Business manners

Do manners matter in business and are they even necessary at all? Research has shown your technical ability and academic qualifications account for as little as 15% of getting a job and progressing within an organisation, and as much as 85% really boils down to your people skills and how you navigate office politics. At the crux of this is how you relate to other people - are you the congenial office colleague or the co-worker from hell. A recent study revealed that 40% of new hires into management failed and that the key reason for their failure was their inability to build good relationships with co-workers and subordinates. Good manners are said to be ageless, classless and priceless. If we can raise people’s level of behaviour by increasing their awareness of others as well as giving confidence and self esteem, we may lessen hostility and aggression, and who knows - the world might become a slightly happier place. Good manners never go out of style and are crucial in business.

Manners underpin all good business relationships and it does not take any more time to be nice than it does to be rude and it is one of the things in life that is still free. If we all followed the guidelines of good manners and mutual respect, we would treat each other more kindly, behave more honestly and enjoy greater professional success. People with good manners treat others with civility, think of others before themselves and have respect for each other. People buy from people and so better manners mean better business. Having good manners is an essential business tool but few managers consider whether bad manners are actually harming their business or what the cost is on the overall performance. Bad manners can cost businesses by contributing to loss of revenue and increased customer loss and decreased employee morale.

According to etiquette expert Anna Post, The University of North Carolina in the USA did a workplace study on manners a few years ago, and these were the resutls

Of 775 persons who had an uncivil or mannerless act committed against them:

28% Lost work time avoiding the instigator

53% Lost work time worrying

22% Decreased work effort

12% Actually left their job

You do the math in terms of the negative impact in the workplace.