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Crimes against sanity: What are your pet work peeves?

Kate Southam

by Kate Southam

04 Oct 05:50am

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Filed under: Office, Relationships, Society, Work

175 comments

I once worked at a start up in a building with only a thin metal divider between my desk and the in-house café, which offered free drinks and a pool table.

My co workers came from a mix of work cultures – corporate suit and tie types, web developers in tee shirts and the first wave of smart, funky Gen Ys. It was fun … most of the time.

I tell the absolute truth when I say shoes were optional and head phones unheard of. A mixture of music blared from open plan desks. I was in one meeting where we had to shout to make ourselves heard over Lenny Kravitz. Did I mention it was the 90s?

I can now confess that it was me who went to the CEO to stop a Sony PlayStation from being installed in the café. The constant clack of ricocheting pool balls and clink of glasses was hard enough to explain to people on the phone. “Yes, I really do work for a media firm. No, I am not calling you from a pub.”

I miss that space but not the bare feet - especially on people’s desks.   

All this time I thought I had a strangely low tolerance to workplace peeves but no, a new global survey of 17,653 people in 16 countries says otherwise. In fact the survey, which included 1,100 Aussies, has identified a list of 38 things colleagues do that tick people off. 

Carried out by LinkedIn, the survey results rank countries by intolerance. Workers in India are the most easily irritated while those in Italy are the most chilled. I guess Italians have much bigger things to worry about than people who leave their dirty dishes in the sink. Australia ranked 7th. The other countries in order of intolerance were Singapore, Germany, Brazil, Canada, New Zealand, USA, France, UK, Japan, Ireland, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands.

While the Japanese dislike pranksters and Americans fridge food thieves, there was universal agreement about the most irritating co-worker. Drum roll ….the person who ducks accountability. Surely we have all met the person who wastes huge amounts of time and energy talking in circles or deflecting attention from their actions to avoid uttering the words: “I take responsibility.” 

There might be exceptions. I once worked with lawyers and was in a meeting about a project when a barrister noticed some documents missing. On reflex I said: “Oh, I was responsible for bringing those. I will go to my desk to fetch them.” The barrister arched an eye brow and fixed me with a killer stare: “We don’t say things like that. Where would all the lawyers in the world be if everyone went around saying, ‘It’s my fault. I take full responsibility’?” 

I think she was joking. At least I hope she was. 

Back to the here and now. Apart from accountability avoiders, the things that tick off people differs by country. Aussies (and Germans) find people who leave common areas in a mess as their next most irritating colleague. You’ve seen their handiwork. Microwaves with gunk stuck to the top, dirty dishes in the sink and ghastly fridge smells. What is so hard about using a cloth, a dishwasher or a bin?

In third place for Aussies is the constant whinger. During his visit to Australia last week, UK corporate coach Marcus Child told a seminar that a workplace needs five positive people to counter the impact of one negative person. People who turn up late for meetings also irritate Australians more than any other nationality. Yes, yes, yes.

I share an aversion with the global group for some of the other irritants identified: 

  • Loud typing. There is something disturbing about a key pounder.
  • Colleagues who take calls on speaker phone. I would add those people who listen to call waiting musack/messages on speaker phone. Sorry, HN. You are otherwise marvelous.
  • Listening to music/videos sans headphones.
  • Humming/whistling/tapping.
  • Talking too much about health issues/spouses.

 

Meeting crimes of all kinds also get up people’s collective nose – coming late, starting a meeting late in the day, meetings that go on too long, holding lots of meetings and people who use their lap top or phone in a meeting to do non-meeting stuff.

Email peeves anyone? Using “reply all” on mass employee emails, being copied in on emails that have nothing to do with you and people who send unimportant emails are all peevish.

I’m neutral on “people that don’t respond to emails” as this could be linked to the other email misdemeanours but I do agree that people who pander to the boss and those who do not refill the photocopier when it runs out of paper are annoying as hell. 

I haven’t had any problems with these peeves: People borrowing but not returning stuff, co workers who drown themselves in perfume/cologne, public grooming, co workers making lots of personal calls, chewing gum, pungent-smelling lunch eaters, office pranksters and people who are first in and last out “just because”. 

I have however committed these workplace crimes: Having a messy desk, eaves dropping and then chiming in (I will stop immediately), chatting by a co-worker’s workspace (guilty but I do move away the moment I realise) and coming to work when sick.

Now, there is lots of material to work with here so do your worst. Pet peeves anyone? Care to share your own workplace crimes?

Most commented

427Australia, you have nothing to fear but fear itself
371There's no one Thomson won't burn to save his skin
353"Gifting", "journey" and other words we hate
313Thomson didn't answer the question everyone is asking
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262Who murdered the Arts degree?
246A big day for Thomson, who thus far is guilty of nothing...
231South Australia. It's the middle bottom bit.

175 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • marley says:

      06:24am | 04/10/11

      How about attending meetings on important issues and finding half the participants playing with their Blackberries throughout?

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      07:00am | 04/10/11

      @marley
      How about attending meetings on important issues where no minutes are taken, and no actions assigned?  So the whole agenda repeats ad nauseam !  It is one of the reasons your phone bill is so high !

    • Tina says:

      07:24am | 04/10/11

      @ acotrel

      Why dont you take the minutes then?

