Annoying Co Worker Habits

MS291988

My team recently moved into a smaller room off the open floor so we can be closer together and have our own privacy

but there is some really bad habits

Worker 1
(A) has her phone and work email linked so when she gets an email(which is alot) her phone beeps its a joke happens around 100 times a day
(B)she also talks aloud to herself , now this i know maybe something she cant help but its hard to take

Worker 2
(C) whos desk is in front joint onto mine consistently every day taps his feet and fingers all day , some days i want to scream now i plucked up the courage one day and made a joke was he into dancing and continued hes always tapping , to which he confessed he was told in previous work places to stop it , but yet he still does it

(A) and (C) are really really getting to me , but i feel if i say anything ill be looked as the grump (im a few years younger than the rest anyway)

any suggestions?

jezzer

In my workplace the guy sitting in front of me goes off to the boardroom for a kip everyday for an hour!

I find the best way to deal with these things is to make subtle hints, in a humorous way without coming across as a pr*ck

runawaybishop

headphones?

livedadream

the girl who sits across from me eats hard boiled eggs every day with spinach,

i though it was a myth that people are that unselfaware, she stinks out our office and people comment on it frequently she still does it, we had to request her to stop eating at her desk as the smell was so rotten. we have a large canteen that we share with the rest of the org but a kitchenette for our own use, shes oblivious...

she also makes personal calls every day so I get to hear the ins and out of her dating life. hilarious but not work appropriate.


shes an idiot but good at her job. i tell her about once every two or three months to take it outside and she does for a while then forgets and keeps at it, vicious cycle.

people are annoying not really much you can do except maybe take up an annoying habit yourself

for A if it happens a few times in a row ask her does she want help turning off the notification on her phone something along the lines of god thats really annoying do you want a hand turning off the notifications their tricky arnt they.

b a guy in my office does this too- hes aware of it but it helps his process so i leave it alone, if he says sorry im tlaking to myself again i just say yeah as long as your good company, the only problem we have because the team have become so used to ignoring him sometimes he is actually asking a question and he arnt listening

if you catch her doing it again ask her sorry are you talking to me, do this a few times and she might cop on to it.

c the tapping would drive me demented, tell him you cant concentrate when he's doing it and it drives you batty, mention it every time he does it and hopefully he will become more self aware.

Atlantic Dawn

1
A) Clear your throat in a fairly loud way everytime she gets the email notification, she will eventually link what your doing with her annoying phone.
Whistle or hum the theme tune of the muppets every time she talks to herself

2
C)Try solid hard thumps of your desk after or during them tapping their desk.

whippet

grow a pair and call people out on it.

I have plenty of work mates with annoying traits .. in our place we just call people out on them and it stops it dead. I had to actually tell one of the girls in the office (other side of the room) that she was far too loud on the phone, it was embarrassing for a couple of minutes for her but after that it was a joke.

People have had food taken away from them at their desks and told to eat it in the kitchen ... a bit harsh but everyone got the message and now joke about it.

Unless you are direct and tell them straight out that it is annoying, painful or disgusting all the subtle hints in the world wont make it stop .. just make it fester until it blows up

Unfortunatly its a case of man up or shut up !!

jezzer

whippet wrote: »

grow a pair and call people out on it.

I have plenty of work mates with annoying traits .. in our place we just call people out on them and it stops it dead. I had to actually tell one of the girls in the office (other side of the room) that she was far too loud on the phone, it was embarrassing for a couple of minutes for her but after that it was a joke.

People have had food taken away from them at their desks and told to eat it in the kitchen ... a bit harsh but everyone got the message and now joke about it.

