Office Etiquette - Where did it go?

Good day folks. This is an entry that is a little different than most of my other posts. I have been doing a lot of reflection lately and realized that there is a lot of poor office etiquette out there. I will explain some of my thoughts below.

1. When did items we teach our children not to do become acceptable in the office? 

a. Not cleaning up after themselves - We have to periodically remind our 7 year old to tidy up when she is done with something. I don't think I should have to remind adults to do the same. How many of you have entered a meeting room and there are dirty cups or scrap pieces of paper? The one that bothers me the most is the office kitchen. I shouldn't have to clean off the counter and microwave tray prior to warming up my lunch. 

b. Being disruptive - How many of you would let 2 children sit in different areas and have a conversation? I would bet not many. You would tell them to sit together and have their conversation. So what do you tell 2 adults that sit on opposite sides of 2 cubicles when they have a conversation while sitting at their desks? I also wish people that like to use hands-free for all their calls would keep their doors closed. 

c. Conserving energy - We tell children to turn off the light in their room or the bathroom when they leave the room. How many times have you walked passed an empty conference with the lights and/or electronic equipment on? 

d. Interrupting a conversation - We have all scene this one. No need to expand.

e. Using manners - This one is a bit of a pet peeve of mine. I wish I would see more people use more manners, especially in e-mails. The same manners we remind our children to use!

f. Being on time - We get our kids to finish their tasks so they can be out the door and at school on time. Why as adults can some people never be on time for anything (start of the day, back from lunch, meetings)? 

2. General Habits

a. Clipping your nails in a central office - It is terrible to hear someone clipping their nails while I am trying to work. I'm not talking about a single nail being clipped, but all 10 fingers. 

b. Poor e-mail etiquette - Another one I don't need to expand. We have all seen poor e-mail etiquette.

c. Warning team members about things you do yourself - You can't warn folks about taking a few extra minutes at lunch if you do it everyday. You can't tell someone that their company issued phone is for business purposes when you have Cookie Jam or Doodle Jump installed on your phone. Etc, etc, etc. You all have examples that you have seen. 

That's enough complaining for one entry. My only request is if you see something above that you do, please work on stopping it. Thank you. I realize that some folks will use lack of time as an excuse for some of these. I disagree. It takes no time at all to say thanks, or wipe off your crumbs, or turn off a light. A lot of people spend more time at work than anywhere else; lets try to make it enjoyable for all. Like I said in an earlier post; let's try to have a little fun at work. Thanks for reading.