Inevitably, if you work with others, you are going to come across coworkers who will annoy you. Your coworkers can make a huge difference in whether you love or hate your job.
According to a recent article appearing on the Human Resources Online website, a recent study conducted by UK-based E-cigarette company Vapourcore asked 1,000 people to rank a number of annoying habits of colleagues in the workplace.
The top offender was the issue of bodily odor. An astounding 43% of those surveyed said that coworkers who didn’t bathe often enough or use deodorant. This goes hand in hand with another annoying habit in the list, not washing up after using the restroom or helping to clean up after themselves in the breakroom.
Also making the list are coworkers who have messy desks or cubicles. Many (26%) felt that this problem was distracting to others and was potentially a symptom of the distractibility of the person with an unkempt work area.
Other behaviors that cause annoyances among workers are colleagues who do not answer emails. Those who ignore their electronic correspondence are generally viewed as harming overall productivity and effectiveness of their fellow teammates. Conversely, those surveyed said that coworkers who conducted phone calls too loudly were also of significant concern. According to the survey, 18% of those surveyed felt that talking too loudly on the phone made it more difficult for them to concentrate on their own tasks. In face to face situations, 21% of those surveyed felt that being interrupted while they speak was particularly annoying. The survey also found that women were more likely to get interrupted than men, and usually, it was most likely a man to interrupt her while she is speaking.
Being in an office environment requires common courtesy all around. Thinking about the types of habits we have and how we interact with others can go a long way toward creating a more positive work environment for everyone.