How to Tame The Office Techno-Beasts

Like our friend Shaun Of The Dead here, have you ever felt like you are surrounded by zombies? You know, the ones that walk around with their phones in hand, grunting their way through verbal communications?

I’m sure there are other scenes akin to horror movies that we see in the workplace where technology is concerned, that we can all recognise and make us cringe in fear…

For example, the Email Beast of Burden:

This beast can be identified as a person overtaken by the intense need to stare at a computer screen, while furiously tapping on a keyboard, perhaps grunting and moaning and groaning in frustration, battling with a list of emails as long as the queue at the coffee machine, causing those in the immediate area to steer with caution and fear.

But ahhh, this wonderful thing called modern technology has of course moved on, giving us yet more opportunities to engage electronically with our work at the desk and around the office, and therein, the rise of the Techno-Beast!

Barbara Pachter, author of “Essential Business Etiquette: How to Greet, Eat and Tweet Your Way to Success” (McGraw-Hill Education, 2013), says, there’s a learning curve when it comes to new technology that applies to etiquette. “New technology appears and it takes us a while to figure out how to use it politely,” Pachter says. “Etiquette experts weigh in and people learn from their own mistakes. And then they change the technology and we have to learn it all over again.”

So while we can all turn our phones off, or switch to silent mode in meetings, with the launch of wearable technology, and most recently Apple Watch, this poses a new beast of etiquette entirely.

Should you ask those with wearable tech to remove them? Asking to remove an item attached to one’s person, perhaps crosses a more personal boundary than asking someone to turn off their mobile phone.

It’s not just new wearable technology of course that can create tensions in the workplace. Are you familiar with Non-Invisible Man/Woman? The one person on a very important phone-call, who makes that known across the entire office, there maybe standing up and sitting down, gesticulating, and eye-rolling.

Or perhaps, Super Scary Sonic, that person who likes to have their music on their headphones pumping so loud their brains may be leaking?

We know technology is increasingly being used in the workplace, either as a tool to do your job, or as a part of employee engagement strategy. Our survey with The App Garden shows that 54% of those surveyed already have an ESN, and 50% of organisations surveyed will have their own apps within the next 2 years. While positively benefiting employee engagement in increasing collaboration and transparency, it’s important to still be mindful of how we are using technology in the workplace.

So, how do you tackle these techno-beasties and keep everyone happy with technology behaviours in the workplace?
Here’s a few tips and rules you can use:

1) Meetings

Do your best not to bring any technology into a meeting with you. Laptops, ipads, phones etc can create a physical barrier between you and others in the meeting. Use a pen and paper to make notes instead.

If you are expecting an important call to come in during a meeting, let everyone know before the meeting starts. When the call comes in, advise this is the call you were expecting and make your exit as politely as possible.

2) Emails

This can also work for phone calls, but don’t feel the need to check your emails constantly. Choose times that will work for you to check and respond to emails, then you will be able to give your full attention, and feel a little more relaxed, and likely to respond more professionally.

3) Ear Phones

If listening to music, or perhaps something more work related, keep the volume down firstly, most phone settings come with a volume ‘capper’ that doesn’t allow the volume to go beyond safe levels for your ears, and therefore less likely to bug those around you too.

Take out both ear buds when someone talks to you. This shows you are fully engaged in what they are saying to you, and vice versa.

4) Phone Calls

This seems to happen most on phone calls, but keep your voice down! If you need to do a conference call, do so in a meeting room or a less populated quiet space. Also, leave your number at the beginning and end of a voicemail. Not everyone wants to listen to an entire voicemail to get your number, particularly useful in time sensitive matters.

5) Social Media

Treat your personal social media accounts as public. Lock your privacy settings down as much as possible, but still be very aware that whoever it is you are broadcasting to online, there’s always an electronic paper trail. This also applies if you are using ESN in your workplace, our golden rule us: think before you publish!
Lastly, go professional before personal – use LinkedIn rather than Facebook for connecting with business contacts online.

Most importantly in the workplace, be considerate, be kind, be engaged!

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