Article courtesy of Fast Company via “The Rundown”
Chances are you might unwittingly be doing things that irritate your boss or coworkers. According to a new survey by Accountemps, senior managers believe the top etiquette blunder is missing or running late to meetings, while workers felt gossiping about colleagues was the most common.
“Punctuality is very important to managers,” says Michael Steinitz, executive director of Accountemps. “For employees, they may be more bothered by office gossip since it may happen when their bosses aren’t within earshot.”
Good etiquette goes a long way in the professional world, says Tom Moran, CEO of the staffing and employment agency Addison Group. “While tardiness and office gossip are both prevalent in workplaces everywhere, it is not any more acceptable for someone to be guilty of these etiquette faux pas just because they are in management,” he says.
Whether you’re the boss or an employee, etiquette matters. Here are tips on handling the two most common issues in your workplace:
Missing or being late for meetings
When key players show up late for meetings, it delays information sharing and decision making, says Laura Handrick, workplace analyst for FitSmallBusiness.com, a website that provides information for entrepreneurs. “It also disrespects your peers by wasting their time,” she says.
Arriving late to meetings can damage your career, says Steinitz. “Others may perceive a lack of punctuality as unreliability, which can reflect poorly on your professional reputation,” he says.
Gossiping about coworkers
Professionals at any level can fall prey to office gossip, but it’s how they choose to handle it that can make them come out on top, says Steinitz.
“Workplace gossip can lead to loss of productivity and trust within the team, hurt feelings, and workers forming negative opinions of each other,” he says. “In some cases, it could cause workers to leave the company.”