The Impact of Office Etiquette on Your Career in a Post-Remote Work Environment

As companies increasingly require employees to return to the office, many are finding themselves needing to adapt from years of virtual meetings back to in-person interactions. This transition often means swapping sweatpants for professional attire and reengaging with colleagues face-to-face — a skill that some remote workers may have neglected.

To assist employees during this adjustment, businesses are bringing in etiquette professionals. The Washington Post reports that the prolonged separation from coworkers has dulled essential social skills, leading to new etiquette challenges in the workplace.

"The problem is that even though the pandemic is behind us, there is still that shockwave, that ripple effect that carries on," Diane Gottsman, owner of The Protocol School of Texas, noted. "So I think that what happens is people are not familiar with what appropriate attire is or how to interact with peers or how you send an e-mail with a subject line and change that subject line per subject matter. So it's just tiny little details that add up to big dollars and cents issues."

Gottsman's Protocol School specializes in professional etiquette training and emphasizes its significance for career advancement. She points out that many individuals fail to recognize the importance of proper etiquette.

"These are not manners," she stated. "These are professional development skills that empower the individual and allow them to be comfortable and interact with everyone around them in that work environment."

The transition back to the office poses unique challenges for Gen Z; however, Gottsman asserts that this issue extends beyond just one generation.

"Everyone can benefit from fine-tuning, so there are executives who have been in the workforce for several years and they've gotten lax," she explained. "Or perhaps they just never really learned the art of networking, and now they're in a different position and they are having to take on different responsibilities and don't quite know how to jump into this new environment."

To discover more about common mistakes related to workplace etiquette and ways to enhance your professional conduct, be sure to explore further resources available on this topic.