A calm work environment promotes good results.
27 November 2013
Read by 2109 persons
Nawal Jai
Environment and working conditions, sharing a common culture, recognition, 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 a little more light on the issue.
To be effective, working in shared spaces requires a good atmosphere. Punctuality, courtesy, listening and respect are a minimum contribution to creating a good work environment.
Do you think good manners are an important concern in our companies?
I think so. To support this opinion, I refer to the large 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 know-how that allow us to live in society, we can decode this need and the enthusiasm of companies for such projects as an awareness of the importance of good manners for strengthening a good work environment...
Is it essential?
The company is a reflection of society: we live in a collective (family, association, neighborhood), we share a space (the building in which we live, for example), we coexist with people of different social and cultural backgrounds, we collaborate to achieve common goals (condominium syndicate), etc. The parallel is very easy to make with the company.
Now, can we imagine maintaining correct relations with our neighbors if the common rules of propriety are not respected? For example, if we didn't say hello...
It's 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 for the same purposes, but sometimes with naturally divergent interests, and we encounter obstacles and constraints that are sometimes generators of tension: tight schedules to respect, customer 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: knowing, knowing-how and savoir-vivre. The last two dispense quite well with the first."
Does it obey particular rules?
There is surely a universal common trunk: politeness, courtesy, correctness, decency, tact... But their mode of expression can change radically from one company to another since the company culture will very strongly influence the codes of conduct and propriety...
To take a simple example, in some companies, the use of the familiar form of address is customary from day one. In others, using the familiar form of address will be considered disrespectful. Finally, in other cases, the hierarchy uses the familiar form of address with employees and the latter must use the formal form of address...
This being said, the researchers who have studied the subject agree that there are a number of rules which, if respected, allow for a calm work environment... These rules, which we can call the minimum wage of good manners, are of several orders.
We can mention respect for the space and privacy of others, including in open spaces: neutralizing odors (not eating odorous dishes at the office), controlling one's curiosity (not even glancing at someone else's computer), respecting calm (for example, on the phone, making sure not to disturb one's neighbor), respecting modesty (for example, only kissing those who want to), avoiding familiarities that may shock...
There is punctuality qualified as "the politeness of kings": punctuality at meetings, organization of one's documents and office, precision...
We also have listening and respect for others: taking the time to listen to others' opinions, respecting the contributions of colleagues.
Apart from that, what are the important elements that promote well-being in the company?
Well-being in the company is a broader issue, 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, randomly and non-exhaustively, 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, leisure centers for children during school holidays, etc.)
There are critical moments during which serious breaches of good manners can lead to damaging consequences, which ones?
Personally, I think that any serious breach of good manners can lead to damaging consequences, whether the moment is critical or not...
Now, there may be a scale of "gravity". For example, eating an onion sandwich in an open space will disturb colleagues who will look at you askance and may make a remark, but it will remain without much consequence.
Not saying hello can create a coldness without irremediable consequences (although it can lead to a refusal to collaborate or even "obstacles" that could influence the results of a project). But simple mediation or individual awareness can change things...
On the other hand, insulting a colleague, a colleague or one's boss means that we have reached a point of no return...
Lavieeco.com
Posted online on November 27, 2013.
Environment and working conditions, sharing a common culture, recognition, 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 a little more light on the issue.
To be effective, working in shared spaces requires a good atmosphere. Punctuality, courtesy, listening and respect are a minimum contribution to creating a good work environment.
Do you think good manners are an important concern in our companies?
I think so. To support this opinion, I refer to the large 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 know-how that allow us to live in society, we can decode this need and the enthusiasm of companies for such projects as an awareness of the importance of good manners for strengthening a good work environment...
Is it essential?
The company is a reflection of society: we live in a collective (family, association, neighborhood), we share a space (the building in which we live, for example), we coexist with people of different social and cultural backgrounds, we collaborate to achieve common goals (condominium syndicate), etc. The parallel is very easy to make with the company.
Now, can we imagine maintaining correct relations with our neighbors if the common rules of propriety are not respected? For example, if we didn't say hello...
It's 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 for the same purposes, but sometimes with naturally divergent interests, and we encounter obstacles and constraints that are sometimes generators of tension: tight schedules to respect, customer 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: knowing, knowing-how and savoir-vivre. The last two dispense quite well with the first."
Does it obey particular rules?
There is surely a universal common trunk: politeness, courtesy, correctness, decency, tact... But their mode of expression can change radically from one company to another since the company culture will very strongly influence the codes of conduct and propriety...
To take a simple example, in some companies, the use of the familiar form of address is customary from day one. In others, using the familiar form of address will be considered disrespectful. Finally, in other cases, the hierarchy uses the familiar form of address with employees and the latter must use the formal form of address...
This being said, the researchers who have studied the subject agree that there are a number of rules which, if respected, allow for a calm work environment... These rules, which we can call the minimum wage of good manners, are of several orders.
We can mention respect for the space and privacy of others, including in open spaces: neutralizing odors (not eating odorous dishes at the office), controlling one's curiosity (not even glancing at someone else's computer), respecting calm (for example, on the phone, making sure not to disturb one's neighbor), respecting modesty (for example, only kissing those who want to), avoiding familiarities that may shock...
There is punctuality qualified as "the politeness of kings": punctuality at meetings, organization of one's documents and office, precision...
We also have listening and respect for others: taking the time to listen to others' opinions, respecting the contributions of colleagues.
Apart from that, what are the important elements that promote well-being in the company?
Well-being in the company is a broader issue, 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, randomly and non-exhaustively, 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, leisure centers for children during school holidays, etc.)
There are critical moments during which serious breaches of good manners can lead to damaging consequences, which ones?
Personally, I think that any serious breach of good manners can lead to damaging consequences, whether the moment is critical or not...
Now, there may be a scale of "gravity". For example, eating an onion sandwich in an open space will disturb colleagues who will look at you askance and may make a remark, but it will remain without much consequence.
Not saying hello can create a coldness without irremediable consequences (although it can lead to a refusal to collaborate or even "obstacles" that could influence the results of a project). But simple mediation or individual awareness can change things...
On the other hand, insulting a colleague, a colleague or one's boss means that we have reached a point of no return...
Lavieeco.com
Posted online on November 27, 2013.
