A Serene Work Environment Promotes Good Results

Interview Nawal Jai, HR Consultant at LMS ORH.
To be effective, working in shared spaces requires a good atmosphere. Accuracy, courtesy, listening, and respect are a minimum contributing to creating a good work environment.

Environment and working conditions, sharing a common culture, recognition, a sense of fairness, respect... An employee needs all these factors to be successful. But the good atmosphere implied by good manners is also important. Nawal Jai, HR consultant at LMS ORH, sheds more light on the issue

1. Do you think good manners are an important concern in our companies?
I think so. To support this opinion, I refer to the significant number of companies that contact us to help them develop and formalize charters of values, codes of conduct, but also behavioral skills references...
If by good manners we mean all the codes and behaviors that allow us to live in society, we can decode this need and enthusiasm of companies for such projects as an awareness of the importance of good manners for strengthening a good work environment...

2. Is it essential?
A company reflects society: we live in a collective (family, association, neighborhood), we share a space (the building where we live, for example), we coexist with people from different social and cultural backgrounds, we collaborate to achieve common goals (condominium syndic), etc. The parallel is very easy to make with the company.
But can we imagine maintaining correct relations with our neighbors if the common rules of politeness are not respected? For example, if we didn't say hello...
These are the same principles in a company, if not even more delicate... We work in common spaces and increasingly in open spaces, we meet every day, we work towards the same goals, but sometimes with inherently divergent interests, and we encounter obstacles and constraints that are sometimes generators of tension: tight schedules to be respected, client dissatisfaction, budget at risk of exceeding, etc. The rules of politeness, shared savoir-faire and good manners have precisely been invented so that the small daily tensions do not degenerate into professional conflict...
On this subject, Talleyrand said: "There are three kinds of knowledge: knowledge, know-how, and savoir-faire. The last two dispense quite well with the first."

3. Does it obey specific rules?
There is surely a universal common core: politeness, courtesy, correctness, decency, tact... But their mode of expression can change radically from one company to another since the company culture will strongly influence the codes of conduct and politeness...
To take a simple example, in some companies, informal address is customary from day one. In others, using informal address will be considered disrespectful. Finally, in other cases, management uses informal address with employees, and the latter must use formal address...
This being said, researchers who have studied the subject agree that there are a number of rules that, if respected, allow for a serene work environment... These rules, which we can call the minimum wage of good manners, are of several orders.
We can mention respect for each other's space and privacy, including in open spaces: neutralize odors (do not eat strong-smelling food at the office), control your curiosity (do not even glance at someone else's computer), respect calm (for example on the phone, make sure not to disturb your neighbor), respect modesty (for example, only kiss those who want to), avoid familiarities that may shock...
There is accuracy described as "the politeness of kings": punctuality at meetings, organization of one's documents and office, precision...
We also have listening and respect for others: take the time to listen to others' opinions, respect the contributions of colleagues.

4. Apart from that, what are the important elements that promote well-being in the company?
Well-being in the company is a broader question, resulting from several factors. Good manners are only one component generally linked to the individual himself and his behavior...
Other factors impacting well-being in the company, in a random and non-exhaustive way, are: the environment and working conditions, the sharing of a common culture, recognition, the sense of fairness, professional fulfillment, pride of belonging, work-life balance, etc.
It should be noted that more and more companies are interested in these aspects and are building policies to improve well-being at work: by focusing not only on the employee in the company (ergonomics, HR events, etc.) but also outside the company (agreements with gyms, daycare centers for children during school holidays, etc.)

5. There are critical moments during which serious breaches of good manners can lead to harmful consequences, which ones?
Personally, I think that any serious breach of good manners can lead to harmful consequences, whether the moment is critical or not...
Now, there may be a scale of "severity." For example, eating an onion sandwich in an open space will bother colleagues who will look at you askance and may make a remark, but it will remain without great consequence.
Not saying hello can create a coldness without irreparable consequences (although it can lead to a refusal to collaborate or even "obstacles" that could influence the results of a project). But a simple mediation or individual awareness can change things...
On the other hand, insulting a colleague, a co-worker, or your boss means that you have reached a point of no return...


Lavieeco.com

Published January 11, 2012.

Posted online January 16, 2012.