    • marley says:

      07:38am | 04/10/11

      @acotrel - back when I was still working, I can assure you that, if I called a meeting,  someone was assigned to take notes, and everyone knew who was going to do what by the time the meeting ended (unless, of course, the meeting was a brainstorming exercise, in which case it was usually me who took the notes and walked out with the job of coming up with a plan).  Effective meetings are short, sharp and highly focused. 

      That’s why it is so annoying when others think their own agendas are more important than the boss’s.

    • acotrel says:

      07:39am | 04/10/11

      @Tina
      I know my place !  Am I supposed to depose the leader, and run the meetings ?  We used to go into the meetings pretending to be puppets like Bill and Ben the Flower Pot Men !  My problem was that I wouldn’t attend the lunch time prayer meetings, and I didn’t believe the manipulative bullshit.  You learn very early on that you cannot buck the system.  It was the only job I’ve ever walked out of ! It was with our largest telecommunications corporation, and it was a real learning experience !  They are now privatised, and they would have to still be the most self-serving bunch of sycophants ever created on this planet!  In fact the workers have sold off most of their loyalty share issue which was given when privatisation occurred.  An expression of confidence ?

    • acotrel says:

      10:14am | 04/10/11

      @marley
      The skill of project management is not usually taught in our colleges.  Using a Gantt chart with tasks and milestones is an effective way of achieving ! You can manage by asking questions at meetings, instead of getting into a ‘rant and rave’.

    • Jeepers Creepers says:

      11:37am | 04/10/11

      How about having regular meetings and then your boss changes and you have no meetings at all. Even when we’re having important changes and we have heaps to discuss just because the boss doesn’t like them or find it interesting we don’t do them anymore.. @(*#(@*#@ >.<

    • Benevolent Rapscallion says:

      12:26pm | 04/10/11

      @ acotrel - What is preventing you from saying “Would you like me to take the minutes?” and then “Would you like this as an action item?”. That’s what I do when a meeting is being run by an incompetent chairperson, otherwise nothing gets done.

    • marley says:

      12:29pm | 04/10/11

      @acotrel - what are you talking about?  Your response has nothing at all to do with what I said.

    • hermes says:

      12:37pm | 04/10/11

      That’s because 99.9999% of meetings are a total waste of time.

    • Gavin says:

      01:55pm | 04/10/11

      Noisy eaters! I’m sitting here now and a Malaysian guy across the room (5-6 metres away) from me and it sounds like a frickin’ truck is bearing down on me. How on earth anyone can make so much noise simply placing food in their mouth is beyond me. Disgusting and bloody irritating. Learn to eat properly people!!

    • Frank says:

      02:11pm | 04/10/11

      hey man what level on Angry Birds are you on? lol imagine that an Angry Birds meeting…

    • acotrel says:

      06:30am | 04/10/11

      I have tthree main peeves:

      The first is a bout the way employers promote psychopaths to control their staff through harassment and bullying. Training in the basics of management should be obligatory under law for all managers!

      The second is about the lack of control over supervisors , particularly the ones who bring their religion to work, and run lunchtime prayer meetings, at which non-attendance can affect your future.

      The third is about disingenuous attempts to introduce Total Quality Management into companies however with no documented management system to be used as a basis for training and empowerment of sta ff.

      The system runs on bullshit ! Many Australian companies are piss - poor !

      Reply

    • Tina says:

      07:06am | 04/10/11

      That is already management stuff. What about the basics, alcotrel? People being overly noisy on the phone, colleagues with headphones but you can hear every single word of mind numbing stuff like gold digger and when you want to ask them something, you have to tap them on the shoulder, so they take out the headphones and say “hae?”.

    • D says:

      07:27am | 04/10/11

      @Acotrel - it’s been my experience that those who complain about their managers are those who don’t have the ability to move up the ladder and so they bitch about those of us who are getting ahead in life.You want to talk about psychopaths? I’ve never met people more psychotic than those who obsess over other’s success and wonder why they themselves are unpromotable.

      As for your claim about the mandatory lunchtime prayer sessions - I’m not buying it. It sounds like another whinge from another pissed off poor performer who never got promoted.

    • Tina says:

      07:56am | 04/10/11

      @ D

      Without relating this to acotrels post, but I have to agree with the general comment. You might think your manager sucks at his job, but he is the manager and not you. So who is the loser? It would be even more impressive if he got that position with less “management skills” than you would possess in his position, so good on him for getting there.

      It is another matter of course if it is management by inheritance.

    • acotrel says:

      08:09am | 04/10/11

      @D
      Years ago when I was doing management training, I was told that religion is the worst thing in a workplace, and   I never believed I would experience it.  If you like I can name the instigator.  He was the person responsible for OHS throughout the whole organisation which had thousands of employees, and he was well known for his bible bashing. Any engineer who ever worked in that organisation would know who I am referring to. We once asked a very senior manager why he was ever tolerated.  His answer was ’ he used to keep the lid on the unions’ ! Whenever there were negotiations coming up, the guy would be out to lunch with the unions, softening them up !

    • Tina says:

      08:15am | 04/10/11

      @ acotrel

      People can be in management positions for most various reasons, and sometimes they have certains “skills” we dont even hear about. But generally I think D’s point is valid.

