A lot of us work in offices and we all know what it’s like to get annoyed. Sometimes the smallest things around the office can drive you mad if they are a regular occurrence. I used to think it was just me, but a recent study by LinkedIn asked people for the most common annoyances they were faced with in the office. We all have to survive the daily routine, and keeping these trivial annoyances to a minimum would make life a lot easier.
The survey asked over 17,000 people what annoyed them most in their workplace and the results are in! The results were hardly surprising, and how many of them do you agree with, or perhaps do yourself?
1. Not taking responsibility
This came in as the most annoying habit that people see in the office. No one likes it when people can’t admit they are wrong, or when people try to pass the blame. If you are one of these people then you’ve been warned! Taking responsibility not only helps you learn from your mistakes, but sometimes can inspire your peers.
2. Complaining
Serial complaining came in second amongst the people asked, and it’s easy to see why. Nothing deflates the office atmosphere more than someone who constantly complains and never sees the optimistic side of an issue. In the work place you will encounter a range of problems every day, and if everyone complained then nothing would ever get done. Try to look at the positives that can arise from a negative situation.
3. Dirty common spaces
We spent a lot of time in our offices, nearly 40 hours a week on average. This means that we expect a certain level of cleanliness to be apparent whilst we are working. Luckily you don’t get these problems with serviced offices, but we aren’t all that lucky. Working in a dirty environment is bad for staff motivation and basic hygiene. There are easy ways to maintain cleanliness standards too, so if everyone chips in it would become a lot simpler and this wouldn’t annoy people anymore.
4. Over-running meetings
Business meetings are an essential part of the working week, where minds collaborate and think of new strategies and ways to implement new campaigns for their clients or customers. A lot of decision making can be done here, but running late shows that you are not articulate and prepared and it can also have a detrimental effect on the people waiting for the room next.
5. Late email responding
Emails are always flying around the office, but this is not an excuse to ignore them. This fact has come in at number 5 but is also a personal peeve of mine. If you expect a reply, then it should be received in a timely manner for the interest for information sharing, productivity and keeping people informed.
Steve works in a serviced office Cardiff, in the UK. He personally hates it when people are slow at responding to emails.