Latest news with #workplaceetiquette
Washington Post
23-07-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Miss Manners: Do my former work friends want to be friend-friends?
Dear Miss Manners: After 25 years at the same company, my role was eliminated by the parent corporation. When it comes to former co-workers, who should call whom after such a job loss? I consider this something like a sympathy situation and wonder if the remaining employees should call or write me to offer their support. If I should want to keep in touch with some of my work associates, should I make the first contact? If I have not received any contact, should I assume no one wishes to do so? Is there any convention for this situation? There are multiple conventions, depending on whether the relationship between the current employee and the departing one is personal or solely professional — and also, unfortunately, on whether one wants to do what is proper or what is commonly done. All too often, employees pretend the person fired never existed, which is both heartless and foolish, as it convinces bosses they will get the same response whether they make good decisions or bad ones. But Miss Manners objects to treating such departures like deaths. Besides being unduly pessimistic, this makes personal assumptions about the terms of the separation and the feelings of the former employee. Such assumptions may be inaccurate and even condescending. Employees whose jobs are eliminated should be treated the same as other departing employees. You may reach out to actual friends or they may reach out to you — just be prepared to find out that some people you thought were friends are not so loyal when they do not see you at work. Dear Miss Manners: What is the best way to communicate 'dressy casual' on an invitation? With a decoder ring. Dear Miss Manners: Is it okay to give someone an item that one found? I found a really nice bracelet at a park. I took it to my jeweler, who confirmed that it was made of 14 karat white gold, with diamonds and garnets. I tried my best to find the owner, placing an ad in a local online publication. It has been some weeks now, and no one has claimed it. Someone dear to me has a birthday soon, and her birthstone happens to be a garnet. The bracelet is in a style that I imagine would appeal to her. She is not one to wear much jewelry besides her wedding rings — often just simple earrings when dressing up. But this piece is dainty and the stones are not ostentatious. Would it be okay to give the bracelet to her? As etiquette prohibits you from snatching a gift back out of the recipient's hands, Miss Manners recommends against giving away something to which you do not have a clear title. This will save you the embarrassment of having to explain to someone who sees the notice after returning from an extended stay abroad why you no longer have the bracelet. Or of explaining to your friend how you came by an exact replica of her grandmother's bracelet, which the grandmother lost on a walk in the park last month. New Miss Manners columns are posted Monday through Saturday on You can send questions to Miss Manners at her website, You can also follow her @RealMissManners. © 2025 Judith Martin
Gizmodo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Gizmodo
Tech Companies Have a New Thing to Waste Money On: ‘Etiquette Coaches' for Gen-Z Staff
A new report from The San Francisco Standard claims that Bay Area companies are investing in a service that can alleviate some of the stresses caused by hiring younger employees: etiquette experts. These experts are making good money explaining to new hires why it's inappropriate to show up to work in sweatpants or put your feet on the table during a meeting. The story quotes women employed in this apparently blossoming field, including Rosalinda Randall, a coach from Marin who claims that inquiries about her services have shot up 50 percent over the past two months. Companies hire Randall (for quite a hefty fee) to teach younger employees about how to behave in a workplace in a civilized manner. Many of the issues that companies encounter sound like just run-of-the-mill inconsiderate behavior: One supervisor told Randall a new hire repeatedly left food wrappers scattered on the communal lunch table, assuming janitors would clean it up. 'Their manager didn't know how to handle it, as they didn't want to sound like a parent,' said Randall. Another reported instance involved stinky new hires: One Bay Area tech firm asked her to address personal hygiene, because two new hires did not shower or change their shirts for weeks. 'They didn't want to deal with it, so they hired me,' said Randall. Other potential concerns mentioned in the story include inappropriate female attire, insubordinate attitudes, and poor command of how to speak to co-workers on Slack. It's difficult to understand how 'etiquette' services differ in any great capacity from what an HR department is supposed to provide but, according to the report, companies are paying a premium for such services. The Standard notes that Randall charges her clients as much as $2500 for a 90-minute workshop with employees to teach them stuff like 'how to make eye contact,' 'where to stick your name tag (always on the right),' and 'how to ask for — not demand — things from your boss.' I have a hard time believing that Gen-Z is any better or any worse than any other generation of American worker (weren't previous generations known for sexual harassment and doing coke in the bathroom?). That said, I don't really work with any Zoomers, so I have no strong reference point. There does seem to be a certain amount of inter-generational discontent out there. A story published by the Washington Post last year similarly reported that etiquette coach services were shooting upwards, partially because 'younger workers are making up an increasing share of the workforce and bringing with them a preference for more-casual working environments, which is creating friction with older generations.'
