From the Sunday Times: The rise of the open-plan office and its associated lack of personal space has made co-workers' irritating habits all the more obvious. And when workers get stressed or tired, pet peeves such a loud phone call or the resident David Brent character can build up the stress levels and turn even the most reasonable employee into a human landmine. ... When British workers were asked in a survey by online jobs site Monster UK & Ireland, what irritated them most about their job, their colleagues emerged as the main cause of annoyance. Co-workers with shrill mobile phone ringtones, colleagues who never offer to make the tea or do the coffee run, and those who eat curries or other smelly foods at their desks make the blood boil, the survey showed. A separate poll in America conducted in October for global recruitment firm Randstand, found that gossip topped the list of pet peeves in the workplace at 60%, followed by others; poor time management skills at 54%, and messiness in communal spaces at 45%. The other pet peeves among the 2,318 employees surveyed were potent scents at 42%, loud noises at 41%, overuse of personal digital assistants / phones in meetings at 28%, and forwarding unnecessary e-mails at 22%. ... The problem can be compounded by the likelihood that a colleague is not even aware of their annoying habits, whether it be speaking loudly on a mobile phone while strutting up and down the office, or slurping soup at their desk, according to employment expert Rowan Manahan, MD of Fortify Services and author of Where's My Oasis. "Each time we put a person on camera for the first time in preparation for media interviews or to advance their presentation skills, 95% of them are shocked when they review the tape at how they sound, how they look and, most of all, at their vocal or physical mannerisms," said Manahan. He also agrees that Irish workers find it difficult to muster enough assertiveness to confront irritating colleagues. "Irish people are just not good at firmly saying, 'That is not acceptable,'" he said. ... Workers are often loath to confront annoying colleagues about their habits in case it creates a tense atmosphere or prompts them to seek retribution. Occupational psychologists advise first weighing up how crucial it is to discuss the issue with the coworker and to what extent their behaviour is affecting productivity in the office. ... Just 8% said they would address the office gossip issue with their boss, while 41% said they would do nothing. Talking shop: A US survey found that 60% of employees were annoyed by gossip, but only 8% said they would raise it with the boss. Recognise Anybody? These are just some of the messages that over 130,000 around the world have posted on annoyingworker.com in an effort to let off steam with their colleagues: • Why is it that you feel the need to run your electric razor across your face for five minutes every day? This is an office, not your bathroom. And at least clean the shavings off your desk when somebody comes in to talk to you. • Putting on perfume of smelly lotion should not be a substiute for a shower, especially for a few days in a row. PS: Get some good dandruff shampoo and wash your hair. • Must you start eating as soon as you get here? You chew like an infant.

When you think of working with upper management or executives in your company, does it make you feel slightly nervous or make your heart start to beat fast because they hold so much power over your career? When you get into the work world, there will be times when you have to interact with executives on projects. So, make the most of the opportunities to impress your company’s management with these tips.

Be respectful of executives and their time.
When it’s time for you to meet with the vice president of marketing or the director of operations, be sure you are prepared for the meeting. People who work in upper level positions have a lot to focus on and a lot of meetings to attend. So, don’t waste their time. If the leader requests the meeting, ask in advance about what you need to bring. Be sure to research your topic of discussion, identify key talking points, and prepare a PowerPoint, Excel spreadsheet, graph, or document for the meeting as needed. Prepare questions you need answers to. Make it a point to be over prepared and have more knowledge about the meeting than you plan to use. And, always thank them for their time at the beginning and end of each meeting.

Reserve time on their schedule.
As mentioned above, managers and executives are busy. Be sure to reserve the appropriate amount of time on their calendar for your meeting with them. You may need to coordinate with an administrative assistant. If so, be sure to go through the right channels to book the correct time and space needed to meet. You can’t just walk into an executive’s office whenever you want to meet. To get their full attention and ensure uninterrupted time, be sure they receive and accept a meeting request. You may also want to follow-up with their assistant on the day of the meeting to make sure they are on schedule. Be flexible with your time when dealing with executives because something might happen prior to your meeting that requires you to reschedule with them for a later time.

Know how to address them. 
Do you address executives formally as Mr., Mrs., or Miss, or do you call them by their first name? This is something that may differ across the board depending on your company’s culture. At times, you might have an executive who is really personable and likes to joke around with everyone. But, if you address them informally, it could be offensive to them. You might have a Generation X manager who is more laid back and wouldn’t ever dream of anyone addressing them with a formal title. To be on the safe side, always address executives formally on the first meeting. From there, they can let you know a little more about their personality and specifically how to approach them in the future. After your meeting with them, if you’re still not sure how to address them, follow the lead of those around you, and when in doubt, be more formal. 

Always be honest and act with integrity.
When you’re in a meeting with upper management or executives, always be honest about what you know and don’t know. If, for example, someone unexpectedly asks you to report on the specifics of a project or how much something will cost and you don’t know the answer, don’t try to make something up to look good. Be up front and honest and let them know you don’t have the answer for them, but that you will research it and get back to them quickly. In most cases, they will respect you for your candor. Either way, it’s better to be honest than to fudge the truth and get found out later. 

Know your next plan of action when you leave the meeting.
Before the meeting is over, make sure you are aware of the next steps you need to take to complete a project. Know your key action items and any upcoming deadlines. If you are not clear about something, ask for clarification before the meeting is over. If you have any questions, be sure to ask. Sometimes you might be fearful of asking an executive a question because you’re afraid of what they will think of you. But, by speaking up and asking thoughtful questions, you’re letting them know you want to do a good job.

It’s important to realize that although those in upper management and executive positions hold some significant power within the company, they are still people too. There’s no reason to get worried about interacting with them. If you do get the opportunity, it is a sign that your employer trusts you and respects your work, and it’s an opportunity to learn from the very best in your organization.

Source: Movin' On Up

Meetings are a common occurrence in the workplace. And, they are usually looked upon with the same excitement as a visit to the dentist. If the mention of a meeting makes you cringe or scream out of boredom, you’re not alone. Whatever your thoughts are about meetings, throughout your working career you will definitely sit in or lead your fair share of meetings. But, meetings don’t have to be boring or unproductive. When it’s your turn to lead your next department or team meeting, keep these common mistakes in mind and make sure you do the opposite to save your co-workers from another painfully bad and unproductive meeting wasting their time.  

I don’t need an agenda for every meeting. Don’t bother with an agenda if you want to have an infective meeting that doesn’t stay on track. But, if you want a good meeting, having an agenda is a must. In order to get where you want to go, you have to know where you’re going. Come to the meeting prepared with how it’s going to flow and what topics need to be discussed by the team. This will help keep the meeting focused, give it direction, and help it begin and end on time.

It’s not necessary to schedule a meeting on the calendar. Your co-workers will just remember that you want to meet with them in two weeks, won’t they? Wrong. It’s important that you use Outlook or software your company uses to book your next meeting on every attendee’s calendar. If you just send attendees an e-mail alerting them of the meeting, there’s a good chance it will get lost in their inbox and never added to a calendar. This means you might have co-workers forget to attend the meeting. Always be sure to get the meeting on their calendar so that they can be reminded of it. 

The meeting room is always available. Don’t assume there will be a space available for you and your team when it comes time to meet. When you’re creating the meeting and inviting attendees, be sure to check for conference room availability. Go ahead and reserve that room for the correct day and time. Include yourself as the contact person in case any questions or conflicts arise.

The attendees know what the meeting topic’s about. It’s important to remember that people can’t read your mind, so they don’t know what you’re thinking. No one likes to attend a meeting where they don’t know what will be discussed. When scheduling your meeting and creating the invitation for your co-workers, let them know in advance what the focus of the meeting will be. Also, let them know if they need to bring anything specific to the meeting or if they have a specific task to perform at the meeting or beforehand.

Everyone has to be in attendance. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “the more the merrier,” but in meeting situations this is not always true. When you have too many people attending a meeting it can turn into a nightmare to manage. When you schedule a meeting, keep in mind that not everyone has to or needs to attend. Only invite those individuals who absolutely need to be involved in the discussion. This will help you get the greatest outcome out of your meeting time and your co-workers will appreciate you for valuing their time.

It’s OK to start the meeting a few minutes late. What’s just a few minutes going to matter? Just know that those minutes are valuable. When you’re leading a meeting, always start on time. When someone sets a meeting, it’s important to show up and start on time – not five or 10 minutes late. When meetings don’t start when they’re supposed to, they usually don’t end when they should either. Time is a precious tool for many these days, and there is usually not a lot to spare for late meetings.

