Menlo Park, Calif. — Feb. 28

In the days when tweets were bird sounds and a text was a book, workplace blunders had a limited audience. Now, however, these missteps can receive broad exposure — with unhappy consequences: Three out of four (76 percent) human resources managers polled by Robert Half said technology etiquette breaches can affect a person’s career prospects.

To prevent professionals from falling victim to online gaffes, Robert Half has released a new guide, “Business Etiquette: The New Rules in a Digital Age.” The guide was designed to offer tips for successfully minding your manners when using professional networking sites, social media, e-mail, instant messaging, mobile devices and more.

The company has also identified five common types of tech etiquette offenders and how to ensure you aren’t one of them.

HR managers were asked, “To what extent, if any, can technology etiquette breaches — for example, sending e-mail messages to unintended recipients, checking e-mail on a BlackBerry during meetings, etc., adversely affect a person's career prospects?”

While 76 percent either said “greatly” or “somewhat,” only 24 percent said “not at all” or “don’t know.”

More than 650 HR managers in the U.S. and Canada at companies with 20 or more employees participated in the survey.

“Etiquette breaches, such as paying more attention to your smart phone than the people you’re meeting with, can make others feel less important and cause you to miss information,” said Brett Good, senior district president of Robert Half International. “Other mistakes, such as sending a confidential e-mail to the wrong person or impulsively posting an offensive comment on Facebook or Twitter, can have more serious, career-impacting consequences.”

Robert Half identified the top five types of technology etiquette offenders and offered advice to help workers avoid these labels:

1. The Venter: This indiscreet individual never misses an opportunity to document a bad work situation. Job-related gripes and groans get splashed across Facebook, Twitter and personal blogs. E-mail, too, takes a decidedly negative tone.