HR Management & Compliance, Talent

Office Etiquette: What Was Unacceptable Is Now Mostly Fine

Remember when having non-traditional hair colors made someone unemployable at most places? Things have changed quite a bit with the passage of time. New research shows exactly what managers in the U.S. think of everything etiquette related, from pets in the workplace to visible tattoos.

The Office Etiquette Survey: Bad Language, Pets, Political Décor Remain Biggest Offenses, was conducted recently by Accountemps. They sought to get the pulse on the do’s and don’ts in the modern workplace. The results do show significant changes from a more traditional era in almost every category that was polled.

Top Findings

As the chart below shows, that which has become the most acceptable in the workplace is visible tattoos. Thirty-five percent said it was once problematic but is now acceptable. Only 22% said it continues to be unacceptable. Casual attire closely followed tattoos, with 34% saying that while it was once not acceptable, it is now. Only 16% said it was still unacceptable. Non-traditional hair colors were also indicated by 34% of survey takers as no longer problematic. Twenty-three percent say that it still is.

Check out this table for a complete listing and see how your feelings about these things stack up with those surveyed.

You can see the complete results here.

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