Workplace etiquette
None of this is expert advice. It's what people worked out for themselves, usually the hard way — what actually helped, and what they'd tell someone standing where you are. Take what fits and leave the rest.
If you only read a few
Invite one or two colleagues you talked with to lunch on the first day.
It is a great way to show you are laidback and bond with colleagues.
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- Stay calm, smile, say hi, and be a listener rather than a talker during the first days.1
Keep your mouth shut at work and avoid saying things you wouldn't want repeated.
Less is always more.
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If a boss calls late at night, wake up early in the morning with coffee to call back and confirm details, which may stop future late calls.
One person found this stopped their boss from calling late at night after the second occurrence.
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Talk to your colleagues to avoid being unpopular.
The least popular people are those who won't talk, followed by those who talk too much.
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people, colleagues, work, staff47
Limit the personal details you share with coworkers.
In retail or sales roles, tell customers you are leaving half an hour before your scheduled shift ends to manage expectations and avoid being kept late by managers.
Managers may get angry if you stay late and mess up their labor budget.
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Be friendly to people who work behind the scenes, such as canteen staff.
It often pays off; getting to know them may warrant some generosity.
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If you are off the clock, decline work conversations by stating you will discuss them when you clock in.
Setting boundaries prevents people from taking advantage of your time.
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Tell the truth to IT staff.
It is courteous and helps both parties move on with their day.
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Ask questions to make people feel smart and show interest.
Everyone will like you.
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Be nice to facilities staff because it is the right thing to do, not just for deliberate gain.
It is the right thing to do.
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Wait until a coworker has clocked in before approaching them with questions or requests.
This ensures they are getting paid for their time.
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Avoid lingering in restaurants or bars after closing hours.
It forces staff to work longer than usual.
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Limit the personal details you share with coworkers.
They are colleagues, not friends, and such information can be used against you.
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Leave a non-essential personal item, like a bag, at your desk when you leave early or take a break to create the impression that you are still working.
People generally assume you are still there if your belongings remain, creating the impression that you are available to help.
- This approach may not be suitable for all professional environments.
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Avoid claiming that practices at your previous job were better than those at your new job.
It annoys your new coworkers.
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Be friendly and relaxed, and get involved in suitable conversations without butting in.
You will eventually ease into it, get to know people, and become comfortable and accepted.
- Do not overdo anything.
- Do not be too reserved.
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Claim you are in a meeting to take extended lunches if colleagues are unlikely to notice.
Very few people notice the duration if you say it is for another meeting.
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Do not assume coworkers are financially desperate if they choose to leave work early for personal reasons.
For many people, the choice between extra pay and personal time is easy, depending on their financial situation.
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Install a monitor rear-view mirror in your cubicle to see people approaching from behind.
It helps if you startle easily, regardless of what you are doing.
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If working from home, send an email at the start of your day and another at the end to demonstrate your active hours.
That alleviates suspicion.
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Ask coworkers to provide the names of colleagues you have greeted casually for years but do not know.
Coworkers are likely to have recently gone through introductions and know the names.
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Keep orders simple and quick if you must enter a fast food store near closing time, as large orders force staff to reverse cleaning efforts.
One manager got excited at extra sales from a large order 15 minutes before close and made staff turn everything back on after almost finishing cleaning.
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If a coworker brags about tampering with others' belongings, call them out immediately and state that you will keep an eye on them to deter future behavior.
This makes them second-guess their plan because you are being attentive.
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Normalize wearing formal interview attire (like a suit) to casual workplaces to reduce suspicion when leaving for interviews.
One person found that explaining they paid a lot for the suit made people stop asking questions.
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React calmly and quickly to mistakes, focusing on cleanup or repairs.
Getting fired comes from repeating the same mistake, not from making one.
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Screen voicemails from after-hours calls immediately to determine if the matter is truly urgent, rather than waiting a fixed amount of time.
Frequently the message will say 'no need to respond tonight.'
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Allow senior colleagues time to warm up before asking them questions upon their arrival.
Senior staff receive a ridiculous amount of questions daily and need time to settle in.
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Exercise caution with humor when new at a job.
Humor is subjective and jokes may backfire before you are settled in.
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Avoid presenting unsolicited improvement plans or presentations early in a new role.
It can make everyone look bad and cause resentment.
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Avoid pretending to arrive first and leave last, as colleagues will recognize it as fake brown-nosing.
People realize the fakery and talk about it.
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Document the 'how's and why's' of tasks, including contacts, to help on bad brain days and impress prospective bosses.
It provides a reference on bad brain days and impresses prospective bosses during job interviews.
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Track your effective hourly rate to change how you view overtime.
Tracking effective hourly rate completely changed how one person looks at overtime.
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Ask coworkers about their dietary restrictions and treat preferences before bringing food to work.