    • reddragon says:

      08:31am | 04/10/11

      @acotrel. I know of what you speak and he was not the only one. I retaliated by attending the meetings and first praying loudly at the start and end of the meeting for those present in fairly insulting terms. When that failed to work I took a tambourine into the lunch sessions, banging it and shouting out hallelujah at the end of every sentence. When I was asked to stay away I protested about religious intolerance but ‘decided’ to comply in the interests of harmony.

      Personally, I was never bothered again for the duration of my contract and it did my career no harm either. Even so, it would have been better for this stuff to have been left out of the workplace in my view.

    • acotrel says:

      09:04am | 04/10/11

      @reddragon
      The guy I was ta likng a bout died a couple of years a go of non-hidgkin’s lymphoma.  My old boss rang me to tell me a bout it, and he was laughing.  I said to him, ‘you shouldn’t laugh, the bloke is dead’. He answered ‘many were the times I’d have liked to push him down the stairs’.  Much loved but best forgotten ? It was the most revolting bullshit I ever encountered in any workplace, and most of the people involved were pseudo public servants !

    • Mike says:

      09:18am | 04/10/11

      Acotrel is right to some degree.  Not necessarily ‘the best’ or ‘the right’ people are promoted to management in any organisation from any “sector” (academic, public, private), sometimes it is just those who can shout the loudest.  If the best and most capable people were promoted, you would not see as many companies failing or corporate scandals.

    • reddragon says:

      09:37am | 04/10/11

      @mike. Company failures are often atributed to incompetence but dishonesty is more often the culprit. One of the greatest corrupters of managers has been the advent of bonuses. When you understand that revenue recognition is an art and not a science it becomes very easy to go from bright and best to corrupt and greedy. Letting the gatekeepers, the finance people and directors, in on the game was a long way from ethical and has fueled the trend.

    • acotrel says:

      10:08am | 04/10/11

      @D
      ‘As for your claim about the mandatory lunchtime prayer sessions - I’m not buying it. It sounds like another whinge from another pissed off poor performer who never got promoted’

      I was promoted to the level of my incompetence which was one rung higer than most other scientists ever reach!

    • Mexican Beemer says:

      11:31am | 04/10/11

      D - In response to your comment that the people that complain tend to be those who have no talent to advance and whilst this may be true in some cases.

      I recall one former employer that was completely hopeless and it was actually a sport to complain about how the place was run.

      Basically everyone left finished up in higher up roles on greater pay whilst the poor employer was left pondering why it could not keep its staff.

      The employer in question just did not understand work/life balance and its view of the world was out of touch with the actual issues the staff handled on a daily bases.

      The employer actually believed that it was a good employer and the problem was the staff

    • Bruce says:

      03:35pm | 04/10/11

      One extremely important self development point. If you have never learnt how to take an order, you are not qualified to give an order ! Secondly, a company is only as good as its leader. Also, TQM, only works if the CEO adopts the same principles as is expected from those below the CEO - one in all in, no exceptions ! Otherwise failure !

    • oscar says:

      09:22am | 05/10/11

      alcotrel is absolutely right. Becoming a manager and getting promoted has nothing to do with any skills whatsoever. Having worked for a number of companies now - I’m currently working on my book why companies promote deadwood and burn out good staff - I have at least 200 pages worth of material.  By the way I am a manger and the way I’ve got promoted is by changing jobs. I find it a much more rewarding way to move up the corporate ladder then sucking up to deadwood managers and abandoning my morals and ethics to perform dodgy practices in order to prove I’m one of the boys

    • RC Henry says:

      07:00am | 04/10/11

      I’m pissed off when colleagues leave unwashed plates, cups and cutlery in the common room sink and drop food or wrapping on the floor and don’t pick it up. Almost anything else, even executive managers that couldn’t organise sex in a house of ill repute don’t piss me off as much as dirtiness in the kitchen.

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      07:19am | 04/10/11

      @RC Henry
      It’s symptomatic of a workplace where the staff lack motivation and self-discipline. Attention to detail must become part of the culture in companies intending to succeed against the competition !

    • Anne71 says:

      12:56pm | 04/10/11

      RC Henry - oh, that annoys me too. Makes you wonder how those pigs who do it live at home.
      Fortunately,  my current workplace is pretty good in that respect - everybody from the directors down washes up whatever they use, dries it and puts it away.  Anybody who “forgets” to do so is politely but firmly reminded to go and do it.  As a result, there are never dirty plates or mugs left in the sink, or, at least, never for very long.

    • Tina says:

      07:02am | 04/10/11

      Totally with you. I dont know why we are more easily irritable in the working environment or on the way to work (Yesterday I had to channel all my discipline not to knock that stupid mobile with key tone on out of the guy next to me on the bus), but small things in the office can drive me mental in an instant.

      Being German I support your findings. I HATE when my colleagues leave the meeting room all sticky with food stuff and leave their used coffee mugs everywhere.

      Reply

    • reddragon says:

      09:54am | 04/10/11

      @Tina. In one of my workplaces the MD got so totally fed up with dirty meal rooms that he asked me to do something about it that would have a real impact as memos and pep talks had all failed. I removed all of the mugs, the coffee machine, the toaster and the mini oven. Staff were advised that they would have to supply their own mugs and toasters etc and that all dirty mugs and unclean cooking implements left in the meal rooms would therafter be thrown out at the end of the day. Worked a treat. And they say psychology is a wasted field of study when it comes to the workplace.

    • TimB says:

      07:08am | 04/10/11

      Anytime an order comes down from on high about how you’re supposed to enforce a certain company policy or deal with a paticular situation. Then when you do so, the other party inevitably complains and goes over your head. At which point the boss will make a generous exception in direct conflict with what they’ve been constantly telling you to do.

      They end up looking like reasonable and helpful whilst you come off as an obstructionist jackass. Even though you were just the messenger and it was *their* policy you were trying to carry out.

      Reply

    • acotrel says:

      07:29am | 04/10/11

      @TimB
      ‘They end up looking like reasonable and helpful whilst you come off as an obstructionist jackass. ‘

      You are just there to obey orders, and when things go wrong, and the company fails, you can always use the ‘Nuremberg defence’ !

    • TimB says:

      09:11am | 04/10/11

      Wow. Nazi slurs. You become more pathetic every day Acotrel.

      Please go away until you have useful to contribute.

    • Rachel says:

      10:38am | 04/10/11

      Bullying.

    • DamonS says:

      11:29am | 05/10/11

      Christ TimB… get a life. I’ve been enjoying this to this point and you have to go off-topic @Acotrel, just for a dig. For Christ’s sake just enjoy the thread, without politics from him…

    • ts says:

      07:27am | 04/10/11

      1. management by panic. last thing in the afternoon and the boss comes in. “this report absolutely must be done by tomorrow”. the fact that its left that late in the day for the collation of information is indicative of poor management, yet the workers have to bear the pressure.

      2. managers who expect you to put in the extra yards, stay back etc for no reward. its ok for a manager to stay back till 10pm at night. they’re earning 200k. why they think some lowly employee on less than half their wage is willing to sacrifice their life to “get the job done” beats me.

      3. as a public servant - politicians. government 1 - lets decentralise ! huge restructure, great stress levels - done. government 2 gets in. let’s amalgamate ! huge restructure, great stress levels - done. new minister - lets restructure the department .....

      Reply

    • Fiona says:

      10:51pm | 04/10/11

      I’ve been in health for years and number 3 is depressingly familiar. We currently have 2 restructures going on at once,sort of layered upon each other if you will.

    • Joan Bennett says:

      07:42am | 04/10/11

      If everyone had their own office, none of this would happen.  Open plan offices cause more issues than anything else.  Companies only have them because it’s cheaper to have employees in cattle pens than in their own space.

      Reply

    • Tina says:

      08:01am | 04/10/11

      If organised well I prefer open plan offices as they encourage dialogue. Its more efficient to talk face-to-face than to email someone who is just sitting in the office next door. And sorry, but not every employee needs to have an own office. I wont be paying the increase in telecom fees if they build offices for their call centre staff!

    • Kelly says:

      08:27am | 04/10/11

      Tina - people still email a colleague just sitting over from them, even that without offices. Also, you will be paying for whatever the company spends your money on. You get no say!
      Good call Joan Bennett as long as the office walls are sound proofed. My office doesn’t stop the hysterical typing noise of the bloke next door to me.

    • Tina says:

      10:46am | 04/10/11

      I personally cannot survive in an office all by myself. The last thing I want to do is spent every day alone with work. I like an open working environment, vibrant and interactive. It is encouraging to me, buzzing and freeing. But I assume you have to be a social creature to enjoy it. And if need to focus then I can just shut out everything around me.

    • Kika says:

      11:52am | 04/10/11

      Oh god no. Maybe in Germany open plan is a good idea. I frankly hate it to all hell. You hear absolutely everything going on everywhere. I need to think in my job. When you have someone within earshot (everywhere) and they non stop talk and laugh about useless sht all day and get nowhere near the productivity you do, but because the boss feels sorry for them and for some weird reason likes them they get the same KRA as you do it annoys me to no end. I have to tune out by listening to my Ipod. Then someone will want to ask me a question and interrupt me and so I am back at square 1 again and on the punch to refocus my brain… !(!(@(*(@*#

    • Tina says:

      12:51pm | 04/10/11

      @ Kika

      I guess people are different. I dont live in Germany. It is just my nationality.

      I enjoy the buzz of open plan and I used to work as translator which requires full concentration. But I can just shut everything out when I want to.

    • Kika says:

      01:42pm | 04/10/11

      You like the buzz? You mean constant noise. I hate it. Yeah I need to think about complex legal arguments and issues and quantum so the constant noise and rabble is really distracting.
      Everyone’s different though!

    • RyaN says:

      03:59pm | 04/10/11

      @Kika: the rules are simple, IT people other than the desktop support people should never be in open plan offices.
      Each department should be separated into their own open plan area so as not to drive any other department nuts.
      Finance and HR should also be excluded from open plan office situations.

    • Susan says:

      08:47am | 05/10/11

      I work in accounting and I think Open plan is great. With all the time that I spend at work I’m glad that I’m not shut up in a little box somewhere- also as part of my job involves people calling with accounting questions it is a lot harder when my collegue who does the same job isn’t there to help with the more difficult questions.
      I can ignore the background noise or use my Ipod, it isn’t too bad here.

    • tired says:

      10:31am | 05/10/11

      Open plan would have to be my pet peeve.  I find I cannot tune out the loud people who do not have a volume control and EVERY open plan I have been in has at least one of those.  The people who walk onto the floor shouting greetings to everyone that they can see also cause a huge disruption.

