Don't pile up at the office cafeteria buffet!

I had coffee with a colleague yesterday whom explained her frustration with a new crop of interns and their abuse of the buffet-style company cafeteria. She explained that they over indulged and invited friends to come for lunch at the company's expense.

I am in the business of training people in key areas of professional development and know all too well how office behaviour, including lunch choices can impact your movement in the corporate world. Many of the key aspects of your behaviour that are being evaluated are unspoken and while you may not be aware of their impact, others around you are quite aware of them.

A few lunchtime no-no's include:

Piling up your plate (or over flowing your drinks) at any office function. Your judgement about your own behaviour greatly demonstrates your potential judgement (or the lack thereof) in making appropriate business related decisions. This is particularly true if you make poor choices in the presence of external customers of the business and reflect the harm that you may cause in such sensitive business relationships.

Bringing odorous take-aways or lunchboxes to the office. Yesterday's dinner may have been great (particularly with the extra garlic) but be assured it will not be a hit in the open-plan office after you reheat it in the shared microwave and parade with it to your work station. The workplace is supposed to be well ventilated and free from such types of distractions to ensure maximum efficiency from all during working hours.

Overdoing the alcohol at lunch or the office social event. You really don't want to be remembered as the one that did that dance on the table or repeatedly lost their train of thought in clear view of members of senior management. Remember that office functions are designed to provide you with critical networking opportunities, not to get you smashed so you can embarrass yourself profusely.

Inviting friends to the workplace. The office environment while increasingly more "social" as a result of longer working hours is not an appropriate place to entertain your friends. There really isn't any reason to invite a friend over, certainly not to allow them access to any company resources, be it a computer, parking and definitely not the "not so free" lunch buffet in the cafeteria.

Remember that your behaviour is speaking volumes about you, even when you don't say a word!

Bon Apetitit!