How’s Your BlackBerry Etiquette?

Admit it. You kept your BlackBerry on the table during lunch. You called a meeting and actually glanced at your e-mail while your colleague was talking. All it takes is one red blink or an iPhone chirp and otherwise polite and attentive women disengage.

Nearly one-fifth of U.S. workers say they’ve been reprimanded by their employers or fellow workers for bad behavior with their wireless device.

“Don’t check the BlackBerry more than every quarter hour. Keep responses to a minimum. And don’t sleep with it next to your bed,” advises Ivanka Trump in her book The Trump Card. She also shares lessons learned from being chastised by her dad about her “junior moments.”

Trump tells how, during one Monday morning meeting, she put a shoebox marked “CrackBerries” on a side table in the conference room and collected everyone’s BlackBerries. “Our agenda was a full half hour ahead of schedule. People were more focused,” she says.

For planned meetings, use an out-of-office message on the device, letting the sender know that you will get back to them as soon as you can, suggests The Globe and Mail.

Keep it out of sight while driving, or use the silent option. And always excuse yourself to take your calls outside, says The Boston Globe.

Bonus PINK Link: Is your job following you into the bedroom? Here’s how to PDA-proof your relationships.

By Cynthia Good

“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.” Mary Oliver