      The interesdting thing is that the people who determine that openplan is chosen either have an office or work in areas that don’t require a lot of deep concentrated thought!

    • LittleBirdy says:

      03:34pm | 05/10/11

      I work in open plan and it is, by its very nature, noisy. However the 4 things that bug me the most are:  1. People who raise their voices to ‘public address system’ level when on the phone, especially on private calls.
      2. People who get together in cubicles and actually do whisper and/ or giggle quietly so that you can just hear the sound but cannot tell what is going on. 
      3. Two finger typists who pound the keys like it was an old fashioned rusty typewriter.  Grrrrr!
      4. People who leave the kitchen in a mess, especially the ones who make a coffee and spill a bit on the bench and just walkaway.  Bring back capital punishment.!!

    • TRBNGR says:

      07:47am | 04/10/11

      To be honest I’m usually too caught up in my work to have the time to get irritated by anyone at work (though I do hate the late meetings, ugghh, I just don’t bother going to them).

      How much time and energy do people waste on worrying about the behavior of others that ultimately they can’t do much about? I’d wager the frustration at not being able to control a situation would make shit 1000 times worse.

      Reply

    • Tina says:

      08:04am | 04/10/11

      Good on you. I really have to remind myself to calm down, take a breather. Its not my business and doesnt affect me. It is a talent to not let things get to you.

    • Tubesteak says:

      07:58am | 04/10/11

      Meetings that are mostly useless and serve only as a way of making Senior Managers look like they are doing something. You don’t need a meeting, you just need a decision. Alexander the Great didn’t go around consulting with everyone and never comign to a conclusion. He was decisive and bold. Good managers are the same.

      People that don’t know what goes on. Usually a result of poor training or a manager that was imposed from the top (instead of one that frew up from within). They’re ineffective and ruin things.

      Extra layers of management filled with people that don’t actually do anything. We have a few of them here. They don’t produce anything, don’t review anything and typically don’t know anything but they busy their day by convening useless meetings.

      People that cook smelly food. Leave it at home.

      Slow computer systems. I think my computers and internet access is from the days of dial-up.

      People that don’t announce their presence and sneak up on you. Don’t look over my shoulder.

      Presenteeism: if I’ve got nothing to do after lunch then I want to go home not stick around until 5. My job isn’t a processing job, it’s a technical role, so my presence is only necessary when something needs reviewing or deciding upon.

      Reply

    • Leopold says:

      08:02am | 04/10/11

      I’m one of the lucky ones who has a potential christian name as my surname. One of my greatest pet hates is people emailing me, addressing me as my surname. They all call me my first name face to face… but somehow screw it up on emails.

      Poor punctuation (such as acotrel’s putting spaces before exclamations and question marks), poor grammar (it doesnt have to be perfect, i know im definitely not… but some effort needs to be put into it) and particularly misuse of their, there and they’re all pop up on a daily basis.

      The most common annoyance I have is people standing outside my office door talking loudly. A swift, loud slamming of the door gives them the message to move on.

      Reply

    • subotic says:

      08:06am | 04/10/11

      Co-workers waiting to “die in their chair”, refusing to move on when their “Used-By” date has obviously passed a long, long time ago.

      Retire. Or die. Or both. But don’t just sit there and waste a valuable position in the team, and in the process stopping someone else from being in the role who actually WANTS to be at work and do the job.

      YOU don’t WANT to be here.

      WE don’t WANT you here.

      There’s the door…

      Reply

    • Leo says:

      10:14am | 04/10/11

      People’s income stops when they retire. There may be reasons for sticking around. Pray the economy is in good shape when your time is up.

    • Anon says:

      11:00am | 04/10/11

      Try working for the Catholic church. Average age is no joke - over 55. The entire marketing team is over 65.

    • subotic says:

      12:03pm | 04/10/11

      @Leo, I’m planning to retire in the US of A in about a decade, just enuff time to have built up a great kitty and get outta this place. And leave those welded-to-the-chair employees well behind…

      @Anon, I knowrite? And their Boss has been around for, like, forever!!!

    • Old Man Emu says:

      08:16am | 04/10/11

      There is nothing worse in a workplace than whiteants. If you have a problem with someone tell the goose to their face, don’t undermine them behind their back. Also, people who look to take offence at every little comment made, be it in jest or serious. Though, to be fair, these people are almost always whiteants, as well.

      Reply

    • Ruby says:

      08:21am | 04/10/11

      Add to the list:

      People who don’t use the toilet brush when they clearly should. 

      Taking the lift one level instead of the stairs.

      Reply

    • D says:

      08:41am | 04/10/11

      Ruby - if someone gets in the lift at the ground floor and wants to get off at the tenth floor, and another person wants to get off at the ninth floor, do you abuse the person who gets on at the ninth floor and wants to get off at the tenth floor? After all, the lift is going to stop at both the ninth and tenth floors…

    • JuzzyD says:

      08:51am | 04/10/11

      Sometimes there’s good reasons and you should be tolerant of the last one. I know it’s painful if you are in a hurry, but for all you know the fit looking guy that could easily take the stairs spent the morning squatting 140kgs until his legs physically gave out and he can’t make that one flight in a timely manner. It could be a back or hip issue that’s not obvious to you at first glance, it could be a whole plethora of things.

      Hell I’m the laziest person I know and I will take the stairs one floor because it’s quicker and easier, I’m sure those that take the lift have their reasons.

    • Shenanigans says:

      10:09am | 04/10/11

      i get angry glares for taking the lift one floor, cause I’m all young and fit looking, what people don’t know is I have a ridiculous amount of leg injuries, knees (including a reconstruction) especially causing me a to take 5 or more minutes to go up one flight of stairs, not to mention the pain I’ll be in for the rest of the day.

      i guess that’s my fault for playing rugby and getting unlucky in tackles but please, have sympathy for us barely walking people who can’t use stairs

    • Tina says:

      11:43am | 04/10/11

      @ Shenanigans

      All good. Just dont hold open the lift door to say goodbye to your mate for 30 seconds or so. Or try and stop a lift from leaving without you. That can upset me. People rather stop your lift than waiting 3 seconds for the next one.

      Oh and what is with people farting in lifts and you have to enter it afterwards???

    • Em says:

      09:38am | 05/10/11

      Ruby…  in 90% of buildings, the stair doors are alarmed and stairs can only be used for fire emergencies. I’ve worked in very few that did not have this policy. Generally the only floors you could get to via the stairs on a casual basis was ground and 1st.  And I’ve never worked in an office where a toilet brush has been available for use - nor would I want to. There’s cleaners hired to take care of that. If you spot a mess in the loo, report to the office manager to get a cleaner to come in. Simple.

    • Fred says:

      08:33am | 04/10/11

      Me too can’t stand bare feet in the work place. Even ladies open shoes, I once worked with a bunch of women doing data entry and there was a stink like ya mum’s shoe cupboard, yuck. There should be a law against uncovered feet.

      I also loathe people who make bitchy remarks about you within earshot in order to hurt your morale. They think they’re so smart, but I instantly lose all respect for them for it never to be regained again, it would be impossible because they sunk so low.

      Reply

    • KH says:

      08:35am | 04/10/11

      Mmmmm

      1. People who bring hot stinky food to their desk instead of the very large kitchen dining area provided, as if we all want to be nauseated whilst we are trying to work.  Even worse when the person can’t eat with their mouth closed, thus making annoying noises at the same time as stinking us all out.
      2. People who put empty milk cartons back in the fridge.  Seriously the bin is two steps away.
      3. People who listen to voicemail messages on speakerphone.  Pick up the receiver.  Its not hard.
      4. Certain groups of people, who shall remain unidentified lest the andrew bolt police get me, who simply refuse to use a tissue or handkerchief, and sit there all day loudly snorting every five seconds when they have a cold. 

      Thank goodness for ipods….......

      Reply

    • MadKat of Melbourne says:

      09:39am | 04/10/11

      No 4 drives me nuts on the train going to work as well - it’s my no 1 pet hate anywhere.

    • Kika says:

      11:21am | 04/10/11

      Hahaha my husband does number 4. I’ve asked him whether he does this at work too. He says he doesn’t. He was just never taught to blow his nose back home. Hahaha. It’s feral.

    • Jane says:

      04:45am | 05/10/11

      @KH it is highly offensive to blow your nose in public in Japan and some other parts of Asia. I worked in a training organisation where the majority of the student body was from Japan. It is considered rude/offensive to blow your nose in public, hence a whole day of listening to sniffling, snorting, honking instead of nose blowing. If these workers are originally from Asia, then they probably are sitting there thinking you’re absolutely as rude as muck for using a kleenex.

    • Bluebagger says:

      12:38pm | 05/10/11

      Number 4 gets me too - so I complained to the guy next to me, and he ended up using all my tissues! Without asking! Now I shop at Aldi normally due to money constraints, but I bought this box especially from Woolies, expensive Kleenex ones, because I had a particularly bad cold this past winter.  So imagine me, when one day I turn up and there is an empty box on my desk!  Almost exploded with rage I tells ya.

    • Mahhrat says:

      08:42am | 04/10/11

      MEETINGS.

      Oh god please help me, I take minutes for four of them.  I would suggest one is necessary, one is a good way to pass on information (but then, so is email) and the others need nothing more than “This is what we’re thinking of doing, if anyone has any concerns please let me know”.

      Seriously.  Half the manager’s time is spent in inane meetings held by other people to disseminate information.

      If it can’t be said in an email, what makes you think a captive audience is going to get the info out any easier?

      Meetings should only be for various technical people to convene and make decisions about things.  They should not be ways of passing on information.

      Reply

    • marley says:

      09:13am | 04/10/11

      @mahrat - back in the days of snail mail, meetings were the only way to pass on information (I realize, that’s before your time;  sadly, it’s not before mine!)  I think older managers just carried on the tradition.

      It can be a very bad habit (I once attended a very senior level meeting - everyone in the room was director level or above) and it was a round table - anyone got anything to report - no, no, X40.  Complete waste of thousands of dollars of very expensive executive time.

      That being said, short, focussed meetings with section heads are quite often a better way to give instructions and get feedback than endless chains of email correspondence. You only have to read these blogs to know how something you thought you put into plain English gets misinterpreted.

    • Arnold Layne says:

      08:42am | 04/10/11

      People who don’t observe unwritten bathroom ettiquette, like using the cubicle or urinal next to you when there’s another one vacant.

      People who never contribute to organising social events, or thank those who do, but show up, take as much free food as they can, and leave.

      Those who make and take excessive personal calls at work.

      Those who for every day brings a new crisis of life.

