Whether it's constantly clicking the top of their ballpoint pen or reheating pungent leftovers in the office microwave, even the colleagues we count as friends can sometimes drive us up the wall. Which is why we're particularly interested in the results of a new global LinkedIn survey which reveals the top office pet peeves of 17,000 office workers worldwide.
The results vary from country to country - American employees complain the most about people stealing food out of the office fridge (remember Ross in Friends screaming "Mmmmyyy sandwich?!"), Swedes can't stand revealing clothing, and Brazilians aren't a fan of office gossip. We were also surprised to find that India was the most "peeved" country, whilst Italy was pretty laid back. But there were top five annoying traits which everyone agreed on - here they are in order of most knuckle-whitening. Any sound familiar?
We've all met a co-worker that's done it (or may have been guilty of it ourselves) - classic examples include saying "I was told by so-and-so" or "I wasn't told about it" when being criticised for a mistake.
The office unites us all in mutual hatred/exasperation at our boss/broken computer/flatmate/partners - but do we need to hear about it all the time? Complaining creates a negative atmosphere that's hard to shake.
Leaving festering food in the fridge, unclean cups on the side, stacks of unwashed plates, or a half exploded Pot Noodle in the microwave - messy communal areas are a major gripe, and lead to snarky round-robin emails about who "used my bowl to store their mouldy cheese".
Whether it's a colleague rushing into a meeting too late (when everyone else has been sitting there awkwardly shuffling papers for the past 15 minutes), or a meeting that just will.not.end, the boardroom is the perfect setting for some seriously annoying behaviour.
"Did you get my email?" - is probably one of the most asked questions in offices up and down the land. Unfortunately for some, there's always one colleague who refuses to reply to any email correspondence - meaning you have to bombard them until their Outlook crashes, or lurk around their desk until you get an answer. Note: This breed of co-worker are often as unreachable by phone.
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