is why etiquette is important.
