Telling your colleague to smile more is inappropriate, say majority of office workers

Telling your colleague to smile more is inappropriate, say majority of office workers

Telling your colleague to smile more is inappropriate, say two thirds of office workers, as a poll reveals the “dos” and “don’ts” in the modern workplace. The research by Ipsos found similar proportions felt it was unacceptable to make comments about someone’s appearance or their clothes, as experts cited employment laws and more “woke” attitudes for increasing sensitivity around behaviour in the office. They warned that it was not always what was said but how and in what context comments were made that could determine whether they were inappropriate. The poll, based on the views and experiences of 2,045 adults aged 18 to 75, was conducted as MP Neil Parrish was forced to step down for watching pornography on his phone in the Commons. Nearly one in five (18 per cent) said they had seen someone else looking at sexually explicit material in the workplace with the overwhelming majority (85 per cent) saying it was unacceptable to do so. Some 15 per cent of men believed it was acceptable, double the seven per cent of women. There was less certainty over other behaviours although 67 per cent still believed it was unacceptable to ask someone to smile more, rising to