20 unspoken office rules that every employee should keep in mind to maintain workplace harmony

When you are new at a workplace, you normally have to abide by the rules specific to a company or an organization. There will be superiors who guide you in your initial days and there will be some unpleasant experiences with bosses but you have to stick to your work obligations. Sometimes you may have to endure sour experiences with your coworkers as well. However, in order to advance on your career path, you need to keep your morals upright and hope that you land a job where the work environment isn't toxic.

While the company may have certain expectations from you, as an employee, you can have expectations from your employers as well. However, everything at workplaces normally goes haywire when there is no harmony between coworkers and bosses. So, in order to maintain a stress-free environment at your job, you can follow some unspoken rules.

Some of these rules are shared by the netizens on the subreddit of r/LifeProTips while answering an important question raised by u/ShineAfsheen which read: "What is an unspoken rule in the workplace that everyone should know?" So, scroll through these tips by fellow Reddit users and it just might help you to navigate through your work life in an easier way.

1. Give people their space

"If you see someone eating lunch by themselves quietly for the love of god don’t take it as an opportunity to talk their ear off. Lunchtime is personal time." -u/thesleepymermaid

2. Do not share your personal matters

"That person who tells you the most interesting news from around the office is the last person with whom you should discuss any of your personal business!" -u/IPauseForHurricanes

3. Write your emails precisely

"Write every email as if you were to read it out loud in court." -u/WarOnWolves

4. Balance your work and home life

"In 20 years your family will remember all the overtime you worked but nobody from the companies will." -u/OwnBattle8805

5. Take time off for yourself

"Take all your vacation days." -u/Pinkmongoose

6. Co-workers are not your family

"We are not actually a family." -u/Morenoind5

7. Change your job if necessary

"The real way to get a raise is to change companies." -u/Kevin-W

8. Bring or buy your own lunch

"If you didn't cook it or buy it yourself, it ain't your damn lunch!" -u/TheThirdRace

9. Do not gossip in the office

"Always assume everything you say will be repeated to someone else, even when you’re on the phone in your office with no one else in there. The walls are thin. Don’t gossip, ever." -u/daniiiii555

10. HR is not your buddy

"HR is not your friend." u/7loUge

11. Get along with your teammates

"You get paid to get on with your teammates. You don’t have to like them, but you have to try your best to get on with them." -u/1gcm2

12. Be on time

"If you work in an environment where you replace other workers, for example, in a hospital, arrive on time. My time is just as important as yours. You might not think that arriving 2-3 minutes late is an issue, but I become irrationally angry when this happens. You’re taking my time now." -u/diddidly98

13. Hold onto the bad news for next week

"Don't send any bad news or criticizing emails after 2 pm on a Friday. The other person can't do anything about it except worry all weekend, and that sucks. Save it for Monday." -u/uskgl455

14. Drink Carefully

"Always drink two non-alcoholic drinks before starting in with any alcohol at any work social functions. Give everyone else a head start so you never become the drama discussed the next day. Or don’t drink at all." -u/ptpoa120000

15. Pizza is not a promotion

"Pizza is not a raise. Do not be bought out by pizza and think everything is okay." -u/foofyloo

16. Don't become a 'mom' to your coworkers

"If you're a woman, don't bring treats in, set up lunches, throw parties and events unless the men are doing it too, or you'll turn in to the office mom/caregiver and that hurts your career prospects. I followed this rule staunchly for a while, then gave in a few times, and now my boss comes to me for all of it, even though there are plenty of men on the team that could do it but don't or won't. Even after pointing out to my boss that he does this, and him realizing how that looks, he still defaults to me." -u/squindy9

17. Don't go into too many details

"Don’t give details about why you are sick or going on vacation when asking your manager for time off. They do not need to know in order to determine whether or not you can take the time off. People love judging if your time off is “worthy” so don’t give them the chance." -u/J3llyDonut

18. Be sensitive to everyone's time and work

"Nobody is there because they want to be. Everyone has something or someone they’d rather be spending their time with. Everyone is just paying their bills and goes through the same motions you are." -u/SirSquire_

19. Treat everyone with respect

"Treat new hires with respect. One of them might end up your superior sooner than you know." -u/contessamiau

20. Don't pretend like you know it all

"If you are being trained for a position accept the training. If you act like you already know it all (even if you do) people won’t share the little things that may be unique to that situation that make things easier." -u/ParentoforphanParentoforphanReport