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It is very common for employees of a large company to work in a large open space filled with cubicles. When working in a cubicle at times the cubicle may give the impression of privacy, but this could not be further from the truth. Your co workers can hear you, and usually see you as well. Here are some helpful tips that can stop you from looking foolish in front of your co workers and maybe even save your job.
Disturbing the Peace:
The biggest complaint in any office is usually people disturbing the peace and quiet in the office. People thing that because they are in a cubicle they can talk on their cell phones or play a radio and no one will hear them. I am here to tell you this could not be further from the truth. The people around you can hear every word of your phone calls and hear every note from your radio, and no matter how nice you think the music is the people around you may not think so. Try to keep personal calls to your break time or walk out of the office when you have to take a personal call, and if your boss allows you to listen to the radio use headphones so you do not disturb the other people in the office.
Office Rumors:
Every day people loose their jobs for talking about other people they work with and spreading rumors. When you work in an office anything you tell someone will eventually come back to you, and if you say something bad about another co worker they will eventually find out that you are the one who said it and if they complain it is called creating a hostile workplace and not only can you get fired but you and the company can get sued for it, even if what you said was the truth. If you hear something, keep it to yourself and you will not have any problems.
Non Company Correspondences:
In the last 15 years it has become common for employees to have access to the internet at each employee's desk. Employees have taken advantage of this to the point that it would be imposable to fire every worker who was caught emailing friends during the work day. This does not mean that you should take advantage of this and spend all day on your personal email. Remember be fair to the company and it will usually be fair to you. Don’t expect to get a raise or promotion when you spend several hours at your desk online with non work related things.
Don’t Walk Around for no Reason:
Very often office workers need to give something to someone on the other side of the office or maybe talk to someone in another department so t not be at your desk all the time may be common, but that does not mean that sitting and talking to someone else is acceptable. It is one thing to ask someone how they are but to have a 10 minute conversation on company time is just bad work ethics on your part. If your boss sees you talking too many times instead of working you will be looking for a new job with no one to blame but yourself.
Lunch:
Eating at your desk is fairly common in a busy office, but try not to bring or order food that has a strong smell or is wrapped in a wrapper that makes too much noise when you open it.. As much as you may enjoy the smell of your food others may not. Try to bring in food that does not have any odor that someone else can smell. And loud wrappers can get on peoples nerves and can cause resentments that can come back to haunt you in the future.
Au Natural:
Before you put on that aftershave in the morning you may want to take a moment to think if it is really appropriate. It is not uncommon for some people to be bothered by colognes and perfumes in the office. This can cause headaches in some people and if you are the cause if this your job can quickly be in jeopardy especially if it is the boss who you are disturbing.
Pimp my Cubicle:
Many people want their cubicles to reflect their personality, and they will put up pictures and jokes and little knick knacks. The problem with this is that it does not look professional when outsiders visit the office, to have a few pictures on your desk is one thing but to have a small aquarium or collectables on your desk may be a bit much for any office. Before sprucing up your cubicle make sure to run it by the supervisor. You would not want to get a letter from human resources for having inappropriate items on your desk.
Watching the way you act and being courteous to your fellow workers can make a difference between having a career with the possibility of raises and promotions or a dead end job.