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Nothing ruins a workplace culture quite like an annoying colleague and almost all of us have to deal with at least one.
According to a recent survey by online cover letter and resume builder Kickresume, 85 per cent of workers have had to deal with an annoying coworker. The global survey of nearly 3,000 workers also found that for 58 per cent the offender has significantly affected their ability to be productive, and for another 29 per cent the impact was moderate.
Furthermore, while remote work has helped some escape their most irritating colleagues, many of the worst transgressions can be – and often are – committed remotely. According to the survey, 62 per cent of respondents have faced annoying coworkers in the office, but 44 per cent say they were irritated through written communication, 37 per cent by phone and 29 per cent over video.
“More than 45 per cent of surveyed workers said that annoying workplace behaviour has decreased since remote work became more common,” said Kickresume’s head of content, Martin Poduska. “At the same time, 22 per cent noticed no significant change, and 17 per cent believe that annoying workplace behaviour has increased.”
Poduska adds that workplaces that enforce a return-to-office (RTO) mandate could also experience a spike in complaints, as workers are required to confront their least favourite colleagues in person once again. Furthermore, the extended break from in-person working could also cause some to forget how to behave appropriately in a professional setting.
According to the study, the top five most annoying colleague behaviours include:
- Credit stealing
- Micromanaging
- Chronic complaining
- Personal space invading
- Lunch stealing
When The Globe and Mail asked readers to share some of their annoying coworker horror stories, many echoed the same themes, and added a few of their own.
“My pet peeve is disorganized individuals whose desks are piled high with documents, filthy with drink spillage and food crumbs, and when you ask them to find something it takes forever, or they tell you they’re too busy,” wrote one Globe reader.
“Mine is people asking for something and expecting it right away because their request is always the most important,” said another.
Other readers complained of colleagues washing their feet in communal sinks, leaving food in the office fridge long enough to grow mould, and leaving the toilet paper roll empty for the unlucky person after them.
Though most workers have faced an annoying colleague, few have taken steps to address the problem. According to the survey, one-third simply try to distance themselves, 17 per cent ignore their annoying coworkers and 12 per cent vent to their colleagues. While 41 per cent say they would like to confront their annoying colleague directly, just 17 per cent actually have and another 12 per cent say they’ve reported them to human resources.
“If I were to give one piece of advice, it’s to just confront the other person with a certain finesse,” Poduska says. “You just don’t want to come off as confrontational, you don’t want to tell the other person [they] are being annoying – because most people won’t take that well – so you need to address the issue, not their identity.”
Poduska says that pointing out an annoying behaviour or habit can be productive, but labelling someone as annoying typically isn’t.
The survey also found 11 per cent dream of getting the offender fired, 6 per cent wish to humiliate or sabotage them and 5 per cent wish to physically harm them – none of which are particularly effective solutions, either. “I’m just happy that for most people, the ideal solution was just clear communication, or something less radical than violence,” Poduska says.