Unless you are direct and tell them straight out that it is annoying, painful or disgusting all the subtle hints in the world wont make it stop .. just make it fester until it blows up

Unfortunatly its a case of man up or shut up !!

no i wouldnt agree, behind your back everyone probably calls you an assh0le, office politics plays a big part and will cost you promotions

jezzer

livedadream wrote: »

the girl who sits across from me eats hard boiled eggs every day with spinach,

i though it was a myth that people are that unselfaware, she stinks out our office and people comment on it frequently she still does it, we had to request her to stop eating at her desk as the smell was so rotten. we have a large canteen that we share with the rest of the org but a kitchenette for our own use, shes oblivious...

she also makes personal calls every day so I get to hear the ins and out of her dating life. hilarious but not work appropriate.


shes an idiot but good at her job. i tell her about once every two or three months to take it outside and she does for a while then forgets and keeps at it, vicious cycle.

people are annoying not really much you can do except maybe take up an annoying habit yourself

for A if it happens a few times in a row ask her does she want help turning off the notification on her phone something along the lines of god thats really annoying do you want a hand turning off the notifications their tricky arnt they.

b a guy in my office does this too- hes aware of it but it helps his process so i leave it alone, if he says sorry im tlaking to myself again i just say yeah as long as your good company, the only problem we have because the team have become so used to ignoring him sometimes he is actually asking a question and he arnt listening

if you catch her doing it again ask her sorry are you talking to me, do this a few times and she might cop on to it.

c the tapping would drive me demented, tell him you cant concentrate when he's doing it and it drives you batty, mention it every time he does it and hopefully he will become more self aware.

i used to have a girl sit in front of me and in the middle of the office on a monday morning i literally got every detail of her bedroom antics over the weekend, its a bit much, and they say builders are big on the blue talk

wokingvoter

what always helps me to deal with co workers annoying habits is to remember that somebody is sitting behind me wishing to hell that I would stop doing blah blah blah.....

anewme

wokingvoter wrote: »

what always helps me to deal with co workers annoying habits is to remember that somebody is sitting behind me wishing to hell that I would stop doing blah blah blah.....

This is so true!

Tolerance is the key! We have an open plan office and the floor is so quiet you could hear a pin drop! When my boss started he was a bit shocked and said are they always this quiet. It was like a morgue. There are 4 of us now down my end including my boss and we would be a bit more lively than the rest. Now that we have injected a bit of life into the place, people are coming out of their shell a bit and the atmosphere is better.

However there is one girl who gets on everyone's nerves. She is tiny but has a loud voice and a strong accent. She also gets very loud when stressed. Because her voice is so grating, she comes in on your radar and you are tuned into her.

A couple of weeks ago I was trying to sort something out on the phone that had gone wrong. I was trying to listen to the person on the phone but all I could hear from the coffee dock was her talking about frozen turkeys. I did not know there was that much that could be said about frozen turkeys. Conversation was mind numbinglying boring.It was like something from father ted where the boring priest keeps talking to the wall. No one else was listening just saying yeah, yeah, but she kept going on and on repeating herself! I would have loved to scream stop about the f'n turkeys! Eventually I had to say, I m trying to sort something out here and all I can hear is turkeys! They moved off quickly! We all had a laugh later even her and me!

titan18

Could be worse, they could be like some of my coworkers, and just be entirely useless feckers who create extra work for you.

jezzer

titan18 wrote: »

Could be worse, they could be like some of my coworkers, and just be entirely useless feckers who create extra work for you.

i think we all have those

cloudatlas

jezzer wrote: »

In my workplace the guy sitting in front of me goes off to the boardroom for a kip everyday for an hour!

I find the best way to deal with these things is to make subtle hints, in a humorous way without coming across as a pr*ck

O.M.G! he is a genius/my hero.

LegacyUser

Be nice to them, tell the female coworker the following;

"Hey Julie, I am not great at concentrating on my work and noises tend to distract me. Sorry, I don't mean to be a pain, but is there any chance you could put your phone on silent mode because sometimes it distracts me? thanks, you're a star!!!"

"Hey Jeff, sorry, I'm going to be an office Nazi/pain in the a hole, I am not great at concentrating and get distracted easily by noises, I know you do this when concentrating, but is there any possibility to keep the tapping down? Sorry again, I don't want to make things awkward"

moc moc a moc

jezzer wrote: »

In my workplace the guy sitting in front of me goes off to the boardroom for a kip everyday for an hour!

How is that annoying to you? If it's his lunch hour then it's his own business what he does with it.

Better that than drumming fingers all day or stinking the place up with eggs, no?

FREDNISMO

A few co workers refuse to wash or use deodorant and we work in retail should see the look on some of the customers faces when they have to get close

eggox

FREDNISMO wrote:

A few co workers refuse to wash or use deodorant and we work in retail should see the look on some of the customers faces when they have to get close

Try working with someone who is constantly touching and scratching himself when there not picking their nose and eating it, and never washing their hands

milehip

FREDNISMO wrote: »

A few co workers refuse to wash or use deodorant and we work in retail should see the look on some of the customers faces when they have to get close

Well that one way of getting rid of repeat custom ams easing the work burden,
no more than boardroom napping guy,genius.

Don't suffer in silence OP,work is hard enough beside having to suffer that crap.

anewme

Oh that's me a bit though, I'm not near enough or loud enough to annoy most people. One particularly busy day, I'd got through a mountain of stuff and looked down at a load of stuff cleared and a tidy desk only to very loudly say to myself in the evening well, that was great work done today by me! I did not even realise I said it. The others were in fits.

Wanderer2010

One of my co workers brings every single problem she is having in her personal life into the workplace and shares it with as many people who will listen or are too polite to tell her to be professional. Literally the second she walks in the door she unloads her latest boyfriend/daughter/mortgage problems to the nearest people (who are trying to work and she has no consideration for their time at all) and starts spouting about an hours worth of "Oh John is some scumbag, he told me last night that he would never marry me, I mean Imagine after all I do for him...and my ESB bill was so high I only bought about 20 bottles of wine this month...I fcuking hate that new weight loss plan I'm following...etc etc etc.

Obviously I would love to tell this woman to park her personal life at the door but of course that would be unprofessional and I would be the big bad wolf but I have never come across as unprofessional and deluded a co-worker in my life. I mean, everyone has problems and everyone has good and bad days at work but to involve your co-workers in it is bad form. Just get on with work and keep work and personal life separate.

Aglomerado

Wanderer2010 wrote: »

One of my co workers brings every single problem she is having in her personal life into the workplace and shares it with as many people who will listen or are too polite to tell her to be professional. Literally the second she walks in the door she unloads her latest boyfriend/daughter/mortgage problems to the nearest people (who are trying to work and she has no consideration for their time at all) and starts spouting about an hours worth of "Oh John is some scumbag, he told me last night that he would never marry me, I mean Imagine after all I do for him...and my ESB bill was so high I only bought about 20 bottles of wine this month...I fcuking hate that new weight loss plan I'm following...etc etc etc.

There used to be one in my place who would talk about her cervical smear results.

:eek::eek:

At the moment the worst I have to put up with is having to endure small talk before I've had enough coffee.

Or people insisting on talking to me about last night's match when they know I don't like football.

Wanderer78

It's amazing how clinical we have made or are trying to make our work places. More evidence of neoclassical theory me thinks

Utah

A guy sitting opposite me opens his noisy drawer every 5 mins. No idea why.

Same guy shakes my desk, my screen is on a suspended arm so wobbles with his movements. It's infuriating.

livedadream

im joint head of a team of four, me, the other BP and four officers,

im currently dealing with a new guy (9 months in) who is trying to assert some dominance in a well balanced office.

its open plan and myself and the other BP have desks opposite each other at the end of the room, screens arnt hidden but its the quieter side of the office. (we are sectioned off from the rest of the floor, thrown in a corner with walls basically but its still relatively open), if you walk past the desk my screen is visible but you'd have to look if you get me.

I run the company facebook page for recruitment etc and he loves having a gawk at my screen and announcing to everyone im on facebook...

''hahaha checking out baby photos and cats again are we''

i dont bother correcting him, he effectively works for me, on my team, his next performance meeting will be interesting though.

he does the same to the rest of the team, if their on personal email or dailymail or whatever, (we have an internet honestly policy, i really dont care if my team piss away their time on the internet as long as the work gets done. We dont block any sites (apart from the usual adult ones obvs) because of the work they do) but it drives me demented that he points it out...

ive heard the other lads tell him its work related or im on a break or wind your neck in its getting to the point where i have to address it with him soon because he's upsetting the balance.

hate this stupid ****.. its such a waste of time.

razorblunt

Mr.S wrote: »

In a previous job, the person beside me used to always talk to herself while working, not loudly or anything but softly / under her breath and would say each step of whatever she was doing. eg "ok, now I have to email X and Y, oh why isn't this working, maybe if I do this.."

