Technology has invaded your office and your personal life too. We are all using it all the time to get the job done, to entertain ourselves, to stay connected, to stay organized, and to order a pizza. As we become more reliant on technology, it is important that you are aware of the etiquette that goes along with it. You don’t want to be that guy/gal who misuses technology. To keep a professional line at work, make sure you follow these rules.
- Mobile phone use
You’re getting texts, calls, social media notifications, there is no way to avoid it. If you have to take a call be sure to keep it short, move to an area where you won’t be a distraction, and try not to get to carried away with your volume. When it comes to checking those notifications and texts, keep it short. You can block out small chunks of time in your day for phone breaks to make sure you stay on task.
- Device Charging
Never unplug someone else’s device so you can charge yours. You may cause an issue for someone else later in the day with this bad etiquette. Try to keep your own chargers handy and scope our the sockets that are free, not just close.
- Instant Messages
IMing is a great way to get a quick answer so you can stay on task. It’s less formal, it’s short and to the point. What’s not to love? An over-IMer, that’s what. Use IM for what it was created for. Don’t ramble on, don’t just chat for fun, and don’t disrupt someone else’s day by having your IM notification on loud.
- Laptops in Meetings
Bringing your laptop to a meeting is pretty common. If you’re giving a presentation, want to take notes, need a few reference pieces, then your laptop is a handy tool to help you stay on top of things. However, oftentimes, during a meeting, everyone has their laptop up and they are working on other things such as catching up on email. Don’t do that. It’s rude to not be engaged when everyone else gathered together to talk about a particular project or issues. Take that time to be dedicated to the task at hand.
- Printer Supplies
If you happen to run the printer out of paper, ink, or toner, don’t just leave it for someone else. Do it yourself. If there are no supplies handy to replace what you’ve run out of, send an email for replacements. Assuming someone else will take care of it is bad tech etiquette.
- Work Email is for Work
Pretty simple. Only use your work email for work related needs. Don’t use it to keep in touch with friends and family. This can help you keep a separation between work and home life. Free platforms for email such as Google and Yahoo are great. There is no reason you shouldn’t have a personal email separate from your work email.
- Bringing Viruses to Work
We aren’t talking about your kid’s cold from preschool this time. Make sure your computers at home have up-to-date antivirus protection as these can come into contact with your work machine. Your IT policies will help you to understand how to make sure viruses don’t become an issue. Familiarize yourself with these.
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