How annoying are your colleagues?

The close-knit nature of many offices means it can be hard not to get on each other’s nerves once in a while. Whilst most office workers would never dream of deliberately annoying their colleagues, sometimes they can be just as bothersome without even realising it.

In a survey by office suppliers, Viking, it was discovered that Plymouth’s office workers found colleague whining to be the most annoying workplace habit, yet only 29% are actually prepared to try and stop the problem.

Plymouth office workers were also the least likely in the UK to actually quit their jobs as a result of their colleague’s behaviour – despite a third stating that they had considered it.

Gossiping colleagues caused significant bother to Plymouth’s office workers, but co-workers that were regularly late were found to be Plymouth’s second most hated thing in the office.

Co-workers that eat smelly food in the office are also a major annoyance, suggesting that not everyone is impressed by fragrant packed lunches.

Plymouth’s office staff are also less likely than the national average to complain about their gripes, with 35% stating in the survey that they wouldn’t say anything in order to avoid conflict and just over half (51%) revealing that they didn’t think leaving their job would be an appropriate response as they “didn’t think it was that much of a problem”.

Across the UK as a whole the results were similar: lateness, smelly food and whining took the top three positions and over a third (40%) had considered leaving their jobs as a result of the annoyance caused.

Interestingly, women are more likely to be riled up by an empty toilet roll holder, whereas men ranked office gossip as a top bad habit. When it comes to confrontation, women are more likely to keep quiet in order to keep the peace.

Ruud Linders, Marketing Manager Europe at Viking, said:

“Close knit environments such as offices can be a hotbed for behavioural differences, and when you throw some of those against differing personalities you can end up with irritated colleagues. I think the key to a happy office is striking a balance between feeling comfortable and tolerating some people’s behaviour – however questionable”.

Take a look at the full data breakdown here: http://www.viking-direct.co.uk/specialLinks.do?&ID=blog_uk_article_its-o...