Manners in the Workplace - opinions please!

Dragan

Hey guys and gals,

this has been playing on my mind for a while now so i figured i would ask for the opinions of others!

My work place is a heavily female dominated company. We seem to be pretty much ahead of the game when it's comes to ladies getting into upper management and our percentage of male to female employees would be roughly 35% to 65% in favour of the ladies!

Now then, i'm one of those kids who was raised on manners, with the only parents really driving home the importance of "Please" and "Thank you".

I'm also the kind of chap to hold a door i am walked through if someone coming either direction is close enough to warrant it. I have noticed in my 4 and a half years working here that the vast majority of the guys will all nod or say "cheers" or "thanks" whereas the vast majority of the ladies will just breeze on by.....but duck and cover if you don't hold that door!!

So.....manners in the workplace, yes or no? do you or don't you feel they are important?

Also, if you spend a long time treating someone with manners in a rude manner should you really be suprised should those attempts at manners start to dissapate?

MsFifers

I agree with you that manners are extremely important but that fewer and fewer people seem to be taught them.

I've been at business meetings where colleagues acted in a really ill-mannered way - and seen how badly they were viewed by clients and business partners. I would say that business and opportunities were lost due to bad impressions created by bad manners.

Maybe it should be part of a staff policy in all companies.

I would always say thank you to someone holding a door for me - I would suggest you say "you're welcome" to people in your workplace who don't!!!! Might remind them!
(Although maybe thats not very mannerly!)

Dragan

MsFifers wrote: »

I would suggest you say "you're welcome" to people in your workplace who don't!!!! Might remind them!
(Although maybe thats not very mannerly!)

LOL:)

July

Ya the 'you're welcome' is a good one. I used to do this when I worked in a shop and the customers didn't thank me for their change.

It costs nothing to be mannerly.

The women who don't thank you probably don't even know they're doing it. I would always make sure to thank someone of either sex for holding a door, or for standing back to let me pass in a crowded pub or something.

I'd say most girls who will respond to your poll will say 'manners always' because it's always somebody else who is rude, never me, never them.

Silverfish

I wouldn't know, I'm the only female in a team of 30+ blokes, if they hold a door for me I say 'cheers', if I hold a door for them, they say 'cheers' or some of them say nothing at all.

I don't think its a male/female thing, I think its a 'people' thing.

watna

I have to say my office is fairly male dominated for fairly mannerly (is that a word!). The two other companies on the floors below me are male dominated (software companies) and they're all lovely too. Always get the door held open for me, they always hold the lift and they also say bye when exiting the lift. It's quite sweet actually and I always thank them, because I do really appreciate it.

Except Tom Dunne, he bullies me mercilessly!

I think it's quite important. You spend most of your life in work, we should try and make it as pleasant as possible!

hunnymonster

I was also brought up on pleases and thank-you's and it's second nature to me. I was recently on crutches and was almost hoarse thanking everyone who held a door for me or did something similar.

July wrote: »

Ya the 'you're welcome' is a good one. I used to do this when I worked in a shop and the customers didn't thank me for their change.

While I do tend to say thank you to someone in a shop, I wouldn't see it as bad manners if someone doesn't say it. After all, you were only giving them what you owed them. It's not quite the same as holding a door open for someone, which is a gesture above what is necessary.

watna

Actually, it's also important to thank someone when they do something for you in the office, even if it's their job. It costs nothing and improves morale. The best boss i ever had always thanked you for what you did, no matter how small. It made you work much harder and made things a lot more pleasant.

Maple

I always thank people, both in and out of work. Manners are second nature to me.

