Act like your mom is watching

A while back I wrote a column about e-mail etiquette. Since many of us spend a lot of time in e-mail (more time than we really should, probably), this particular column has become one of my more popular ones. And while I still get e-mail messages that are written IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS and even ones with a blank subject line (*heavy sigh*), there isn't much I can do about that.

That being said, you and I both know that there is more to workplace etiquette than just e-mail manners. Of course, since I am the Crabby Office Lady, you may think that manners are not my specialty, and, to be honest, they're not. But it is that time of year when you and I may want to consider cleaning up our act a bit at work and start cultivating a better overall image for ourselves. (Well, you, anyway; I make my living cultivating a different sort of attitude.)

So let me give this general workplace courtesy thing a go and see if anything sticks. Here is an example of one of my favorites; if you like what you've read, go on and read my column Crabby’s etiquette guide for working ladies and gentlemen.

Gossip: Remember the wounds of junior high

Get folks together, and gossip will happen. Perhaps it's just part of our nature, or perhaps, for some folks, it makes them feel better about themselves to talk smack about other folks.

If you're going to talk about someone, you need to realize that the chances of your words getting back to that person are pretty good, and gossip often finds a way to come back to bite you at a most inopportune time: You repeat a rumor you've heard about Erika to Marcie; Marcie repeats it to Phil; Phil makes a beeline for Yvonne's office. Now Yvonne, who's been looking for just the right opportunity to get on Erika's good side, spills it. And Erika  (being the resourceful schemer she is) finds out, in about two minutes, who set this unsubstantiated (but completely true) rumor free: you.

But, as human beings, some of us believe that we do have free will and can make the choice not to be sneaky and mean at work. So, let me make this short and sweet, my children: Don't gossip. It makes everyone—especially you—look bad.

Crabby’s etiquette guide for working ladies and gentlemen.

"To have respect for ourselves guides our morals; and to have a deference for others governs our manners." — Laurence Sterne

— Crabby