Hit "Delete" to "Reply All"

How much time do you spend reading emails that are of no interest to you because you were part of a "reply all"?  Well, if your numbers are similar to the average you are spending a good 5 percent or more of your workday opening and reading such emails.  Beyond being annoyed that you just received the fifteenth "reply all" response to an email on whether staff prefer chocolate or vanilla ice cream for the office party, opening these emails puts a dent in productivity.  Considering that approximately 15 percent of your day is spent on email that 5 percent can really add up.  "Spread those stats over a 10,000-employee company and you rapidly get to a pretty big number in terms of dollar cost- in the tens of millions of dollars per year" according to Bloomberg Businessweek article Re: Re: Re: Confidential.  

Some companies are taking drastic measures to combat the time waste (and interrupted concentration) that all those unwanted emails results in.  Wells Fargo's sales division head, Gene Sellers, decided that he was tired of it all and pronounced the "reply all" button dead to his staff.  The button is forboden and may only be used in special circumstances that involve the staff as a whole. Netmanners.com suggests users utilize Bcc   to remove the option of "reply all" from the receivers of your message.  

From my experience I can tell you that the majority of the "repy all" messages I have been on the receiving end of were due to simple carelessness.  These were instances were the sender was not paying attention, distracted, or just wanted to get the message out of their inbox.  Taking a moment to review, not only your response, but who you are responding to can save much aggravation and possibly avoid some nasty repercussions (for those not too nice griping emails). 

Where's My Lunch?

Thought I would lighten things up a bit and write about a subject that, while a little light, is a sore spot for some employees. Imagine that it's early afternoon and you've put a solid few hours of work - you are ready for an energy infusion (e.g. lunch). You open the fridge and find that someone else has beaten you to your lunch and decided they needed it more. You now feel like this is not going to be a good afternoon. Other than the fact that you have to eat out of a vending machine now, you realize that there is someone in your office that has very little respect for boundaries. Maybe though, this person left you a little bit of food (you know, because they felt bad)...

What should you do? You could take the route of striking back and some passive-aggressive tactics. Some interesting ideas (culled from actual employee strike backs): 

hide your food in a jar labeled "medical specimen"

hide food in the back of the refrigerator

camouflage your lunch as in this clip at HuffingtonPost Canada

Or, you could make an attempt to instill a little guilt and peer awareness into the perpetrator by leaving a note stating "hope you enjoyed that leftover chicken and rice, maybe try bringing in some for yourself".  If lunch stealing becomes a constant issue, your office manager could try posting signs that send a clear warning to stay away from food they didn't bring.

There are several articles on the topic and even a web site, Passive AggressiveNotes.com *(note: site contains some content not entirely suitable for children) devoted to the topic of addressing (or redressing) those individuals who feel compelled and entitled to liberating your lunch. 

Bears, Porcupines and Those In-Between

Maintaining relationships takes skill whatever the circumstance. The ability to get along with others is no less important in your professional life than it is in your personal life. Considering the fact that the majority of your time is spent with your co-workers it simply makes sense that the cultivation of strong interpersonal skills be addressed.

• Be a good listener. It's hard to gain a clear understanding of the point someone else is making if you are already forming your response to what they are saying the moment they open their mouth.
• Stick to non-controversial topics. Although it may make for some interesting conversation, topics such as religion and politics are best restricted to personal forums. The workplace is not the place to get into a heated argument about which political platforms are best for the country.
• Respect individual differences and diversity. We all come into the workplace with our own set of past experiences and personality traits. Just as there are traits of others you may find difficult to work with, there may be qualities you exhibit that are equaling difficult for others. Look, instead, to the value that varying backgrounds brings to the organization. You are in it together, you have to make it work.
• Manage your reputation (e.g. r-e-s-p-e-c-t yourself). Always keep in mind that the actions you take and the words you use paint a picture of who you are. Don't let everyday annoyances escalate into a reaction that you will regret.

This video from video-sharing site Daily Motion will provide you with a few more tips, specifically on how to manage a difficult co-worker.

Miss Manners for Business

When I married my husband I experienced a little bit of culture shock. Being married means participating in the holiday rituals and traditions of both families. Being a newlywed married into an Asian family, I found family gatherings on my husband's side to be a bit bewildering. There were so many different traditions. I did not want to seem disrespectful and so I mimicked the behaviors I observed to "fit in". Eventually those mimicked behaviors became second-nature.

The same type of bewilderment, concern for appearing "unknowing", and adapting through mimicry are also found in the workplace. Whether you are new to a particular organization and are feeling out the corporate culture or new to a specific role within the organization we all find a way to maintain a semblance of capability.

What many do not realize, however, is learning your way around the corporate "traditions" and "rituals" is important to your success in any organization and is simply practicing good business etiquette.

Business etiquette can be everything from knowing department protocol to ensuring you remove your leftover lunch from the office fridge before it becomes a scientific culture. For a great list of office rules read the article Workplace Etiquette: Be Your Best At Work by etiquette expert Lisa Mirza Grotts, former Director of Protocol for the City and County of San Francisco.

Or, if you would like a more office-centric, rather than global, guide to business etiquette peruse USA Today contributor Steve Strauss' article: Top Workplace Pet Peeves and Etiquette Mistakes.