I’ve worked in so many different workplaces, with so many quirky people, that few things surprise me anymore.

Once, I had an employee who occasionally liked to stroll around the office carrying a teddy bear and sucking his thumb. This same guy showed up at the annual company picnic wearing a T-shirt and short, loose gym trunks—and no underwear. He ruined the volleyball game for just about anyone in close proximity, and I felt terrible for the teenage son of one of my managers who had to play across the net from this guy. I’m sure he had nightmares for weeks.

But once in a while, I still find myself surprised by the general lack of business etiquette that people display. Example: the increasing number of smart and thoughtful people who get really stupid when they get an electronic device in their hands.

Cell phone use has gotten better over the years, but I still encounter people loudly engaged in what should be private business conversations in very public places. I thought people yammering into their cell phones on airplanes before takeoff were the worst offenders, but last week, I heard a guy in a restroom stall, clearly engaged in very personal business, chattering away and making a deal on his phone. The thought that goes through my mind is always the same—is the call so urgent that you couldn’t wait five minutes?

This seems to be something that a lot of people are dealing with. Take, for example, a Chicago Tribune commentary this week about people using their cell phones and BlackBerrys in the restroom. It seems there’s no longer any recognition that some public places—especially those with stalls and flushing mechanisms—just shouldn’t be turned into work spaces.

Sometimes there’s more than decorum at stake. One of my former bosses was a guy who spent his formative years as a young manager working at Procter & Gamble. He told me that P&G had a blanket policy against employees working on laptops on planes. The reason was simple: It is very easy for someone to see what you are doing in the close confines of an airliner, and equally easy for someone to pick up company secrets that way.

I thought this was nonsense—until the next time I traveled. As I walked back to my seat from the back of the plane, I could see all sorts of interesting things my fellow passengers were writing or doing on their laptop computers. If I had been looking to gather and peddle company secrets, I could have picked up a bunch that day, and on just about every flight I have been on since.

Are we so obsessed with work that we have to resort to cutting deals while sitting on toilets, or exposing company business to the prying eyes of anyone traveling with me from L.A. to New York?

How do you manage this with the people who work for you? Are you concerned about it? Do you have specific policies or guidelines in place? I’d love to hear what you think—either posted as a comment at the end of this blog post or e-mailed to me directly at jhollon@workforce.com . I’ll share the best tips and practices in a future blog item.