People have various dietary needs such as gluten-free diets, allergies, or dieting goals.
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Do not tell colleagues if you are coming into work early.
It prevents receiving urgent requests for unrelated tasks that defeat the purpose of arriving early.
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Record your actual working hours accurately to provide data for requesting additional staff.
Accurate time logs make it easier for management to justify hiring more people.
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Ask questions in the morning when colleagues are refreshed.
It allows others to recharge.
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Introduce yourself to coworkers and ask about their work and lives instead of just bringing food.
It makes you appear confident and friendly rather than just 'the donut guy/lady.'
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Learn colleagues' names and use them frequently to ensure everyone hears your name.
Saying their name back shows respect and interest, gives them a chance to correct pronunciation, and helps you remember it.
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Review your work after sleeping on it to catch errors and improve quality.
A second look, even after a short sleep interval, improves the output.
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Write down verbal promises regarding promotions or timelines immediately to ensure accountability.
Managers may later dispute their original timeline claims, but written notes provide evidence of what was said.
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Stop responding to work messages 30 minutes before leaving and ignore casual greetings like 'Hi' on chat platforms.
Casual greetings are often testing the waters rather than social interactions.
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Put your foot down immediately if you feel disrespected by a coworker, as managers are unlikely to intervene.
Managers will likely not lift a finger to help.
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Ask interviewers about their job satisfaction and what they dislike most about the role; a hesitant pause is a negative signal.
Interviewers tend to be honest in their responses, and a pause indicates dissatisfaction.
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Learn the names and personal details of support staff to build genuine rapport.
Asking about personal events, such as a family member's sports tournament, distinguishes making friends from just being nice.
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Condition coworkers to ping or email you instead of calling, and be direct about when you can help to improve your reputation.
One person reported their reputation increased by not answering phone calls and being honest about availability.
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Do not judge colleagues who leave work on time.
Finishing within paid hours indicates efficiency, whereas working late often signals an inability to complete work efficiently.
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Notice coworkers' office decorations to start conversations and remember their names.
It helps start conversations without resorting to weather talk and aids in remembering names.
- It may help you avoid coworkers with unusual or overwhelming decorations.
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Treat employer anonymous surveys and exit interviews as non-confidential and avoid sharing negative information.
Employers can match responses to people via employee IDs in URLs, IP addresses, email addresses, or intranet login times.
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If a supervisor disregards previously agreed-upon days off despite your straightforward communication, stand your ground and consider looking for new employment.
Being straightforward about needs while they are openly disregarded makes seeking new employment appropriate.
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Apologize for being late without offering excuses.
Using trivial or dishonest excuses makes you look untrustworthy.
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Submit a ticket for every IT request, even if you call for an emergency fix, because tickets are the only metric IT departments use.
IT departments generally don't generate revenue and rely on tickets as their primary metric.
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Understand that in some workplaces, a lack of care from employers leads to low standards and poor pay trickling down to employees.
Employers not caring causes a trickle-down effect of no standards and bad pay.
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Be aware that long-tenured employees may possess unchecked poor work habits that they pass on to new hires.
This can create a chaotic work environment where new employees learn negative behaviors.
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Take annual leave frequently.
Refusing to take time off often leads to burnout.
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If you are highly reliable in a low-level role, recognize that this indispensability can prevent your promotion to management.
You become too vital to be moved from the job where you do the actual work.
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Insist on a high-quality office chair to avoid pain that leads to unproductivity.
The pain of a bad seat drives you towards unproductivity.
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If your job requires smartphone use for authentication, ignore advice to stay off your phone.
You cannot perform your duties without it.
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Do not rely on extra effort for future recognition, as companies often adjust to your sacrifices faster than they reward them.
Companies adapt to the new level of output without providing corresponding rewards.
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Track not only extra hours worked but also why those hours were important to projects or deadlines, especially if your position allows you to show direct contribution.
This data is important for performance reviews if your position is 'capitalizable'.
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Before regularly staying late, verify that it leads to tangible benefits like promotions, pay raises, or valuable experience rather than just solving your employer's problem.
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Refuse to become an unpaid trainer for new hires if you are in the same position and paid the same rate.
You have limited hours to complete your own tasks, and courtesy does not equate to providing training.
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Write down instructions while someone demonstrates a task to you.
Note-takers outperform those relying on recall, preventing the need for repeated explanations.
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Research the standard, documented way to perform a task independently of your trainer's instructions.
Trainers often use shortcuts developed over time, and without learning the long way, you cannot understand the underlying process.
- Documentation spelling out the long way is very rare.
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Explain the reasoning behind procedures to new employees to help them retain the information.
Trainees are more likely to retain information if there is a reason behind why you are doing a particular thing.
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Write down all information provided during training to ensure you remember it later.
Writing down information means you will remember it later, and trainers should not berate you for doing so.
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