Fess up: Which taboos do you break at work?
Take a minute and think about the worst workplace taboo you have committed.
We'll give you a minute - or 20, if it takes that long to wade through the tally of less-than-honorable office indiscretions.
Welcome back. If you've ever wondered why you can't seem to get anything done at the office, it may be because of the things that just came to mind - running a personal errand when out on a sales call or four trips to Starbucks every day.
Guess what? Everybody else is doing these productivity-draining unmentionable activities, too.
"As companies continue to embrace more casual environments, employees may develop a false sense of informality when it comes to the office behavior," said Workbytes human resources expert Rosemary Haefner.
She is vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder.com, which surveys all the things we want to know about workplace dos and don'ts.
The survey of workplace taboos asked 5,700 "workers" about some of the sneakier things done on the job.
But in reality, we all do things we would be a little reluctant to tell the boss.
Some people check fantasy football scores or gamble online, others come back from an out-of-office meeting with a haircut.
These are little things that may be frowned upon by managers with 100 percent productivity expectations, but often aren't against the rules until it becomes a problem.
As it turns out, more people engage in activities that are worse than making a quick personal phone call.
Also, men reportedly engage in these workplace taboos more than women.
The survey of more than 5,700 sometime-workers showed that falling asleep at work was the most common.
Now I will yawn up a storm, throw down the mochas and pinch myself to stay awake during meetings, but I have to say I have never actually fallen asleep on the job. Passed out, maybe; but fallen asleep, no.
But in the interest of full disclosure, I have committed three of the following taboos the CareerBuilder.com survey asked workers about:
- Falling asleep at work: 45 percent say they have snoozed on company time. I hope they have a comfortable chair, or an office door to shut. Nearly half of men, 49 percent, have fallen asleep on the job, compared with 35 percent of women. Maybe that weird sound was snoring and not a jammed printer.
- Kissing a co-worker: 39 percent say workers say they have smooched with a co-worker on the job, and we hope it wasn't their boss. A reason for this? See the next taboo. When it comes to kissing co-workers, 44 percent of men and 34 percent of women admitted to it.
- Consuming alcoholic beverages on the job: 21 percent. Now, this depends on your job. A lot of business people network and socialize after hours while representing their company. If this is "on the job," they might want to find out their employer's policy on tequila shots.
- Stealing from the office: 22 percent, and I don't think they are talking about inadvertently throwing a pen into a purse. But if your K-Fed collection is on writable CDs with the company logo or your TV remote is powered with batteries from the supply closet, you might be guilty.
- Spreading a rumor about a co-worker: 22 percent. Suzy in accounting said that everyone talks about everyone else.
- Snooping after hours: 18 percent. Who wants to be around work after hours?
- Lying about an academic background: 4 percent. This is a quick way to hear "You're fired!" as some chief executives of Fortune 500 companies have found out.
Don't bother. I went to the University of Florida, which was the No.1 party school at the time, and I can get a job. Of course, I did graduate, so that little factual truth helps. But if you don't have the education, go get it before putting it on a resume.
- Taking credit for someone else's work: 2 percent. I can't believe sleeping beat this one. This is a really crappy thing to do and, for the record, wasn't one of my three.
So while CareerBuilder suggests a few more ways for us to avoid work, or at least have more fun doing it, Workbytes cautions workers to be careful with the more serious no-nos.
While they might seem insignificant, some of these do affect co-workers, company morale, and productivity.
Some can lead to quite a bit of trouble.
"Employees should make sure they are aware of company policies, so something that initially seems 'harmless' doesn't end up negatively impacting a career," Haefner said.
A good rule of thumb: If you wouldn't tell your boss about it, you probably shouldn't be doing it.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments