Here are 10 things to do to stop people sneering at you as you walk by their desk!
1. Pipe down. Can you turn down the volume? A loud voice breaks concentration! I can’t think of anything more annoying than the guys who boom their voice down the phone, or across the office (oh wait – how about the 9 below?)
2. Respect colleagues space. Don’t dump your stuff on a colleagues desk, or steal their chair if you’re having a meeting at your desk. This is a sure-fire way to get someone’s back up!
3. Respect print-time. Some documents you might print can take an age to finish. Hogging a printer this way holds other people up, especially if it’s a last-minute print before rushing into a meeting! Ask yourself if it really must be printed now, or consider using double-sided, multi-pages per sheet, and draft finish, if you can.
4. You’re not a DJ so why play music for everyone else to hear? If you like you music loud, the office isn’t the place to indulge!
5. Be early, and if you can’t get in early, be on time. People hate it when their colleague habitually turns up late. Get there in plenty of time for meetings too.
6. Be clean and tidy. Don’t leave empty coffee-cups lying around (or even worse, not quite empty cups!).
7. Stop hocking a loogie. The disgusting sound of clearing a throat, constant sniffing, coughing or any phlegm-based activity is such a no-no that it’s almost too obvious. But people still do it! Yuck!
8. Don’t call your latest squeeze. Nobody likes to hear cooing or a run-down of last night’s bedroom antics.
9. Your desk is not a good place to eat a curry. So don’t eat one there. Anything on the smelly side is best left to eating in your car, the park, or in a plastic bubble.
10. Need I say it – don’t be a sex-pest. Unsolicited flirting, touching, rubbing, or any kind of blatant sexual advance (innocent or otherwise) is not just annoying for others, but also a quick ticket out of employment.
Note: I generally don’t write articles that ‘tell’! Persuasion is my usual approach… but if you recognize any of the above in yourself, you will find it useful!
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