Co-working etiquette made simple

The whole idea of co-working space, like the kind you’ll find here at the Cooperative Venture Workspace, is freedom.

You’re likely working for yourself as a one-person business, or maybe there are a couple or a few of you. But you’re free to come and go, no boss clocking you in or out.

And that freedom allows you certain habits, like listening to music through your headphones while you work. Or taking your laptop and your work into the lounge area to change up the scenery.

But freedom at a co-working space doesn’t permit you to be unaware of your surroundings; you still need to be a professional, no matter where you are. As a member of a coworking space, it’s important to understand the basic etiquette in a shared office. Luckily, the web-o-sphere is filled with basic dos and don’ts of co-working etiquette.

While each co-working space has a different set of rules, WorkLoft complied a list of general and highly important rules in their infograph titled 10 rules of etiquette.

1. Practice leaving no traces;
2. Keep a pleasant and quite phone voice;
3. Bring your own supplies;
4. Be friendly and courteous;
5. Be an independent role model;
6. Try to make connections;
7. Be a courteous eater;
8. Replace things when you use them.

Other elements to be courtesy of in a co-working environment come from Inc. Magazine:

1. Using your cell phone in non-talking areas;
2. Booking conference rooms over aggressively;
3. Staying too long in conference rooms;
4. Hogging the printers;
5. Clanging your equipment.

As a freelance writer, using co-working membership, said in an article for the New York Times: “What I’d like to see in the workplace of the future is what I call pro-active good manners. Manners that go above the beyond.”

There you have it! Tips for good etiquette in a co-working environment. Have more questions about co-working etiquette? Feel free to stop by the front desk.