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Chapter 12
Workplace Etiquette:
Rules for Behavior
FOCUS
Mastering and using correct etiquette is important in any setting but especially so in work-related
ones if people are to attain and maintain success. Many people today are unsure of rules of
etiquette and therefore lack confidence in their ability to act appropriately, needlessly diminishing
the self-confident image they might like to portray. Others, not lacking confidence, might still be
hurting themselves and making others uncomfortable. The purpose of this chapter is to present
straightforward guidelines that students can apply immediately both at work and in their personal
lives.
OBJECTIVES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to:
12.1 Define workplace etiquette and its connection to assertiveness.
12.2 Explain the importance of workplace etiquette.
12.3 Use etiquette to make a good impression.
12.4 Use correct etiquette with customers and associates.
12.5 Apply etiquette in electronic communications.
TEACHING-LEARNING SUGGESTIONS
Answers to Jump Start:
Answers will vary based on personal opinions. Encourage open discussion to establish the variety
Supplementary Exercise 12.1
Introduce the chapter with a question: Have you ever been in a situation when lack of knowledge
about correct etiquette (your own or someone else’s) created a problem for you? Encourage
students to describe several situations, while you write broad identifiers on the chalkboard or
overhead transparency. You may choose to group the situations into various categories used in
this chapter. Point out that this chapter will provide students with help in all of these areas so that
they can behave with greater confidence in the future.
12.1 WORKPLACE ETIQUETTE AND ITS CONNECTION TO ASSERTIVENESS
Many problems in the workplace are the direct result of lapses in etiquette..
Chapter 12 Workplace Etiquette: Rules for Behavior 1
Judgments are often quickly made about your competence, credibility, professionalism, and
character based on your behavior and appearance.
Workplace Etiquette
Workplace etiquette deals with commonly accepted rules for good behavior in workplace
interactions. Put simply, when you use correct etiquette, you act appropriately, are
considerate, make other people feel comfortable in your presence, and try not to embarrass
others. Etiquette has been called the oil that prevents friction in business and social settings.
Knowledge of etiquette contributes to the social skill component of emotional
intelligence. With social skill, you are better able to manage relationships with others, find
common ground with them, and develop rapport.
Knowledge of etiquette provides you with a code of behavior in different settings, much
as rulebooks provide you with a set of directions for playing golf, tennis, and other games. If
you know the rules, you can play the game better and enjoy it more. When you walk into a
situation and are sure that you know how to handle yourself, your self-confidence will be
obvious to others.
Answers to In the News
Assertive Behavior
Assertiveness is the process of expressing your thoughts and feelings while asking for what
you want in an appropriate, calm, and confident manner. It is acting in a way that is neither
too pushy nor too passive.
Using your best human relations skills and workplace etiquette enables you to use
appropriate assertive behaviors for best outcomes. Discuss the suggestions presented in
the text.
Supplementary Exercise 12.2
Students are to pair up and role-play the following situation, using effective and appropriate
assertiveness skills. The role-playing is to be videotaped and played back for critique. The
critique should focus on how appropriate and inappropriate behaviors are demonstrated in the
role-playing and why they are inappropriate.
You have been waiting to see your boss for at least a week about a raise but have been told that
the schedule is tight because the boss is trying to finish a project and prepare to go to an out-of-
town conference. While you are in the assistant’s office trying to get an appointment, another
department member walks directly into the boss’s office. You feel sure that the department
member does not have an appointment.
Answers to Ask Yourself
1. Student answers will vary but should demonstrate an understanding of etiquette. They
2. Student answers should demonstrate an understanding of appropriate assertive behaviors
2 Human Relations—Instructor’s Resource CD
3. Student answers will vary but should be specific and should include reasons why these
12.2 IMPORTANCE OF WORKPLACE ETIQUETTE
Companies view etiquette as a way of giving them a competitive edge in winning and
retaining a solid market share. They fear losing customers who aren’t treated well and are
embarrassed by employees who may be technically brilliant but lack basic manners and
social graces.
Knowledge of the finer points of good manners can help you build long-term relationships
with coworkers, customers, and clients. Often, the ability to engage in small talk over dinner
or in small groups, listen effectively, and make introductions—all in a natural and sincere
way—is a part of many companies’ marketing strategies.
Etiquette is more important than ever today for a variety of reasons:
In the 1960s and early 1970s, “doing your own thing” became the norm, and many
children weren’t taught etiquette, resulting in a generation of business people who may
feel awkward and ill at ease, particularly with the increasing use of teams and group
decision making.