Meetings don’t have to be horrible. You can break the “awful meeting” mentality by being great at leading your meetings. Remember, you don’t have to lead a meeting because your boss has always led them a certain way. Everyone leads differently, but follow these tips along with the 5 Ws of Successful Meeting Management to showcase your great leadership abilities and be the meeting manager your workplace can’t live without.

Source: Movin' On Up

Today it seems impossible to find someone who doesn’t have a cell phone of some kind. It’s also becoming impossible to find someone who’s not on their phone all the time. Your company may or may not have policies that forbid cell phones at work, so be sure you know the rules. If your company does allow you to have cell phones at work, there are some important things you need to be aware of. In a recent survey conducted by Express on smart phones versus workplace etiquette, 59% of voters said that most people are irresponsible with their smart phone use while at work. Phones can be an easy distraction, but follow these tips to help stay focused on the tasks at hand during your work day, and make sure your phone doesn’t become a distraction.

Keep it quiet. When you get to work, turn your cell phone to silent or vibrate mode. This will prevent your ringtone – however great you think it might be – from blaring across your workplace, alerting everyone that you’ve got an incoming call.

Limit your personal phone calls. If there is a reason you have to accept or make a personal phone call at work, keep it short and sweet. Don’t make too many personal calls at work because that will take time away from doing your job and might create a negative situation between you and your manager.

Excuse yourself. If you work in close proximity with your co-workers, like a cubicle, and do get a personal phone call, quietly step out to take it. Go to a quiet spot where you can possibly shut a door to keep your conversation private. Having a phone conversation could distract your co-workers and not everyone in your workplace wants or needs to hear your conversation.

Keep it tucked away. It’s not necessary to take your phone with you everywhere you go throughout your work day. Unless you are expecting an emergency phone call from someone, it is better to leave your phone in a secure place, like your desk, keys, or locker.  If someone does call and you’re away, they can leave you a message and you can call them back at a later, more convenient time. By leaving your phone behind during a meeting, it won’t be a distraction to you or others if someone calls you.

Create texting ground rules, too. Different generations have different expectations, so be mindful of others’ communication preferences. Be mindful that when you’re engaged in face-to-face conversations with co-workers, it’s important to give them your full attention. Make it a rule to not text at the same time you’re speaking with them.

Be cautious about smartphone apps. Smartphones are growing in popularity, and what they are capable of doing is quite impressive. With a smartphone, you have the ability to download applications for games such as Words with Friends – a scrabble game you can play with co-workers – or for social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter. However “cool” these apps might be, they can cost your employer a lot of money in lost productivity if you’re more focused on your smartphone through the day than your job. Be responsible with your time while on the job and save your smartphone fun for your free time, such as lunch, breaks, or after work.  

It’s important to know about cell phone etiquette in the workplace. Always be aware of your personal phone usage and be sure that you’re getting your work completed first and foremost.

Source: Movin' On Up

As an employee, you need specific tools to get your daily work done. Pens, highlighters, notepads, staplers, folders, and the list goes on and on. Maybe your company provides you with these supplies. Maybe your company doesn’t. Either way, here are a few tips to keep in mind about workplace office supplies that will help you keep the peace at work, maintain good relationships with your co-workers, and avoid asking the question, “Um, excuse me … have you seen my stapler?”

If you have to borrow something, ask first. Maybe you really can’t find your stapler and you do need to borrow one for a major stapling project. Before you grab the first one you see, be sure to ask if you can borrow it. It’s important to be respectful of your co-workers’ desk space – it’s their territory. Keep in mind how you would feel if you went to grab your tape dispenser only to discover that your co-worker borrowed it a few days ago. To avoid workplace drama, it’s always better to ask to borrow something, especially if it’s for an extended period of time.

Return what you borrow. The rule of thumb to remember is that if you borrow something from one of your co-workers, be sure to return it back to them in a timely manner AND in the same condition it was in before you borrowed it. Be respectful of others’ property.

Don’t take office supplies home. If your company keeps you stocked with office supplies, that doesn’t mean you can take some home for your personal use. It’s easy to drop a pen in your purse or put one in a pocket and walk out of the office with it. But, after time, those little things start to add up and can start costing your company big bucks. Make it a point to keep your office supplies at the office and purchase your own personal office supplies to use at home.

Learn the policy for re-ordering. So, what do you do when there are no more tissues or you can’t find a highlighter in your entire workplace? Is there someone in your office who’s in charge of buying more office supplies for the whole team? Or is it an every man for himself mentality? Be sure you know what to do so that when you run out of sticky notes you don’t get stuck empty handed.

Label items you bought. If your work doesn’t pay for your office supplies, label the items you buy. Put your initials in marker on the bottom of each item, that way if something does get lost, others will know that it belongs to you. This will help prevent debates about who owns what. 

Office supplies seem like such a minor part of the workday, but employees can be a little particular when it comes to these tools. Keep these tips in mind to help ensure your workday runs smoothly.

Source: Movin' On Up

See item 1.)  

In theory, the office is a place where goals are fulfilled and prosperity generated. In practice, as evidenced in the following stories gathered from interviews with office-bound laborers in a range of industries, it’s a fertile breeding ground for threats to livelihood and sanity. And while the obvious response to many of the admittedly extreme situations described below would be to quit as soon as possible (which is something that several of our sources did, in fact, do), the issues raised can help illuminate situations in which resolution is not so easy to find. Read on for advice on how to use common sense, good manners, and the occasional deployment of well-intentioned deceit to make bitchy, passive-aggressive e-mail exchanges a thing of the past.

 

 

1. Swimming against the current of a terrible idea.
Problem
“I’d been at an Internet company for about a month, and we were trying to figure out how to draw attention to our booth at a technology conference. Someone suggested we hire dancing midgets on the logic that they were small people and our clients were small businesses. It kind of started out as a joke, but pretty soon someone was getting out their phone, like, ‘I know a guy who can make this happen.’ I got pretty angry because it was just embarrassing and offensive. But everyone told me that maybe the problem was that I couldn’t handle the industry.”

 

Solution
Even the greenest, most-midget-marketing-ignorant employee has unique expertise in one area: all the places he used to work. With the moral license allowed in the higher pursuit of saving one’s new employers from an unwise idea, it should be possible to craft a cautionary tale of failure that’s relevant enough to the current situation to be convincing, yet vague enough to be kind of true. (“We tried something sort of like this once, but it didn’t really work ... ”) Thus what is in reality the recognition of a transparently terrible plan can become, with only minimal dishonesty, flattery directed toward colleagues too savvy to repeat the mistakes of the past.

 

 

2. Curing a cubicle headache.
Problem
“We have this loud talker. It’s unbearable. If he’s in the room and he’s talking, you can’t get anything done. We’ve said things, but he just thinks it’s a joke. Now if you want to get someone’s attention, you have to IM them, because everyone bought noise-reduction headphones.”

 

Solution
Direct confrontation of a cubicle scourge can lead to resentment and retaliatory charges of hypocrisy. Or, as this example indicates, it can lead to nothing at all. To convey the seriousness of the issue without incurring a permanent grudge, consider staging a scene in which you take advantage of the open office plan by aggressively chastising a co-conspirator for his own loudness—making sure the encounter takes place in front of the nemesis and ends with your fellow actor apologizing abjectly for being so insensitive to co-workers.

 

 

3. Punishing a psycho boss.
Problem
“I was just starting out and wanted to make a good impression with the president of the bank I was working for, and he starts saying, ‘The problem with Jews is this, the problem with Jews is that, and if Israel only did this,’ all this anti-Semitic stuff. I’m Jewish, and I told him I wasn’t going to sit and listen to those kind of things. I got up to leave and he says, ‘Kid, sit down. I’m just surrounded by yes people, and I wanted to see if you had any balls.’ ”

 

Solution
When the perpetrator of misbehavior (e.g., strange, possibly anti-Semitic head games) is at the top of the food chain, the rumor mill is a wheel of sweet justice. Spread your story with the clear conscience that comes from knowing it’s the only way to get back at those who’ve achieved immunity through power! (Although, for the record, it should be noted that the consultant who shared the story says he’s been friends with the offending bank president for fifteen years.)

4. Giving instructions to idiots.
Problem
“We have an assistant who makes millions of errors at a time. Once she was given a list of things to buy and the list had a typo on it. She said, ‘I have been looking in all the office catalogues and I can’t find anything called a calthaculator.’ Another time she was like, ‘The fax number you gave me didn’t work, so I randomly added a 123 at the beginning and it went through.’ ”

 

Solution
At least she didn’t buy 123 calthaculators! But seriously, folks. The best way to deal with rank incompetence is to pretend you’re correcting a simple misunderstanding, which will help the transgressor save face while you raise the issue and add some sort of double-checking redundancy system (e.g., personally signing off on every fax cover sheet). Micromanagement is most effectively passed off as mere adherence to the tiresome requirements of faceless management meddlers. “I’m just a functionary in an inefficient bureaucracy” is one of the most eminently believable excuses for any action, no matter how absurd, in office life.

