Ireland’s office workers find a colleague whining to be the most annoying thing at work, a new study has found.
Just over 30% of survey respondents said the annoyance caused them to consider leaving their jobs, with 6.5% having actually followed through with such a decision.
Colleagues who are regularly late were found to be the second most annoying thing in offices in Ireland, the study by Viking revealed.
Misspent time was a key theme amongst the top five most annoying habits with refusing to replace supplies, deliberate procrastination and texting rounding out the top five positions.
Colleagues that take lots of cigarette breaks and eat smelly food in the office were also major annoyances.
Only 28% of respondents were prepared to try and solve the problem they encounter at work, with just over a quarter saying they have deliberately not approached the problem in order to avoid conflict.
The majority did not consider leaving their jobs to be an appropriate response, with 58% stating they “didn’t think it was that much of a problem”.
"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," said Marketing Manager Europe at Viking Ruud Linders said.
"I think the key to a happy office is striking a balance between feeling comfortable and tolerating some people’s behaviour, however questionable," he added.
The top 20 annoying habits in an office are:
1: Whining all the time
2: Being regularly late
3: Not replacing things that run out (e.g. printer paper, coffee)
4: Deliberately taking a long time to do something/constant procrastination
5: Texting/using mobile phone all day
6: Gossiping
7: Eating stinking food
8: Taking lots of cigarette breaks
9: Talking on the phone too loudly
10: Talking too much about private life
11: Having bad hygiene (coffee breath, BO, visibly dirty clothes)
12: Having an untidy desk
13: Using jargon
14: Spraying deodorants, aftershaves and perfumes at desk
15: Humming/whistling/singing
16: Not making a tea round
17: Invading personal space
18: Stealing other people's food/lunch
19: Coming to work when very ill
20: Constantly tapping/clicking pens/typing too loud
