Here are the most annoying office habits, ranked
From taking calls on speakerphone to tampering with the thermostat, these are our top workplace woes
Words: Jonathan Wells
Are you guilty? Are you one of those cretinous co-workers who takes a lunch break just a little longer than anyone else? Who reheats last night’s curry in the communal microwave? Who decides to slip their shoes off next to the photocopier – like you’re shuffling around your lounge?
We know who you are, and you do too. So, when we asked around the Gentleman’s Journal offices to gauge just how these work-based irks rank, we told no-one to hold back. Now, the answers are in, and we’ve collated the data for a definitive run down of the most annoying office habits. So sit back, and see just how badly you’ve been offending…
10. Sitting on social media all day
Okay, so this one’s obviously permissible if you’re the resident Social Media Manager. But, to all you others in the office, seeing you scrolling through Facebook, watching Insta-story after Insta-story or merrily tweeting while we slave through our work can be tantamount to torture. Reign it in, or at least do it subtly on your phone.
9. Typing really loudly
There are those who breeze in quietly to your office every morning, wish a gentle ‘good morning’ to their co-workers and prepare a soothing cup of herbal tea. Then, they fire up their desktop, and begin smashing at the keyboard with the pace and volume of a Gatling gun – clacking away with such ferocity that you’re ready to clamber for cover under your desk after a couple of sentences. Keep it down, violent-typers.
8. Eating pungent food
What’s wrong with a sandwich, bag of crisps and can of something? If you’re eating at your desk, just make it as inoffensive as possible. We, of course, don’t mind if you want sushi, or pho, or a quick lunchtime curry – just don’t eat it in the office. Workplaces are meant to be neutral zones, conducive to working and devoid of distractions. But your nostril-stinging fish dish is a distraction. A horrible one, too.
7. Whispering to others
This may sound like a contradiction – especially after we’ve just admonished you for typing with gusto – but whispering can be just as annoying. If you’re meant to be having a private meeting, go and have it in a meeting room – don’t huddle around someone’s desk and murmur and mumble your way through an important point. It sounds gossipy, rude and not nearly as tactful as you think it is.
6. Tampering with the thermostat
It’s a burning issue – or a freezing one. There’s always an optimum temperature for everyone in the office if you bother to find it, but there are those who still try to tamper with the temperature. Leave it alone, shiver in silence, or take a layer off. This isn’t your house, it’s a public place – and you must behave with consideration.
5. Leaving passive aggressive Post-it notes around the office
If you’ve got an issue, talk to people face-to-face about it. This peeve topped many people’s lists – and for good reason. If it’s an office-wide concern – people not putting their mugs in the dishwasher, or failing to tuck the chairs in around the boardroom table – send an email to the entire office. If your pernickety Post-it is your way of avoiding direct confrontation with one particular individual, grow up and talk to them.
4. Using your desk as your dressing table
Are those fingernail clippings on your desk? Unacceptable. Are you picking your nose with one hand while you type with the other? Inappropriate. Are you doing your make up in the reflection of your monitor? Impolite. Your desk is not a station at which you can primp yourself – it is a workplace. So step away from the cotton buds.
3. Being late for meetings
There’s nothing quite so rude as tardiness. Not calling ahead, or pushing your meeting back, or updating your calendar – but rather letting your colleagues waste time twiddling their thumbs in a meeting room is the height of discourtesy. If you can’t be punctual, then people will notice – and your reputation will crumble.
2. Not putting your phone on silent
If your job hinges on catching the right call at the right time, we get it – kind of. But, even then, there are ways you can keep on top of your calls without having your phone on loud. You may be popular, but most people in your office won’t care if your friends are texting you throughout the working day. What they will be bothered about is the incessant chirping and pinging of your notifications. Turn it to silent.
1. Taking calls on speakerphone
Similarly, taking a call on speakerphone is among the most intrusive office habits you can have, and has topped our count down of the most irksome work habits. Nobody really wants to hear your side of the conversation when you’re on the phone, so we definitely don’t want to hear the other side. This is the worst when it’s a personal call – nobody else in the office cares what you’re having for dinner, Jeff.
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