Etiquette at Work (People Forgot How to People) 6 | 9

Sixty percent of employers will reportedly send employees to “office etiquette” training in 2024. Whether it’s folks returning to the office after years of working remotely, or recent college grads without office experience — apparently people don’t know how to act around one another anymore. The team discusses the impact of decreased human interactions and the need to establish office behavior norms. Kim, Brandi and Jason also emphasize the importance of open communication and creating explicit norms, especially in hybrid and remote work environments. And if you work in person, don't touch other people's keyboards or drop Dorito crumbs onto their desks.


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Here's How AI Summed Up This Conversation

*Our robot makes some mistakes—listen to the episode for a 100% accurate account of Kim and Amy's conversation.

The conversation explores the challenges of workplace etiquette and respect in the modern world. It discusses the impact of decreased interactions and the need to establish norms for behavior in the office. The importance of open communication and creating explicit norms is emphasized, especially in hybrid and remote work environments.

The conversation also touches on the significance of respecting boundaries and cleanliness in the workplace. Overall, the key takeaway is the need to have conversations and make the implicit explicit to foster a respectful and productive work environment.

The conversation explores the importance of connecting through conversation and the role of technology in facilitating or hindering communication. It also delves into the distinction between bottom-up norm-setting and top-down rulemaking, highlighting the potential biases and inefficiencies of the latter.

The concept of inefficiency as a path to efficiency is discussed, emphasizing the value of having conversations to foster understanding and long-term effectiveness. The conversation concludes with practical tips for implementing radical candor and a checklist for resolving conflicts about workplace norms.

Top Takeaways

• Establishing norms for behavior in the workplace is crucial for fostering respect and productivity.
• Open communication and discussions are essential for creating explicit norms and addressing challenges in the office.
• Respecting boundaries, cleanliness, and different work styles are important aspects of workplace etiquette.
• In hybrid and remote work environments, it is crucial to consider time zones and find ways to recreate social interactions.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

00:44 Lack of Etiquette in the Workplace

02:08 Decreased Interactions in the Modern World

03:04 Respect as the Key

05:08 Challenges of Returning to the Office

08:07 Navigating Social Interactions

09:02 Respecting Boundaries in an Open Office

10:27 Creating Norms for Office Spaces

11:26 Accommodating Different Work Styles

12:10 The Importance of Norms over Rules

13:58 Having Conversations to Establish Norms

14:54 The Challenge of Remote Work

16:39 Respecting Cleanliness in the Workplace

19:30 Setting Norms for Hybrid Teams

20:55 Managing Time Zones and Communication

23:45 Creating Explicit Norms for Remote Work

27:10 Encouraging Open Communication

32:21 Addressing Time Zone Challenges

35:21 Recreating Social Interactions in Remote Work

37:42 Making the Implicit Explicit

39:18 The Goal of Radical Candor: Connecting Through Conversation

40:21 Bottoms Up Norm Setting vs Top Down Rulemaking

41:21 Inefficiency as a Path to Efficiency

43:31 Radical Candor Checklist