HRMorning.com » HR’s funny side: The worst breaches of workplace etiquette

HR’s funny side: The worst breaches of workplace etiquette

May 9, 2008 by Jim Giuliano
Posted in: Behavior, Communication, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views

Which is worse: Eating someone else’s lunch or smelling bad? People at work give us the answer - and much, much more.

Let’s put it this way. If your choice is between not bathing and stealing a turkey sandwich from the office fridge, don’t bathe.

That’s the scoop from a workplace survey done by TheLadders.com, and executive job site. According the survey, 98% said stealing someone’s lunch is the worst example of bad etiquette. A mere 96% said bad hygiene was the worst.

(Using our estimable math skills, we at HR Morning have concluded the data indicate that 2% of the respondents are stealing lunches and 4% refuse to bathe.)

Another 80% of executive respondents said “wearing revealing clothing” was a no-no, presumably for women.

Here’s what else made the list, in no particular order:

Foul language

Incessant gossiping

Drinking on the job

Leaving without telling anyone

Making too many personal phone calls

Using electronic devices, such as a Blackberry, while in meetings

We can conclude, then, if you’re a smelly, dirty-talking gossip who drinks too much, leaves work on a whim, makes a lot of personal calls and is chained to a Blackberry, you’re on thin ice.

But you’re really in trouble once you take that first bite of someone else’s turkey with mayo.

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