Etiquette for Cellfishness Eradication

Eliminate cellfishness with these tips below. Why? More and more workplace and school cell phone bans are being instituted with over a third of companies contacted saying they've already put in place policies to address the issue. The biggest reason for the limits include the noise and distraction, along with a loss in productivity. Many companies are complaining that some people seem to require surgical removal of cell phones in order to put them down. 

Like it or not, the world is not your personal phone booth. No one wants to hear about your colonoscopy. We don't care about how much you hate your job. And we certainly don't want to hear you dish out every last detail of your sex life or lack thereof. According to one survey, more than half of employees said they get impatient or angry when a coworker stops a conversation because of an incoming wireless call. 

You can't walk down the hallway in some offices, without hearing things you don't want to be hearing.  People are fed up with the constant interruptions of cell phone calls throughout the day, that have nothing to do with them.  It's pretty appalling, the subjects of conversations that people, especially teens and millennials, are having on the cell phones in public. When they get on the phone, it's apparent they think the rest of the world becomes invisible. Or maybe, it actually does for them.  But it is time for a reality check.  Talking about whatever you feel like over your phone in public, is an invasion of everyone's space and it's also a form of air pollution. It is ear pollution.

More than half of employees surveyed said they get impatient or angry when a coworker stops a conversation because of an incoming wireless call. Stop the ear pollution!

Are you being 'cellfish' with your cell or mobile phone? You can stop being cellfish by using these 12 tips:

1. Wait until lunch or a break to have personal conversations on your cell or mobile at work. 
2. Don't talk on the cell or mobile when others are trapped into hearing your conversation, such as in lines or elevators. 
3. Take calls from those who might have unpleasant or upsetting news in a place where you'll have privacy. We all have that one person that baits us into arguments. Save your calls with that person, for when you are away from others.
4. Don't give out personal information such as credit card numbers when others can hear. This can cause undo paranoia and suspicion in you, when it is your own fault. 
5. Use the phone for essential purposes when in public, but be brief and to the point. 
6. Lower your voice. No cell yell in the supermarket. 
7. Use your phone discreetly. It is not supposed to be an extra appendage.
8. Don't take, or worse yet make, a personal call during a business meeting. 
9. Maintain a 10-foot zone of body space, from anyone who has to listen in, while you're chatting. 
10. When you're in earshot of others, keep it short. 
11. Treat people in the same manner you would want to be treated. It's called the "Golden Rule" for a reason.
12. Let those around you know if you have to make a call, then excuse yourself to a more private area. 

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia