Most Annoying Habits of Co-Workers

If you work in an office environment then I'm sure you're annoyed by the habits and behavior of certain coworkers. It seems that if anyone criticizes them for their actions then they're oblivious to the fact that they disrupt the entire office. If you don't know of anyone like that, then unfortunately you're probably the one I'm talking about! With all kidding aside, the office is meant to serve as the place where jobs get done, so why does it seem like an elementary classroom at times? The annoying coworker with the rude habits and gestures is a huge disruption, and here is a list of some of the most annoying habits of that person:

Cell Phone Ringer.

I work in a very busy real estate office, and having a cell phone is of vital importance to an agent's business. My office, for instance, is set up in cubicle form and there is a separate room with computers and other office equipment. Some agents will leave their cell phone on their desk while they go make copies. However, instead of taking their phone with them they'll turn the volume up and have it on an obnoxious, distinctive ring so they can hear it while they're in the other room. My advice is to become familiar with the vibrate feature and carry it in your pocket. If you must have a ring tone, stick to the traditional tones and not the disco sounding ones.

Using work for personal time.

In a cubicle setting like I have at my work, it's very easy to hear the conversations people have on the phone with their friends or family members. I can't tell you how many times I've been in the middle of typing out a contract and listened to a woman argue on the phone with her husband about what they were going to have for dinner. It's very distracting and it made me just want to yell out "Just make some lasagna or something! Goodness gracious!" My advice is to save those conversations until you get into your car.

Bragging.

As I mentioned earlier, I work in a very successful real estate office and there are a lot of egos walking around. However, no matter what type of office you work in you're probably used to that guy that is so obscene and overconfident that he often becomes the center of a joke. He's so outspoken and so arrogant that is almost makes you laugh. For instance, there are a couple of successful agents in my office that spend fifty percent of the day talking about how successful they are. Here is a conversation I listen to at least once a day:

Regina: "RJ, guess how many listings I have now?"

RJ: "How many?"

Regina: "Fifteen. Isn't that great?"

RJ: "It's only great if you have eighteen like me!"

Like I said, if you have to hear that conversation once a day then you're just about ready to quit. My advice is to keep to yourself and let your work do the talking.

Constant visitors at your cubicle.

Every single day I'll have at least ten visitors stop by my desk and chat for ten minutes. Folks, that's close to two hours of my day talking about things I don't care to talk about. The part that is really annoying is if I'm on an important phone call and I have someone standing at my cubicle waiting to talk to me. Privacy is important in an office and those who don't respect your privacy don't respect you. My advice is to put a sign up that simply says you don't want any visitors today.

Taking ownership of the copier.

This is one that I know you've experienced for yourself if you work in an office. Often times, I'll walk into the computer room to make photo copies of a document and it's already in the process of copying. That is fine, however, when I glance on the screen it reads that the person is making 150 double-sided copies. Who gave them the right or ownership of the copier for the next twenty minutes? My advice is to have some respect and do your copies in sets of twenty so that others can use the copier in a timely manner.

Overusing the speaker phone.

I believe that the speaker phone could be the most evil invention in the world. Instead of getting a headset or picking up the receiver, the coworker listens to each one of their messages on the phone, as if the sheer number of messages they have from people wanting to talk to them is supposed to impress those around them. Something that also baffles me is when the coworker has a live conversation with someone on the speakerphone. Why? My advice is to buy them a headset for Christmas.

Those are just a few of the most annoying habits I see in my office. Each office has their own annoying coworker and the habits vary tremendously. Be sure that you confront the coworker in a pleasant way to make sure you have a positive, stress-free work environment.