 

 

5. Learning about others’ social lives.
Problem
“I worked with a guy who was about 40 years old. He was on a business trip in Africa and brought a male prostitute back to his fancy hotel. Homosexuality was illegal in that country, but he apparently knew the part of the capital to find gay prostitutes. He went skinny-dipping with this guy in the hotel pool in the middle of the night. When he woke up the next morning, all his money was gone.”

 

Solution
If it’s possible to remove yourself from a situation before someone else realizes you’ve seen him in a compromising position, do so; if you can’t escape, it’s crucial to transition as quickly as possible from instinctive astonishment or laughter to the raised-eyebrow, seen-everything manner of a wry private detective. Sharing one’s own story of foolish debauchery, implying “what’re you gonna do?” equivalence to the immediate situation, might also help. If you must tell someone what you saw, find a Keeper of Workplace Secrets outside the office: a friend who gives enough of a crap to learn the names of all the people you work with, yet is remote enough—ideally based in a different time zone, or if you have a time machine, a different century—that there is very little danger he’ll ever intersect with your professional circle.

 

 

6. Getting into the club.
Problem
“A guy can ask any junior guy out to drink, which helps them advance. But no man wants to seem like they’re hitting on someone, so they won’t ask a woman out to lunch alone, or a drink. They don’t form a bond with junior-level women because they don’t see us as little versions of them. I don’t remind them of themselves when they started, so I don’t get that mentorly treatment.”

 

Solution
To enhance her chances of getting to the top without having to sleep her way up, the enterprising young woman should consider developing an interest in the hobby that reeks of camaraderie, yet is scientifically proved to reduce potency and libido: golf.

7. Bringing a deadweight up to speed.
Problem
“Once when I was in school I was in a meeting with a few other summer associates getting an assignment from a more-senior member of the firm. During the meeting, one of the people I was working with on the project ate two bags of Cheetos and covered all the documents in orange Cheetos fingerprints. I think she was mentally unbalanced.”

 

Solution
Unfortunately, albatross collaborators don’t always oblige your anxiety by having flaws or Cheetos habits so obvious that no one could possibly hold you responsible. If simply doing their job for them and begging to never be assigned to work with them again isn’t feasible, you’ll have to take one for the team—from yourself. Return from a meeting with your supervisor in a conspicuously downbeat mood, and then explain it by grimly—yet collegially—describing how badly you just got chewed out, and what serious trouble you’ll be in if everyone doesn’t start working harder.

 

 

8. Owning up to mistakes.
Problem
“I was supposed to put together this huge chart. My immediate boss signed off on three different drafts, but when I pulled together the final draft for the head guy, a notorious asshole, I had written ‘council’ when it should have said ‘counsel.’ He came running out of his office like ‘This org chart is shit! Who did this? Does he know how to spell?’ I had only been there a month, so someone told him my name. And he yelled, ‘His name is Shit!’ So I changed it to ‘counsel.’ ”

 

Solution
Obviously, the sanest response to someone going nuts because you made a single spelling mistake is to find a new employer, which is what actually happened here. But if no one had ratted out the beleaguered org-chart compiler, and if his boss had been a little less of a loon, it’s possible he could have rectified the situation with a standard two-tiered apology system: a public admission of guilt followed by a not-too-supplicatory e-mail to the wronged party outlining very briefly what should have been done. (“In the future, I will strive to avoid the confusion of homonyms.”) And if Mr. Shit (not his real name) had not in fact been responsible for the error, the most honorable approach would have been to fill in the actual culprit on what happened and leave him the choice of narking on himself.

 

 

9. Working with mooks.
Problem
“All my boss talks about is how many girls he fucked in college. And he always says things to his office friends like ‘I wish I didn’t have a girlfriend; I’d totally fuck her’—referring to some girl who just walked by—‘Maybe you should fuck her! But make sure she doesn’t do coke. Girls who do coke have STDs.’ ”

 

Solution
One non-litigious method of keeping superiors from making crass comments in your presence is to fake a type-A personality. If you come across as all business all the time, offending colleagues will think of you as a nerd not worth including in their banter—no great loss in this case.
 

Source: New York Guides