Putting a Personal—Yet Professional—Stamp on Your Workspace

By Juanita Ecker

We spend most of our day sitting at a desk, so it’s natural to want to liven up our workspace with a few personal touches. But there’s a big difference between adding some visual interest and transforming your cubicle into an impromptu dorm room littered with silly knickknacks, inappropriate photos, and tons of clutter. Read on for tips on adding warmth to your workspace without going overboard.

Choose Your Photos Wisely. A couple of nice photos of your loved ones in a tasteful frame? Fine. But wallpapering your office in your family’s Kodak moments is too much; just select 2-3 favorite snapshots and leave it at that. And keep in mind that work isn’t the proper place for your bachelorette party snaps or last weekend’s drunken party pics—keep it clean!

Don’t Use Your Cell Phone in a Public Restroom

By Juanita Ecker

There are some actions that may seem like obvious breaches of good etiquette to most of us, but then again, if they’re so obvious, why are people still doing it? With that in mind, I’d like to draw your attention to my latest pet peeve: people chatting on cell phones in the bathroom.

It seems like every time I visit a public restroom, whether I’m at a restaurant, the airport, or even an office building, without fail there is someone having a telephone conversation from their stall. Yes, while they are using the bathroom.

This lack of etiquette and, frankly, inhibitions affects several people negatively. First, there’s the offender, who, in addition to having their “private” conversation made audible to everyone in the restroom (those tiled walls make for great acoustics), are spreading goodness knows how many germs with their “multitasking,” while tarnishing their image in the process.

Then there’s the poor person on the other end of the line, who is no doubt displeased to find themselves privy to their friend’s most intimate moments. And let’s not forget the other people in the restroom who can hear the conversation—it’s very rattling!

Of course there may be moments when your phone rings while you’re in the bathroom stall. How should you handle this? I have two suggestions: