To avoid a toxic workplace culture, it's important to know which phrases and actions can make employees from different backgrounds or identities feel uncomfortable and targeted. Not meaning to give offence does not excuse this behaviour - especially if you keep repeating it.

With that in mind, here are 14 seemingly innocent phrases to avoid (and what to say instead.)

Two years ago, at an all-staff meeting, I announced that we would be introducing unlimited annual leave. To be clear, I wasn’t talking about unlimited unpaid leave. Rather, staff would now be able to take as much leave as their hearts desired and every single day of it would be paid.

Today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day. (AKA every office jerk's favourite day of the year.) If you're sick of hearing multiple exclamations of "shiver me timbers", "matey" and "arrrrr!", you need to take matters into your own hands. Here are some methods to kill vernacular piracy dead.

Back in the days of MSN Messenger, (Y) was a coding shortcut for the "thumbs up" emoticon. Many people continue to use this symbol to convey approval or affirmation - even in chat clients that don't support the code. This practice must be stopped. With firearms if necessary.

Dear Lifehacker, Today my manager told me that, rather than paying me a bonus each quarter, she would prefer to incorporate that bonus into my base salary moving forward. I fear this puts me in a bad position for negotiating a salary increase this year. Am I better off asking to keep the bonus and then negotiating a pay increase or should I accept their offer of incorporating the bonus into my base salary?

We intuitively know that a “happy worker is a good worker.” But what about their bosses? In the modern workplace, managers are accountable to several groups of people, from rank-and-file employees on one side, to chief executives and shareholders on the other. How well they juggle these conflicting pressures can determine not only their performance at work, but also how happy they are while doing it.

There’s a lot to be said for being a good coworker, but it’s important to remember that it’s not just about saying hello when you come into the office each day. Being a good coworker takes effort and can be considered an art form in some ways. As the workplace becomes increasingly social, coworker relationships play an important role in building a productive workplace.

Dear Lifehacker, I read somewhere that a creative workspace can lead to higher productivity and wanted to know if it's true? I work in a boring office job (it pays the bills) but I'm a creative type at heart. My question is, how can I add creativity to my corner of a boring workplace to inspire myself (preferably without getting in trouble)?

Even if your workplace has a relaxed dress code, there are probably a ton of unspoken rules that you're supposed to be following. Dressing appropriately for the job is more important than you realise - especially if you work in a large organisation where first impressions count. This infographic explains how to look your best in a variety of business environments; from 'baseline casual' to boardroom attire.

If meeting fatigue is crushing your will to live or if the work you're doing isn't challenging anymore, you are not alone.

You're thinking of jumping ship. Maybe it's your job, a relationship, a degree or some other commitment that's both so hard to keep doing and so hard to leave. Should you stay or should you go? Here's how to decide.

Whether you're doing the office dishes, engaging in impromptu football or just unwinding at the bar, it is often necessary to roll up the sleeves of your dress shirt. Unfortunately, most of us are rubbish at it: either the shirtsleeves are a bulky mess or they constantly fall down your arms. (Sometimes both.) This infographic demonstrates how savvy businessmen do it.

The salad days of cryptocurrency are fading fast. Yesterday, the price of bitcoin fell below $6000. Some are predicting it could dip through $3000 in the months ahead. This is a far cry from December 2017, when a single bitcoin hovered around $25,000 in value.

During this week's crypto bloodbath, it might be tempting to poke fun at colleagues who invested heavily in bitcoin and wouldn't shut up about the huge profits they were making. Instead, try showing a little empathy.

As workplaces become increasingly difficult and damaging environments, there are plenty of articles and books on dealing with “psychopaths” among your colleagues.

But psychopathy is heavily contested as a diagnostic category. And labelling a coworker a psychopath fails to account for how our workplaces can encourage bad behaviour.

We've taken a look at a few ways to handle kitchen thieves, like using fake mouldy sandwich bags. However, if nothing is working it's time to move to a more extreme measure: including laxatives with your food.

Dear Lifehacker, I have applied for a position internally with the company I already work for. The application process requests you to supply an "asking salary". My application was successful after several rounds of interviews but I was not given any information around salary, so I assumed my asking salary had been accepted. I have since discovered that the company has gone with a much lower salary than expected (25 per cent difference).

Most of us have no idea how we're perceived at work - especially when it comes to our 'personality'. While you can usually hazard a guess as to which workmates like or dislike you, the label attached to your identity is often a mystery. Are you considered to be a slob? A neat freak? A gossip monger? A brown-noser? A dullard?

One way to know for sure is to conduct an office poll at gunpoint. Or you could follow this flowchart which matches eight personality traits to a corresponding office stereotype.

There’s been a lot of interest in the harmful effects of prolonged sitting at work, from academics and the public alike. The attention being paid to sitting — or rather, not sitting — while on the job stems from the scientifically validated message that being sedentary in general, both indoors and outdoors, is bad for your health.

However, comparatively little attention has been devoted to the harmful effects of prolonged standing at work, despite past studies linking it to chronic back pain and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the lower limbs. What’s more, research has shown that prolonged standing might increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

It's no secret that companies who invest in their employees’ wellbeing enjoy higher levels of productivity, enhanced creativity, employee satisfaction and loyalty. After all, no one wants to work with a business that doesn’t care about them.

One of the best and most cost-effective way to invest in your employees’ wellbeing is to spruce up the breakroom or "chill out" area. Here are some tips.