I think that our readers can relate to the many office policies and rules that come along with most workplaces. They can range from the very simple “no smoking in the bathroom rule”, to the complex office politics that surround the lunch room. But I think that there are a few things that we can safely suggest need to stop in offices everywhere.
1. The Reply All – You get a company wide email, maybe it is an announcement about someone’s new position in the company, and I am sure you are thrilled for co-worker X on their promotion. And maybe you want to express this to your co-worker, who could fault you for that? Not me, that is for sure. But I’ll tell you what I will take issue with: when you reply all to this email, instead of directly sending the congrats to your co-worker. Because to be honest, more times than not, most people do not care to have their inbox filled with emails that are not meant for them.
2. The Overshare – It’s Monday morning, and you are sharing some details from your weekend with co-workers, nothing wrong with that. Until you take it too far, and suddenly I am listening to you regale me with stories of your hot flashes, your grandmother’s bladder infection or your kid’s vomit. I am not sure when or why it has happened. I do hold the internet partially responsible for creating a culture of oversharing, but it needs to stop. Here’s a tip: if you want to write a blog that expresses your personal (and I mean very personal thoughts and reflections) that is your business, but maybe you do not share that through your corporate Twitter account.
3. Check ins – I know, I know, I have talked about this before but people do not seem to be getting the hint. I do not want my Twitter feed filled with you checking in at the doctor’s, the pharmacy, the bathroom (yep, this has happened), or your mother-in-law’s. And maybe, just maybe, you don’t check in at a bar at 3:30pm on a Friday. That way all your co-workers won’t know that you skipped out early to get bombed.
4. The company-wide email – I consider the company-wide email a privilege. Not everyone should have the power to send these, and if you do, you must treat this power like you have the keys to launch nuclear weapons. Fast and loose is the not the motto you should be employing in these situations. OK, so let’s say you have the power to send these emails. Call me old fashioned, or maybe it the PR professional in me, but I think that a certain amount of professionalism should be expected in these emails. I am all for a little color commentary but I am not OK with you using these as a place to share long winded personal happenings. Because it’s fairly safe to assume that people do not give a shit about the minor details of your life, maybe you save those details for your mom, and to be honest, she may not care to hear them either.
Source: http://thisneedstostop.com/2011/10/14/this-needs-to-stop-the-lack-of-work-place-etiquette/