If you work in an office with a break room, you’ve probably taken advantage of it at some point. As with any shared space, it’s important that you and your colleagues don’t forget some common courtesies, intentionally or not. Here’s a quick list of things to remember about office break room etiquette.
Clean up after yourself. It always surprises me when I sit down to eat at a dirty table in a shared space. Crumbs, napkins, straw wrappers – strewn on the surface, left by the previous occupant. I wonder if they do the same in their own homes, assuming someone else will pick up after them. Here’s a word of advice: the office break room is not your home. Your co-workers should not spend part of their break cleaning up your mess. Be considerate and do it yourself!
This piece of office break room etiquette also applies to common areas such as the kitchen sink, the refrigerator, and the coffee station. If it’s your mess, take care of it!
Keep your hands off! Speaking of the refrigerator… If someone has gone through the trouble of bringing food to work, packing it and labeling it carefully with their name, that usually means they plan on eating it. Unless something is labeled “help yourself,” don’t!
Speak softly. The more people that fill a room, the louder it gets. Remember lunchtime in the school cafeteria? Ever been to a concert or sporting event before the main attraction starts? It’s great that co-workers can get together for a meal or a snack to catch up, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the room cares to hear their conversations. If you are a loud talker, try to watch your levels – there’s nothing less relaxing than hearing a conversation from across the room! Granted, the office break room isn’t the library – but there is a happy medium.
Feet off the furniture. So you timed your break perfectly and you have a whole table to yourself. Great! Do you know what’s not great? Your feet on the empty chair next to you. Someone has to sit there after you, and I can guarantee you they don’t want to sit where your feet have been. Break room chairs are not footrests. Again – be considerate!
Do not disturb. For many people, breaks and lunch times are the rare moment in a day to unwind and decompress. Don’t interrupt your co-worker’s lunch with a work question – that’s what email is for. And if someone has on a pair of headphones and their nose is in a book, take the hint: they can’t hear you because they’ve focused elsewhere, so catch them some other time.
People are different. We work differently, so of course, we play differently, too. The bottom line is, try to be considerate of your co-workers and follow common courtesies in shared spaces. In the long run, it will make for a happier work environment.
The first two bullet points are essential!!
I love when people make treats that can be left out on a table for everyone in the office to enjoy! Just keep in mind possible allergies (peanuts, tree nuts, soy)– a note by the plate should be enough.
I could write a novel on this subject! Where I work all the infractions occur, especially the dirty tables. It irks me to clean up after someone and waste my break time to do it!
Sorry, guys, but you are the ones most guilty of leaving a mess on the tables. Do you think your Mommy works here and she’ll clean up after you? Grow up, and clean your table & the sink after you use it, please…
Wow, you’ve read my mind. I always complain about the mess some people leave in our lunchroom. But the noise level is a big problem, too. A table of six people all laughing and talking over one another is hard to take. Try using your “indoor” voices, like we try to teach our kids.
Thanks to our generous boss we have a large TV in the lunch room, but with the gabbers it’s almost impossible to hear it. We can’t raise the volume or the sound will carry out into the office. Yes it’s nice to catch up with your fellow workers, but hold down the volume so the rest of us can enjoy our lunch.
To go along with feet off the chairs, don’t sit on an empty table top! I’ve seen a few guys do this when they are passing through and want to gab to a friend for a minute. It’s a complete appetite killer! And of course they also use a chair for a footrest.
Someone always took advantage of the carton of Half & Half I had in the fridge, even though my name tag was on it. It’s a shame that I have to bring a small container in my lunch bag every day just so I get to flavor my coffee. I wonder what the Half & Half thief is using now?
Luckily my lunch room is clean and serene. We all behave like grown ups, clean up after ourselves and get along great. It’s such a pleasure to work here.
Our kitchenette is clean at all times. I’ve never seen a mess in the sink or had my food go missing. I guess I’m lucky to have such agreeable fellow workers.
I hate when I am sitting there with headphones on and people come ask me about work. I’m on my break – and listening to my podcasts – wait until I am at my desk!
Can’t stand when people watch videos on their phones and don’t have headphones. We don’t all need to hear it.
It is disgusting how people leave the kitchen. I wonder what their homes look like.
I don’t care to know what messy people’s homes look like. I just want to avoid anything to do with them.
It’s common sense to clean up after yourself but if a lot of people aren’t doing it then the company should post signs on every table, Maybe that will guilt people to clean up.
What if we started using a lunchroom monitor like they have in schools? If grown-ups are acting like children they should be treated like children.
Don’t accuse me of being sexist but it is the guys who leave a mess every day. I don’t want to say anything to them as they get up from their dirty tables. They will probably say I’m a pain for calling them out.
Loud talkers are the worst. Especially when they are discussing personal things or politics!
Sometimes it just too people-y in there…
And I hate sitting down to a dirty table.
I hope everyone who has a break room reads this. A great break room with considerate people is what can turn a decent job into a great job.
basically use your manners there just as you do in the real world