No smelly food, no iPods, no post-it notes: BHP cracks down on office etiquette, but leading employers not convinced

An internal memo from BHP Billiton which has been leaked reveals a number of stringent employee demands, including restrictions on the usage of post-it notes, photos and even the consumption of food with strong odours.

While some in the business community have reacted strongly to the restriction saying they are unnecessary, the mining giant has defended the memo and says the restrictions are about protecting the security of information and “common courtesy”.

The memo reveals a number of rules including:

• Food cannot be eaten at work stations.
• Food should not be brought to work if it emits strong odours.
• Mobile phone ringtones must be kept at a reasonable volume.
• No iPods can be brought into the office.
• No items can be placed on workstations, which must be kept completely clean. Post-it notes must be removed from monitors and keyboards at the end of the day.
• Clothing cannot be placed on chairs.

A spokesperson for BHP says the rules have been in place in order to ensure security of information, and also so employees who travel often have accessible desks. “It’s a convenient way to ensure that desks can be used by anyone travelling,” the spokesperson said.

Regarding the food rules, the spokesperson also said that “this is just about being neat and tidy and courteous of others”.

“I don’t think it’s terribly unusual. We have designated break areas where people can go and eat, and we provide complimentary snacks and soft drinks.”

However, some business owners believe the rules are archaic and shouldn’t need to be implemented if there is a strong company culture in place.

Naomi Simson, founder of RedBalloon and the winner of a number of “top employer” awards, says the basis of any employment relationship should be trust.

“If we are employing people we want them to be creative, and we want them to be prepared to make decisions. I think rather than setting rules for people, you need to look at the value they are bringing to the organisation.”

“When you have a certain set of values as the foundation of your business, you don’t get into debates about whether people should bring red runners to work.”

While Simson says there is a place for some rules to maintain order, she says there shouldn’t be any need to make rules ensuring respect. She also points to organisations such as Google, which achieve quite a lot without imposing strict regulations.

“I think that with organisations such as Google, they aren’t prescriptive. I think they encourage creativity, and so it makes sense for people to eat together because it’s a chance to be collaborative.”

“You don’t want people to give up on self-expression. You want them to know who they are as people, and you want to make sure they share a set of values.”

Tristan White, chief executive of Physio Co, says a business should never reach a point where leaders make policies about what people eat, and where they should be eating it.

“Management should have more important things to deal with in my opinion,” he says.

Instead, White says businesses should adopt an approach whereby issues are sorted out as they come, rather than enforce blanket rules.

“In my experience, open communication will help avoid those types of rules. We’ve agreed to lead by our values, and one of those is to respect everyone. If we have a challenge or question that needs to be solved, we have an open communication about how it can be solved.”