Avoid Doing These 6 Activities in Your Office Cubicle

It’s your cubicle. You even have a nameplate. So it’s your personal space, right? Not really. The sense of privacy you may feel is merely an illusion. It’s more like occupying a seat at the dinner table. Don’t do anything in your cubicle that you wouldn’t do with someone sitting right across the desk from you. Treat your office space with respect if you want to be taken seriously in the workplace. Don’t be the guy who doesn’t know how to act in an office cubicle environment. And if you want to keep your job, avoid doing these 6 activities in your office cubicle.

• Using speakerphone. 

Speakerphones are for conference calls involving multiple people in a room with a closed door. Speakerphones are not for one-on-one calls held in a cubicle because you can’t be bothered to hold the handset to your ear. If it makes for a more comfortable conversation, get a headset.

• Talking loudly. 

Other people are trying to concentrate on work, so please use your inside voice. Don’t forget that you aren’t the only person in the room. A loud booming voice is distracting to those around you and shows you don’t care about other people’s conversations.

• Walk in unannounced.

Few things are more unnerving than turning slightly and seeing someone standing right behind you. Announce your entry into someone else’s workspace. Find a hard surface like the connector pieces of the wall to knock on.

• Eating foul smelling foods. 

No matter how delicious you may find your tuna sandwich, most people don’t want to smell fish when they’re not eating it. Take your lunch to the break room. It’s a healthier way to eat lunch, anyway. You aren’t supposed to eat at your desk!

• Having gross conversations. 

No one wants to hear about your latest foot fungus or your cousin’s eye surgery. Keep those types of conversations quiet and out of earshot.

• Doing disgusting things. 

Clipping your fingernails or flossing your teeth can be a multi-sensory barrage. No one wants to experience that. If you do feel the need to clean your nails or your teeth, please use the bathroom.

Want to read more about cubicle etiquette? Here are 7 common sense office cubicle etiquette tips!