10+ Unwritten rules employees shared about their workplace environments: 'Speak to the boss as if you were talking to a young child'

In every workplace, there are spoken and unspoken "dos" and "don'ts."

Of course, there are those common workplace practices that everyone should abide by: no harmful language, no sharing of confidential information, etc. But what about those equally important social rules and regulations like not asking a difficult question at the tail end of a meeting? We all have coworkers who like to hear themselves speak. If your 45 minute meeting is already going over and you have the audacity to ask a question that could easily just be an email or Slack message, the people on your team are not going to love you.

This is but one of many unspoken rules I have understood to be important ingredients to being well-liked at work. Another big one is air conditioning regulation. Some people run cold and others run hot, but you have to be sensible if you're going to get up and change the temperature when no one is looking. At the end of the day, it's easier to add on a sweater than to be boiling hot with just one layer on. Still, that should not encourage people to make their office a literal ice box. I have worked in an environment like this, and believe me. It is not difficult to figure out who the responsible parties are when this kind of conflict arises.

In addition to these few qualms I have had in the various offices where I have worked, keep scrolling below for this collection of unspoken office rules from several members of this online community.