      Reply

    • Seanr says:

      08:48am | 04/10/11

      I look after 20 staff in two offices and the petty office politics can be very annoying from a management perspective. Adults acting like children
      - ‘telling tales’ on other staff, eg “I saw ... on the phone most of the day yesterday”
      - not cleaning up after themselves. eg wiping benches, changing toilet rolls, putting dishes in dishwasher (you don’t even have to wash it yourself!)
      - bitching about the radio station that is playing (easily solved when told that the radio will go off if they can’t choose)
      My number one peeve are clock watchers, we’re fairly generous with people taking time for personal things without having to make it up and I’ve still got a couple of people who come in at 830am start packing to leave at 450pm and leave at 5pm even if they haven’t finished what they are doing.

      Side note: amazing the number of people who fall ill on Monday or Friday

      Reply

    • fairsfair says:

      09:47am | 04/10/11

      Yes, Monday and Friday sickies are a J.O.K.E. That said though, I once was sick on a Friday and I knew everyone was thinking that about me. So I dropped the $80 on a drs visit for stomach pains just to be on the safe side.

      Why must we be so unkind?

      I have to ask though with your top issues - do you work with children? Far out, they are some doozies Seanr! Particularly the telling tales. In 2009 though, I worked for a company where the Ops Mgr was a taddler. You would meet with him to discuss your own issues and he would kindly advise you that “Jenny is having marital issues, go easy on her” etc…. OMG. Unprofessional! I can only imagine what he told others about me….

    • hot tub political machine says:

      10:25am | 04/10/11

      My policy is when asked for a sick note to offer a resignation letter instead usually gets the bossed attention. Being accused of lying makes hot tub answer calls from head hunters.

      Seriously though, both the Dr an I have something better to do than give me a sick note like some naughty child. I have to rest, get better and avoid spreading my germs, the Dr. has patients who actually need them to see…..

    • fairsfair says:

      11:22am | 04/10/11

      lol Hot Tub LOL

      Its always the same people though. Its like they don’t think anyone will notice that they take a Friday off once a month due to “illness”. I know so many people (that I work with and friends) who use a sick day like an RDO. God help them if they do actually ever get sick.

      I was only about three months into my new job when it happened so I thought I best nip the idea of me being “that person” in the bud with a chit chat and a sick note from the dr.

      I totally agree with you, but so many people take the piss out of their employer’s generally not following through on the “medical certificate to be supplied for sick days before and following a public holiday or weekend or leave period”. That is written into my contract and something similar has been in all other employment agreements that I have accepted.

    • Blind Freddy says:

      08:50am | 04/10/11

      Workers who whinge about their work and their co-workers.

      Reply

    • Kelly says:

      12:23pm | 04/10/11

      People who whinge about people that whinge.

    • Shenanigans says:

      12:38pm | 04/10/11

      whingeception

    • iansand says:

      08:57am | 04/10/11

      Current boss sees a deadline 2 weeks out.  The rest of us need input from him.  He will take 13 days to provide the input, leaving us 1 day to do what we have to do.  He does it with external providers too, then wonders why they do a half-arsed job and charge double for it.  Or flies into a tanty when they say that they do not have time to do what has to be done and refuse the work (which means that we have to find someone else to do it in not enough time and without any background - see aforementioned half-arsed job.)  And then he is a slow payer, so no one feels motivated to do him any favours.

      Reply

    • Anna C says:

      08:59am | 04/10/11

      I’m not a big fan of people who talk too loudly on the phone or those who insist on using speaker phone for all their phone conversations including personal calls. Listening to your colleague berate his spouse on speaker phone for all the office to hear is not a good look.

      Reply

    • Blackadder says:

      01:07pm | 04/10/11

      In IT I used to deal with an IT system support person who always had people on speaker phone. I hated it, knowing all his colleagues could hear our conversations. He stopped the day I let rip a string of profanities down the line…it was probably the quickest he’d moved in his life, to switch off the speaker phone. He never did it to me again !!! smile

    • Arnold Layne says:

      09:17am | 04/10/11

      People who spend their day posting on blogs like The Punch instead of working.  grin

      Incidentally, I think you guys had better fix your post time clock.  We’re all posting an hour earlier than we really are atm.

      Reply

    • Tina says:

      09:34am | 04/10/11

      Spot on Arnold grin

    • JuzzyD says:

      10:00am | 04/10/11

      There’s nothing wrong with the clock. Daylight savings is ridiculous. There is just as much daylight as there ever was, you want to make better use of it? Get up earlier, start work earlier, go home earlier. Not that tough to manage your own life without needing the gubbment to specify the clock is now different.

      We don’t have it and don’t want it in QLD. Leave our punch clock alone.

    • marley says:

      12:38pm | 04/10/11

      @Juzzy - you don’t have a dog, do you?  Mine expects to be walked at the crack of dawn - fortunately for me, that’s now 6:30 and not 5:30 AM

    • Kika says:

      04:51pm | 04/10/11

      Hey Juzzy D speak for yourself! I know plenty of fellow Queenslanders who would love to see daylight savings… Some of us don’t have the special exemption categories to allow for changing your work hours (i.e. children) whenever you feel like it

    • DocBud says:

      06:36pm | 04/10/11

      My wife, daughters, son and I, as well as many of our friends would love DLS, and we’re in Mackay where supposedly everyone is totally opposed to the idea.

