In a workplace etiquette-themed survey released by Randstad USA, a temp agency, they reported among the top pet peeves:
- Condescending tones (44%)
- Public reprimands (37%)
- Micromanaging (34%)
- Loud talkers (32%)
- Cell phones ringing at work (30%)
- Use of speakerphones in public areas (22%
- Colleagues engaged in personal conversations in the workplace (11%)
- The use of PDAs during meetings (9%)
Link here.
Well, my two cents. All of these are irritating to some degree to all of us. I put cell phones and PDAs pretty high on my list of irritations, but it depends on the context. For example, a while back we had a financial type come by the office for a briefing on our strategy. Hours of careful planning were wasted as he constantly checked his Blackberry, nodding “uh huh, uh huh” as a weak indication that he was listening to our presentation. On the cell phone front, I had a friend who wanted to go out for a personal lunch. He spent about 50% of the time on the cell phone (I’m not exaggerating), as I looked on, bored out of my mind. When he asked me out to lunch again, I politely mentioned that I would — so long as he’d leave his cell phone back at the office. He was surprised and hopefully got the message.
What are your workplace etiquette pet peeves?
Alex Eckelberry