Workplace Etiquette/ Netiquette
Etiquette is a broad subject relevant to various aspects of one’s social life, including school, air travel, driving a vehicle, sports, and of course the workplace. Workplace etiquette is important because it helps people avoid misunderstandings by encouraging organization and effective communication. It also fosters a less stressful, more productive workplace atmosphere. In one way or another, the subject is relevant to all employees, regardless of their field and where they have been placed, or misplaced ;-), on their institutional hierarchy. For example, emoticons such as the one I have just used may be considered a violation of the workplace code, depending on the type of communication. They would definitely be frowned upon in formal correspondence, whether in the form of letters or e-mails. You need some guts to break some of these taboos, but in an informal, semi-professional blog such as this, it wouldn’t be considered too eccentric to use them – or at least one would hope not.
Netiquette is only one small part of workplace etiquette. One would need several blog posts to touch upon other important aspects of workplace etiquette, which encompasses peripheral matters such as gossip, written and unwritten dress codes, and various issues relating to sight, sound, and smell, as well as core matters such as punctuality and productivity, and avoidance of discrimination: nepotism, sexism, racism, looksism, ageism, discrimination based on lifestyle or irrelevant disability, etc.
Back to netiquette then. Since a considerable proportion of workplace communication takes place through electronic means (e-mail, web postings, teleconferencing, etc.), the topic is not to be taken lightly. For example, researchers have noticed that people tend to be more spontaneous in electronic communications than face to face. While this is commendable in some situations, rash messages are to be avoided. With one click, your message is irreversible, while face to face you may more easily clarify it if it is vague or patch it up if it is regrettable. The use of rude, angry messages known as “flaming” is a well-known problem in internet messaging. Online, people more easily forget the human at the receiving end, or misinterpret messages due to the absence of nonverbal cues such as tone of voice, facial expressions, and posture. Special care is therefore necessary.
Lack of concision, rambling on and on, is yet another violation of workplace rules of conduct as in terms of efficiency, it wastes your audience’s time, affecting their productivity. It may also be interpreted as a personal insult to recipients if they sense that their time is not being valued. Caution is necessary: whether in writing or verbally, give your audience what they need, no more, no less.
Furthermore, electronic communication renders the disclosure of information to third parties much easier. Inappropriate forwarding, cc’ing and bcc’ing of messages are unacceptable, as is misuse of company resources such as computers, e.g. in playing games while on duty. Yet the worst type of violation of all in my view is hacking into personal or sensitive information, especially when accompanied by further illegal or unethical use of the data, as in plagiarism or selling of content to third parties.
The list of subtopics is endless – and of course no one is perfect, especially since people may say or do things under stress that they would never accept under normal circumstances. Still, as a language teacher I’d like to stress that minding your language is an essential part of minding your workplace manners. For more insight into the topic of netiquette, see Virginia Shea’s famous book, The Core Rules of Netiquette, which I have recommended to my students; it is an EXCELLENT resource.
P. S. Please excuse the capital letters above; I didn’t mean to shout!
Posted by May Mikati on 21 August 2011, 10:29 PM
Etiquette is a broad subject relevant to various aspects of one’s social life, including school, air travel, driving a vehicle, sports, and of course the workplace. Workplace etiquette is important because it helps people avoid misunderstandings by encouraging organization and effective communication. It also fosters a less stressful, more productive workplace atmosphere. In one way or another, the subject is relevant to all employees, regardless of their field and where they have been placed, or misplaced ;-), on their institutional hierarchy. For example, emoticons such as the one I have just used may be considered a violation of the workplace code, depending on the type of communication. They would definitely be frowned upon in formal correspondence, whether in the form of letters or e-mails. You need some guts to break some of these taboos, but in an informal, semi-professional blog such as this, it wouldn’t be considered too eccentric to use them – or at least one would hope not.
Netiquette is only one small part of workplace etiquette. One would need several blog posts to touch upon other important aspects of workplace etiquette, which encompasses peripheral matters such as gossip, written and unwritten dress codes, and various issues relating to sight, sound, and smell, as well as core matters such as punctuality and productivity, and avoidance of discrimination: nepotism, sexism, racism, looksism, ageism, discrimination based on lifestyle or irrelevant disability, etc.
Back to netiquette then. Since a considerable proportion of workplace communication takes place through electronic means (e-mail, web postings, teleconferencing, etc.), the topic is not to be taken lightly. For example, researchers have noticed that people tend to be more spontaneous in electronic communications than face to face. While this is commendable in some situations, rash messages are to be avoided. With one click, your message is irreversible, while face to face you may more easily clarify it if it is vague or patch it up if it is regrettable. The use of rude, angry messages known as “flaming” is a well-known problem in internet messaging. Online, people more easily forget the human at the receiving end, or misinterpret messages due to the absence of nonverbal cues such as tone of voice, facial expressions, and posture. Special care is therefore necessary.
Lack of concision, rambling on and on, is yet another violation of workplace rules of conduct as in terms of efficiency, it wastes your audience’s time, affecting their productivity. It may also be interpreted as a personal insult to recipients if they sense that their time is not being valued. Caution is necessary: whether in writing or verbally, give your audience what they need, no more, no less.
Furthermore, electronic communication renders the disclosure of information to third parties much easier. Inappropriate forwarding, cc’ing and bcc’ing of messages are unacceptable, as is misuse of company resources such as computers, e.g. in playing games while on duty. Yet the worst type of violation of all in my view is hacking into personal or sensitive information, especially when accompanied by further illegal or unethical use of the data, as in plagiarism or selling of content to third parties.
The list of subtopics is endless – and of course no one is perfect, especially since people may say or do things under stress that they would never accept under normal circumstances. Still, as a language teacher I’d like to stress that minding your language is an essential part of minding your workplace manners. For more insight into the topic of netiquette, see Virginia Shea’s famous book, The Core Rules of Netiquette, which I have recommended to my students; it is an EXCELLENT resource.
P. S. Please excuse the capital letters above; I didn’t mean to shout!
Posted by May Mikati on 21 August 2011, 10:29 PM
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