The heavy use of computers may result in people frequently working in isolation or
being treated impersonally, which can leave them desiring human connection. This need
can be at least partially met through socially correct interpersonal behaviors.
Electronic communication requires specific etiquette skills.
The growth of the global economy and an increasingly diverse population requires that
workers interact with people of all cultures, being careful not to offend them by violating
their communication or behavioral norms.
Because of workforce changes (multigenerations, disabled workers, underrepresented
populations, and others), old behavioral rules are being reexamined and new ones
created.
Answers to Global Connection
Answers to Ask Yourself
1. Students should review the list in the text and then discuss any other reasons openly and
2. Answers will vary depending on the viewpoint of the individuals and their unique
3. Proper etiquette demonstrates respect by showing courtesy, kindness, and politeness. It also
12.3 PROFESSIONAL PRESENCE
Chapter 12 Workplace Etiquette: Rules for Behavior 3
Susan Bixler and Lisa Scherrer Dugan, authors of 5 Steps to Professional Presence,6 define
professional presence as a combination of your poise, self-confidence, control, and style
Appearance
Manners
Having good manners means that you know how to behave when dining, make smooth
introductions, avoid obscenities and offensive comments or stories, use correct meeting and
Supplementary Exercise 12.3
Arrange for the class to have lunch together where they can be videotaped during the meal. Play
back the tape for students to provide constructive criticism on their table manners. Offer positive
suggestions where appropriate.
Supplementary Exercise 12.4
Students should work in groups of three and practice making introductions. They should take
turns playing different roles explained in the text. Videotape the role-plays and play them back for
critique and correction. The critique should focus on the etiquette guidelines for introductions
suggested in the chapter.
Answers to Ask Yourself
1. Answers will vary. Encourage students to share the policies of their workplaces and facilitate
4 Human Relations—Instructor’s Resource CD
2. Answers will vary, but students should be encouraged to explore the real reasons first
3. Answers will vary. Students should be encouraged to share their personal experiences in an
4. Answers may vary, but students should be reminded that there are very few business
12.4 CUSTOMER AND ASSOCIATE RELATIONS
Your interactions with customers and associates (whether coworkers or others) call for strong
social skills. How you treat them is a crucial factor in your success and the success of your
company.
Customer Relations
Poor service or bad treatment will lose a company customers. Moreover, it loses more than
just the customer who was treated badly because, while customers will seldom tell
the company about the treatment, they do tell their friends and others. Discuss
guidelines for good customer relations in the chapter.
Supplementary Exercise 12.5
Students are to play the following roles pertaining to telephone usage. The role-playing is to be
videotaped and played back for critique. The critique should focus on guidelines for correct use of
the telephone.
You are accepting payment from a patient who has just seen the doctor for whom you work
when the telephone rings. A patient who is to see the doctor has just arrived.
You are on your way out the door to lunch with two coworkers when the telephone rings. You
know that your officemate, who left for lunch five minutes ago, is expecting an important
call.
You are on long distance with a supplier when your other line rings. The call is from an
important client whom you have been trying to reach for three days.
When your telephone rings, the person on the line, with a very heavy accent, asks for
someone, but you do not understand the name. You are in the middle of processing a
complicated graph on your computer screen for a report due in one hour.
Associate Relations
Associate relations pertain to the way you interact with your networks, mentors, coworkers,
and other business associates through courtesy and etiquette. To be effective when
networking, you must make a good personal appearance and sincere personal connection.
Use your networks appropriately. Members of your network will come to resent you if you
abuse the process, for example, by trying to solicit free advice from professionals such as
doctors, lawyers, and accountants.
A mentor is an experienced person who will give you objective career advice. A mentor
can be someone inside or outside your organization but in your profession. Your choice of a
mentor should be someone you respect. Therefore, act professionally and don’t abuse your
mentor’s time or position.
Be careful about office politics. Use discretion and courtesy. Participating in or even
listening to gossip not only is ill-mannered, but also can have serious consequences for your
career.
Chapter 12 Workplace Etiquette: Rules for Behavior 5
To maintain good relationships with coworkers, be willing to collaborate and take on
additional responsibilities, share credit and accolades, meet deadlines and commitments, and
get to know your colleagues on a personal level.
Should conflict develop between you and a coworker, use kindness and courtesy to try to
restore your relationship. Your goal is a win–win resolution of the conflict.