Cathmandooo

I think I'm good with manners and there's plenty of it in my office. My boss thanks me every day without fail for the work I've done that day. We're all very polite in here and I like that.

gubbie

Manners isn't about whether you say please and thank you all the time. Yes its a factor, but its also about things like not swearing (I personally think thats the lowest, when someone can't have a conversation without swearing) I think we need more modern manners. Like I think its so bad manners when you're in someone's company and they're texting someone else. If I get a phone call, I'll either ignore it, or if its from someone important, i'll apologise, and leave

I always thank bus drivers. And I'll thank someone for giving me change but if they gave me in my opinion a shoddy service, I wouldn't bother

I do admit though, I but in all too often. Thats bad manners. But I'm pretty conscious about it

http://education.qld.gov.au/library/docs/edhistory/goodmanners.pdf

Anti

In here its weird, 90% of the building are below me or at my level, so i barely even acknowledge their existance ( which is wrong ). But to the ones above me ( VP's MD's etc etc ) i am very polite and courteous. Now i wouldnt be arrogant to the ones below me ( i will still hold a door open ), but i have very little to do with them so dont waste my time on pointles bull****.

IanCurtis

watna wrote: »

The best boss i ever had always thanked you for what you did, no matter how small. It made you work much harder and made things a lot more pleasant.

My boss thanks me in the most forced, cringworthy way.

I really wish he hadn't been sent on one of those "how to be a good boss" courses.:o

WindSock

The only time I a right cnt is when people are drunk and annoying me, or when I'm behind the wheel. Other than that, I'm polite to everyone, no matter who or where they are.

Anti

WindSock wrote: »

The only time I a right cnt is when people are drunk and annoying me, or when I'm behind the wheel. Other than that, I'm polite to everyone, no matter who or where they are.

I'm very much the opposite. Im a complete cnut 96.35% of the time. Probably due to my lack of patience.

Red Hand

I don't think it's a male/female thing. There are polite mannered people and then, there are ignoramii.

Like, you OP, I used to work, until last June, in a female dominated office environment with a similiar breakdown in terms of male to female (we didn't work in the same place, surely?:eek:), and I have to say there was little difference between sexes in terms of having manners.

It doesn't take a whole lot to be polite-takes nearly more effort to be rude (well, it would for me anyway).

Setun

A golf club that shall remain nameless where I used to work... jeez, the biggest shower of rude and selfish people I've ever come across under one roof. And I somehow managed to work there for 3 summers, I'll never know how I managed that.

Anti

Daddio wrote: »

A golf club that shall remain nameless where I used to work... jeez, the biggest shower of rude and selfish people I've ever come across under one roof. And I somehow managed to work there for 3 summers, I'll never know how I managed that.

You were young and needed the money

Ginny

Meh, its not a work/non-work, male/female thing manners are manners and should be ingrained in everyone.

Loopy

If your a polite person - why would it stop in work? Manners wherever you are
in work, at home etc..

On a different note, I work with the general public and have been in the same job for 12 yrs, and I can honestly say that some people are so arrogant and impolite its actually unbelievable.. People have changed over the last few yrs and their expectations have gone through the bloody roof..

Babette08

Yeah it's definitely second nature to me to have manners. I think it's more habit than anything else...if not in the habit of saying please and thank you very easily corrected

Clare Bear

Bad manners drives me crazy. Saying please or thank you takes no effort. Some people are just plain rude, I'm sure a lot of them have been brought up to say please or thankyou but over time have just forgotten/couldn't be bothered to say it. Or in some cases are too big for their own boots to do so.

Another reason why I would HATE to work in a customer service role...ah thank God for working with animals.

Piste

Manners are for everywhere, not just for work

jesus_thats_gre

In general, I find women to be by far the rudest and least appreciative when you do something like hold a door open for then or whatever.

Take when you are driving for example. Take note of how often a woman will be the one to let you out in traffic compared to guys. Also note the amount that will acknowledge being allowed out compared to guys.

Silverfish

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

In general, I find women to be by far the rudest and least appreciative when you do something like hold a door open for then or whatever.

Take when you are driving for example. Take note of how often a woman will be the one to let you out in traffic compared to guys. Also note the amount that will acknowledge being allowed out compared to guys.

Can you provide links please?

gcgirl

it does not take much to say thank you! i always say it!

all the stars

Dragan wrote: »

whereas the vast majority of the ladies will just breeze on by.....but duck and cover if you don't hold that door!!

So.....manners in the workplace, yes or no? do you or don't you feel they are important?

Manners is always a good thing... i always try to be polite, i often hold the door to let someone in (im a girl) and when people just breeze by i just polietly say oh thats ok... your welcome.
Always reminds them..