Very annoying.

Yes, I had one of these too, thankfully she's gone now. I was able to put up with it initially given that it seemed to be part of her "thought process" for difficult tasks (we're all analysts) but when she started doing it for everything i.e. talking about how good her lunch tasted, her personal text messages etc. it got too much.

jezzer

the guy in front of me in an english bloke, must have watched last nights match in the pub as he is letting some bombers today, the effing smell is rife

FortySeven

I randomly get hit with missiles. Another favourite is a kick to the back of the knee. (I stand at my computer) Random outbursts of racism are common as are full on shouting arguments. Prank phone calls, co-workers smashing things in fits of rage, finding my car not where I parked it at finish, people drinking my coffee and not replacing it, having my desktop background changed constantly.

Then there are the customers.

jezzer

FortySeven wrote: »

I randomly get hit with missiles. Another favourite is a kick to the back of the knee. (I stand at my computer) Random outbursts of racism are common as are full on shouting arguments. Prank phone calls, co-workers smashing things in fits of rage, finding my car not where I parked it at finish, people drinking my coffee and not replacing it, having my desktop background changed constantly.

Then there are the customers.

Where do you work? sounds like great craic

Car99

Utah wrote: »

A guy sitting opposite me opens his noisy drawer every 5 mins. No idea why.

Same guy shakes my desk, my screen is on a suspended arm so wobbles with his movements. It's infuriating.

Offer to fix his drawer and steady your monitor with something.

FortySeven

jezzer wrote: »

Where do you work? sounds like great craic

Car dealership. Tis great craic really. except for the coffee, that's getting expensive. Might buy a few mousetraps to catch the buggers.

Mrs OBumble

livedadream wrote: »

i dont bother correcting him, he effectively works for me, on my team, his next performance meeting will be interesting though.
....

hate this stupid ****.. its such a waste of time.

Welcome to management, it's all about stupid **** !


If you wait until performance review time to correct an issue, then you have failed to do your job.

And any negative performance review you give will reflect badly on you.

jezzer

FortySeven wrote: »

Car dealership. Tis great craic really. except for the coffee, that's getting expensive. Might buy a few mousetraps to catch the buggers.

mice are eating the coffee eh? prank phone calls in work are brilliant

Wanderer78

jezzer wrote:

mice are eating the coffee eh? prank phone calls in work are brilliant

Prank emails are fun to, one of ours involved a Thai sex change clinic which ended in a phone call from the clinic. Pure genius

FortySeven

jezzer wrote: »

mice are eating the coffee eh? prank phone calls in work are brilliant

Came in this morning after yesterday off. No coffee. Ready to step up to rat traps at this stage. With spikes and possibly some kind of fire.

northgirl

Leaving food in the fridge for days.. weeks... the spaghetti in tomato sauce that was growing mold has finally been disposed of thank the lord

jezzer

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Prank emails are fun to, one of ours involved a Thai sex change clinic which ended in a phone call from the clinic. Pure genius

brilliant, did they call looking for a specific person?

frutierutie

I work with someone who burps well belches constantly all day every day. Doesn't matter whose in the office higher up staff/customers, if she feels like burping out it comes. It's also like she's proud of this as she comments 'wow that was a big one' but what's more annoying is sometimes other staff will laugh (while I cringe) and agree so it's almost like giving her the approval that she can belch all day without a bother. Never thought I minded someone burping but oh god do I hate it now!

I would write a book on some of her office habits but can't say anything as she's best buddies with the manager. Office politics is the worse some times.

Wanderer78

jezzer wrote:

brilliant, did they call looking for a specific person?

Haha yea, was some laugh. He's a legend with prank emails. Do not leave your computer unlocked around him!

