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BEINDP$-290$

The New Rules of Business Etiquette. Adams, Susan. Oct $10,2014.$

One languid summer afternoon, I was coming from a midday yoga class at the office gym when I ran into my top hoss at the elevator. "How are things?" he asked. Fresh from blissing out in corpse pose, I blurted, "It's August. I$\text{'}$m having trouble focusing."

"I never have that problem," he shot back, frowning. Argh, I said to myself. Couldn't I have said something more appropriate?

Office etiquette can be tricky in these days of in$-$house exercising, constant digital communication and openplan workspaces. For help on figuring out how to behave properly, a book by Vicky Oliver, a career consultant, offers tips on everything from cubicle conduct to email etiquette. $301$ Smart Answers to Tough Business Etiquette Questions also covers $21$ st$-$century table manners $($they$\text{'}$re not that different from the olden days$)$ and what to do when seated between two bores at a business dinner $($divide your time between them$).$

One of the biggest changes of $21$ st$-$century office life is the ubiquity of gadgets like smartphones and iPods. Oliver offers several don'ts. Despite the fact that everyone else does it$,$ don't listen to your music in the elevator. "Wearing earplugs is like putting a $\text{'}$Do Not Disturb' sign on you," she says. It sends a message to

adds. If you must leave a message, do so shortly before you expect them to be at their desk. $"$It sends a weird message when you leave a voicemail late at night," she notes.

Speaking of late$-$night communiqu$$s$,$ Oliver never likes them, even in email. If you get a brainstorm at midnight, go ahead and write that note, but put it in your draft folder and then hit send at $9$ a$.$m$.$

The same goes for bosses. Oliver says it's bad boss etiquette to harass your employees with notes after hours or on the weekend. If you receive one from the boss on a Saturday, she says, you can safely ignore it for $24$ hours. "You are being more than polite by doing that," she says. "You're also carving out a little boundary for yourself."

$100$ employees who work in various departments including human resources, reception, accounting, marketing, and mostly, educational training. Many of your employees are under the age of $30,$ and have fully grasped the use