Sometimes, it's just seemingly small habits that make up workplace etiquette. But a TikTok creator @cloudsjoo thinks that some of these can cause office communication to become unnecessarily stressful if done even slightly the wrong way too often. The video posted on March 31 had the creator listing what she referred to as her "corporate icks," which included behaviours such as messaging colleagues on Microsoft Teams or Slack in the way they approach workplace socialization.
The very first point on her list was getting a simple "hi" or "hello" from a colleague without any additional context. She said in the video, "If you need something, just ask for it straight away," and that employees should not have to wait for a colleague to reply before finding out the reason for being contacted. She also mentioned the "No Hello" rule for workplace communication, which asks people to state the purpose of their message rather than sending a standalone greeting.
That part resonated with several commenters. One of them mentioned that they posted a status asking their colleagues to explain what they needed in their first message instead of just sending a "hello." Another said that they would ignore a colleague's single "hi" out of spite.
@cloudsjoo let’s normalize decorum at work socials….. #icks #corporatehumor #corporate #corporatelife #ick
♬ original sound - clouds ☁️ career + life
Another major complaint was about unexpected calls. The creator said that colleagues should send a message first and check if anyone is available to have a chat rather than calling without warning. Several commenters agreed; one felt unexpected calls made them rush and put on their headset while pausing whatever they were doing, and another objected to being included in group calls without knowing what the conversation was about.
The creator then spoke about events in the workplace and said that employees should exercise self-control when drinking with their colleagues and managers. "I do think there's a time and place to get drunk," she said, and distinguished between drinking with friends and being heavily intoxicated around coworkers and supervisors.
Her last objection was about workplace gossip, as she was uncomfortable when her colleagues spoke badly about other employees, especially when commenting on someone's work performance. She admitted that close "work besties" could have a different kind of relationship, but usually employees should be careful not to criticize their colleagues behind their backs.
If someone has an issue with another employee, she said, it should be handled via appropriate feedback, not a casual chat.
The creator was not the only one to have strong views on workplace communication either. Some users specifically endorsed the idea of never sending contextless greetings. Others referred to unnecessarily using corporate jargon, being astonished by unexpected Zoom or Teams calls, and having colleagues who always send multiple messages before finally saying what they need.
Like a commenter who expressed their frustration, some people want colleagues to "Just get to the point."
