If you want to stay on the good side of the boss, there are two things you should never do at the office. According to a new survey by Accountemps, 65% of managers and 46% of workers say one of the best things anyone can do to advance their career is to be courteous.
As to the things you should not do, top of the list is being late. “You’ve wasted 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 12 minutes, a half hour of people’s time, and if people are habitual about this it’s your brand, your reputation,” says etiquette expert Colleen Rickenbacher. Tardiness was the top complaint by managers.
In a survey of workers, the top complaint was office gossip, which was number three for executives. Rickenbacker says talking about others at the office can get out of hand and become destructive to not only relationships but productivity as well, and should be addressed with management. “That’s where you need to go to your HR department, or to your own boss, and just say it’s out of control and someone needs to put an end to it,” she tells News Radio 740 KTRH.
Another area that figured prominently in the complaints by both groups was failing to respond to email and inter-office communications in a timely manner.