Office Etiquette

Hello High Heelers

I’ve come to the realisation that I’m getting married in six months’ time. 24 weeks. 120 days (give or take a couple). *Clouds open, sunrays shine through and the sound of singing angels erupts*. Holy donkey warts! Never mind the fact that I have a load of arrangements to make, I have just six more months as a single woman. This is a scary thought. It means that I will soon have to learn to be unselfish, and most petrifyingly I will need to share my shoe cupboard! *gasp*

You know, I’ve heard that my highly heeled, elegant boss, Natalie Maroun, has a massive cupboard dedicated to her shoe collection. And that it’s fully colour coded and beautifully arranged. This is not an urban legend; there are at least five witnesses in the office who will admit to having seen it. So if Natalie doesn’t share her fabulous shoe cupboard with anyone, why should I? I think this is a very valid question.

Ok. Well, realistically, my house is a little smaller than Natalie’s. In fact, my house isn’t actually a house at all. It’s an apartment. A small one. And if I don’t empty my shoe cupboard (which takes up the entire cupboard space in my spare room/study) then there will be no space for my future-husband’s clothing – and I’m not sure that I like the idea of him walking through life naked!

Us decisive, independent and strong women sometimes aren’t always the best at compromising. My fiancée would definitely agree to that statement, so I hope he doesn’t read this post! Yet being fair to those around us is a very important part of life and of our humanity. If you work in an open plan office, like I do, you will need to learn to put up with other people’s highly annoying habits and remember that you probably have some too.

So this week, try not to be the one who screams awkwardly down your phone at your partner, about what your mother-in-law said at dinner last night. Don’t spend hours trying to entertain your busy co-workers with the sordid details of your weekend when they are clearly not interested. Try not to subject your poor workmates to a concoction of warmed up smelly liver and onions in the middle of the office. Use a decent fragrance, particularly in the summer months. And my personal favourite: please change your Barney tune (or similar annoying song) on your phone, or at least turn it to silent, after listening to constant repeats of “I love you, you love me…” many of your single colleagues are close to sterilisation.

As people, we are always subjected to other people. Fortunately in the case of our partners, we get to choose who we live with (so in all fairness it’s time for me to get working on my shoe cupboard), but when it comes to our colleagues, it is quite different. May I encourage you to be a little more cognisant of others’ in the office and to try not to do things that will annoy and disrespect other people? By being a role model, you may also encourage better behaviour from those around you.

Have a wonderful week High Heelers and step out in your most respectable heels as you become the catalyst of great working relationships in your work environment.

Cheers,
Jo