There are many bad habits when it comes to office space decorum.  

The usual’s… getting into the office late, taking too long for lunch, someone stealing your food or making personal phone calls that disrupt the office. All so annoying!!!

But what about the other gripes, the ones that seem so menial, but really get under the skin of your colleagues. 

We’re going to take a look at a few peeves we have all encountered, or might even be guilty of ourselves!

Don’t touch the levers!!! 

Altering the height or recline function on someone’s office chair!  

Occasionally a situation may arise where you may need to use some else’s, but there should be an unwritten rule that you do not touch any of the levers! Or alter any height settings! Not only do you have an awful sense of falling when someone a lot smaller has been sitting in your chair, but finding the optimum position when someone has been fiddling is very frustrating!                   

Food Etiquette 

Eating your pungent smelling food in the office. Eggs and fish are a no. Regardless of the diet fad or regime you may be following, if you need to eat these at certain times of the day, it is preferable that you eat them elsewhere to avoid polluting the office airspace!  (Likewise, if you have leftovers of last night’s amazing takeaway, don’t bring it into the office…unless you have enough to share! They’ll be jealous!)  

Misophonia, have you heard of this? It literally translates to “hatred of sounds” many people have an intensely negative reaction to everyday sounds such as breathing, chewing, sniffing and tapping. If you are going to eat in the office, please, close your mouth when you chew!!  (If I was in charge, noisy eating would be a sackable offence!! It just makes me crazyyyy!!)

Personal Hygiene 

Always arrive at work clean and fresh. If you are on a fitness binge and biking 30 Kilometres into the office, good on you! But make sure you have ample time and facilities to get yourself changed and work-ready. Sweating into the keyboard is not O.K.  

Feet! Yes it can get  little hot and stuffy and you may feel like kicking your shoes off to let your sweaty little toes breath, do yourself a favour first and have a little sniff if you can smell them, you are damn sure your colleagues can and that will not make you any friends!                                      

It’s your round! 

Don’t shirk on the tea round! We are all busy people and unless you have a designated tea maker (one that has been specified by the company, not just by you) make sure you are making your fair share.  

Be a team player 

Definitely, definitely, definitely don’t screw your colleagues around on commission. If you work in a sales environment, yes it’s competitive, that’s the nature of the beast but don’t try to pass off someone else’s sale as your own. It will come to light eventually and hell hath no fury like a salesperson duped out of commission! Also the rest of the team will think you’re a snake.  

Keep it professional 

Office romances, absolutely fine, you can’t help who Cupid’s arrow strikes, but keep it under wraps at work. Smooching over the coffee machine or innuendos that are best left at home…should probably be left at home.  

Don’t be a bragger! 

Promoting yourself is absolutely fine, sharing ideas and successes can be inspiring, but there is a fine line between accepting well deserved praise and bragging. Talk about your achievements as a  collective. How can they benefit you and your team?  Of course, be ambitious and give your all, revel in your successes but be gracious in your victories.    

It’s not that hard to be a considerate office roomy, basically treat people how you would like to be treated and act how you would like people to act, and the majority of the time you will be on to a winner.  

If you do find yourself feeling a little irritated by something or someone, the best approach, is to have a quiet word with them. Let them know your peeve and you are more likely to come to an amicable resolution. Telling everyone else accept them is a little immature and is likely to result in an escalated issue.  

We spend more time at work than we do at home, so ideally the office space needs to be a comfortable working environment that is conducive to happiness and productivity, so come on boys and girls, play nice!