A little envy among coworkers may be normal and can frequently be deflected by a sense
of humor and sensitivity and, therefore, may not be a cause for concern. However, excessive
competition can become disruptive. Discuss suggestions for working with overly competitive
coworkers in Figure 12.3 and suggestions for dealing with persons who may be grieving.
Answers to Ask Yourself
12.5 ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
The increased use of communication technologies has brought a whole new set of etiquette
problems. Use the same ethical standards, communication correctness, and respect for others’
time in your communication technologies as you do in other interactions.
Answers to Ethics Connection
Telephone Etiquette
As an employee of a company, you portray the image of that company each time you use the
telephone for a business purpose. Effective human relations and etiquette are just as
important on the telephone as in person.
Supplementary Exercise 12.6
Discuss Figure 12.4 and ask students to share personal experience when these tips may not have
been followed by them or by others. Encourage students to share their feelings of any violations
they have encountered.
Discuss appropriate behaviors for handling call waiting, voice mail, and cell phones
Answers to Technology Connection
Answers will vary here. Encourage candid conversations about the use of electronic
communication devices and being sensitive to others.
E-Mail Etiquette
A good rule of thumb is if you don’t want your message to wind up in someone
else’s hands, don’t send it by e-mail. Discuss the etiquette guidelines in this chapter and recall
those discussed in earlier chapters.
Virtual Meeting Etiquette
While virtual meetings may save money and time, they create whole new areas of
conferencing etiquette to remember. Discuss Figure 12.5 regarding virtual meeting etiquette.
Other virtual meeting etiquette rules include speaking clearly and distinctly, making eye
contact with the camera and other participants, and turning off all cell phones, beepers,
6 Human Relations—Instructor’s Resource CD
PDAs, and watch alarms. Don’t speak over people and don’t leave the room unless absolutely
necessary.
Workplace Surveillance
Employers have many reasons for exercising workplace surveillance: competition,
protection of proprietary information, protection against hackers, viruses or other intruders,
and maintenance of a safe working environment.23 As technology advances, be sure you
understand your employer’s privacy policies.
Answers to Ask Yourself
KEY TERMS DEFINITIONS
Workplace etiquette Deals with commonly accepted rules for good behavior in workplace
interactions.
Assertive behavior Process of expressing your thoughts and feelings while asking for what
you want in an appropriate, calm, and confident manner.
Professional presence A combination of your poise, self-confidence, control, and style that
empowers you to command respect in any situation.
Mentor An experienced person who will give you objective career advice.
SUGGESTED RESPONSES TO REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. Etiquette is more important than ever today because it helps reduce the impersonal
2. Guidelines for table manners include the following. Sit down from the left side of the
chair when possible. Normally wait until all people at the table are seated and have their
Chapter 12 Workplace Etiquette: Rules for Behavior 7
3. General rules for making introductions are these: Introduce younger people or people
4. Student answers will vary. Guidelines for communication technology are shown in the
chapter. Examples:
5. Networks can be used to exchange information, ideas, and occasional favors, thus
6. Using your best human relations skills and workplace etiquette enables you to use
7. Student responses will vary but should reflect understanding of technology etiquette.
SUGGESTED RESPONSES TO CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
1. Student answers will vary. Be sure students correctly identify the etiquette rule and
2. Student answers might include unwritten rules such as who receives the best office in the
3. Student answers will vary depending on personal experiences or knowledge of cases. They
4. No doubt, many students will not yet have a mentor or a professional network. The discussion
8 Human Relations—Instructor’s Resource CD
SUGGESTED RESPONSES TO CASE STUDIES QUESTIONS
Answers to Case Study 1 Questions (Invitation to Go Elsewhere)
1. Marge is displaying aggressive behavior. She is valuing herself above the customers and
Answers to Case Study 2 Questions (Telephone Tales)
1. Martin violated practically every rule of telephone etiquette, particularly the rules of
2. He should never have been involved in a lengthy personal call on work time. He should have
3. Because Martin conceivably could have angered many others prior to his termination, he
CHAPTER PROJECT
1. Students should be encouraged to be creative in their talent search for this chapter project.
2. The mock networking meetings should allow students to exercise their networking skills,
hone their etiquette skills at introducing themselves and others, deal with various cultures,
and demonstrate necessary required business protocols required in social settings that include
Chapter 12 Workplace Etiquette: Rules for Behavior 9