KillerShamrock

I work with a guy who is in his late 40's early 50's and has yet to master the art of blowing his nose I know 2/3 year olds who can do this, I have heard in excess of 100 sniffles since 8:45 this morning

I AM FIT TO KILL AT THIS POINT IT HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE LAST JULY WHEN HE STARTED HERE!!!!!

I am thinking of buying as many of those little pocket pack of tissues as I can carry and either beating him to death with them or leaving them all over his desk.

jezzer

Wanderer78 wrote: »

Haha yea, was some laugh. He's a legend with prank emails. Do not leave your computer unlocked around him!

brilliant

jezzer

When your co-worker doesnt come in and your left in the sh1t but they get away with it

Nokia6230i

Bloke I used to work wi' would hop into car on Monday & Friday mornings esp. smelling like a brewery after all day/late night session.

Used fall asleep on one of the two forklifts; got told go back of warehouse & sleep it off; cushty!

Transferred to my Dept. & bar the gargle issues the cigarette breaks too the ****.

10:45am away off he'd fock for 5 mins. minimum before his own break came along at 11:15am or so.

1:30pm; same thing & then lunch break at 2:30pm.

3:15pm, same thing & then off for actual break at 3:45pm.

45 Mins. daily x 5 = an awful lot of lost productivity time.

I raised it a few times but got nowhere so after a while I downed tools each time he did it til he came back; well if you can't beat 'em etc.

Had a lady fond of the booze herself only she drank on the job; used frequent the powder room more often than if she'd a feed of porter & a dodgy curry before she was found out.

Another lady who worked near the edge of a cage that led to an edge with a 10 Ft. drop enjoyed a bottle or two too many of Latvian vodka. Started wobbling a bit much one day & had to be escorted home for own safety.

This in a company that if a Dept. achieved "Zero Defects" each got a Tee-Shirt in the boardroom of a Friday evening.....and a glass of champers & sure you'd have to drink someone elses too if they were tee-total or if it didn't agree wi' them!

jezzer

Nokia6230i wrote: »

Bloke I used to work wi' would hop into car on Monday & Friday mornings esp. smelling like a brewery after all day/late night session.

Used fall asleep on one of the two forklifts; got told go back of warehouse & sleep it off; cushty!

Transferred to my Dept. & bar the gargle issues the cigarette breaks too the ****.

10:45am away off he'd fock for 5 mins. minimum before his own break came along at 11:15am or so.

1:30pm; same thing & then lunch break at 2:30pm.

3:15pm, same thing & then off for actual break at 3:45pm.

45 Mins. daily x 5 = an awful lot of lost productivity time.

I raised it a few times but got nowhere so after a while I downed tools each time he did it til he came back; well if you can't beat 'em etc.

Had a lady fond of the booze herself only she drank on the job; used frequent the powder room more often than if she'd a feed of porter & a dodgy curry before she was found out.

Another lady who worked near the edge of a cage that led to an edge with a 10 Ft. drop enjoyed a bottle or two too many of Latvian vodka. Started wobbling a bit much one day & had to be escorted home for own safety.

This in a company that if a Dept. achieved "Zero Defects" each got a Tee-Shirt in the boardroom of a Friday evening.....and a glass of champers & sure you'd have to drink someone elses too if they were tee-total or if it didn't agree wi' them!

and we wonder what happened the celtic tiger?!!

Sounds like a great place to work though, bet the day goes really quickly with all the breaks and boozing

magicmoves

Have a co-workoer who sits beside me who is constantly chewing gum with his mouth open which is disgusting, Picking his nose all the time and smells of cigarettes. A joy to sit beside.

doolox

Every thing I have read in this thread is so trivial as to be comedic in its portrayal of total intolerance in the workplace.

People are not perfect but what is needed is the courage to look for and get the necessary tools for your job, a private office if needed.

Some work can be done on laptops in a more remote location if needed to get away from the "madding crowd".

I know that there were times when I could have killed on account of the behaviour of my former fellow workmates.

Then there were certainly times when my behaviour drove them up the walls.

We had to learn to get on together which is the most difficult thing to achieve in any organisation.