      What we’d like to do with the extra evening light would be to relax after work with a cold one or glass of wine. It tends to be frowned on if you do that with the extra light that we currently have at the start of the day.

    • whatever says:

      09:26am | 04/10/11

      Petty shit.  How about a manager who often starts fights with you that turn into full-on yelling arguments, in which you then get blamed for arguing, when you’re just defending yourself against outrageous claims.  (Such as that you don’t do any work, and that no-one likes you… WTF???) 

      Imagine then having a performance review carried out by this same manager, in which you are berated for your lack of communication skills, and lack of professionalism for having huge arguments at work, which he initiated every single time.

      It’s just another day in paradise, and funnily enough, this job is actually better than my last one!  And I’m generally better looked after!

      Reply

    • Mahhrat says:

      01:27pm | 04/10/11

      Tell the manager that if it doesn’t cease, you’ll explain how said manager hit on you last month, and that you’re filing sexual harassment charges.

    • ant says:

      09:38am | 04/10/11

      Perfume-wearers. People who pollute everyone’s air with their chemical-laden so-called perfume. I’m allergic to many of them, and cannot fathom why smokers are vilified yet people can do the exact same thing with perfume. I’d like to choose what I smell!

      Other one is bringing kids/babies into the office. i’ve never encountered a quiet one yet.

      Reply

    • KH says:

      10:47am | 04/10/11

      OMG - i have one of these.  I don’t know what is in her perfume, but my allergies immediately start up big time whenever she comes near my desk.  I’m almost certain she fills her bath with the stuff every morning - it is massively overpowering!

    • Gary says:

      11:15am | 04/10/11

      I hate the smokers that try to cover up the smoke smell with tonnes of perfune. Far out it they’re terrible, it combines smells!

    • Redeker Plan says:

      11:24am | 04/10/11

      I have a ridiculously powerful sense of smell, and perfume and aftershave drenchers are the WORST!  It’s one of the reasons I drive to work instead of taking public transport.  Most mens’ aftershaves, but especially any women’s perfume with Jasmine or Vanilla gives me a blinding headache within a few minutes exposure. It matters naught whether it’s a natural oil or chemically derived - my dad had to cut down a jasmine vine that was outside my bedroom window as a kid.

      We have one woman in my office who DRENCHES herself in this foul vanilla perfume every day.  It smells like a fridge cleaner that my mum used to buy until I made her stop; makes me nauseous, dizzy and headachey.  We used to be in the same department and get crammed into small rooms for team meetings.  I’m sure I offended her a few times by getting up and moving as far away as possible on the odd occasion when she would sit down next to me.  Finally I said to her one day (when she gave me a hurt look) “look, I don’t mean to be rude, but your perfume is a bit strong for me anything vanilla scented gives me a headache”  She’s barely spoken to me since, but stays away, though I can always tell when she’s been around because the smell lingers for ages.

    • Audax says:

      11:42am | 04/10/11

      Quite often those perfume wearers ARE smokers who think that by spraying excessive amounts of perfume over themselves they will conceal the toxic stench of their cigarette.  They don’t seem to realise that it just makes the overall smell a whole lot worse.  We had a woman at work who, everytime she went outside for a cigarette she stopped by the ladies room on the way back for a quick spray of perfume.  What was worse were the occasions she would wait to get back to her desk to ‘freshen’ up her perfume.  Had to summon up all my tact and diplomacy skills to have ‘that’ conversation.

    • Kate says:

      01:27pm | 04/10/11

      I’ve got one of these too! A co-worker of mine ‘refreshes’ his body spray about five times a day while at his desk. You almost need a gas mask to walk through his area, unless you love the smell of Skank Magnet by Lynx or whatever icky smelling thing he insists on wearing.

    • Audra Blue says:

      09:47am | 04/10/11

      The things my colleagues do don’t generally bother me but I do dislike women who wear copious amounts of perfume like one lady I work with.  And it’s not even nice perfume.  It’s an awful musk concoction by Estee Lauder.

      Most of the time I’m amused by the craziness of those around me.  One lady has a very squeaky high pitched voice which is very loud.  Without wanting to, I found out all about her husband’s bowel issues which required hospitalistion and her taking a week off.  She’s a nice lady but I didn’t want to find out that much about her home life!  And it’s not like I spoke to her directly, she just talks and the sounds echoes across the floor.

      There’s one lady who is strange indeed.  She introduces herself to new people as “I’m X and I’m loud and weird.” And she’s right.  She says the most inappropriate things all the time, laughs loudly, swears, burps, breaks into spontaneous song and even talks to you when you’‘re sitting on the loo.  She’s amazing at her job but weird and I’m constantly thinking to myself, “WTF?” when I hear her voice across the floor.

      It certainly makes for an interesting work place.

      Reply

    • AA says:

      10:05am | 04/10/11

      Those who bring their personal problems to work. We can’t all be happy all the time, but honestly, I dont give a shit if you had a fight with your new boyfriend.

      Reply

    • Lloyd says:

      04:22pm | 04/10/11

      Why? At least it interrupts the tedium of the day. Work bores me. My mind is always elsewhere.

    • Kris Pistoftenson says:

      10:11am | 04/10/11

      I hate those late lunch types, coming back from the pub blurry eyed, and pissing in their booth. I flows underneath into others’ space, like the tide creeping in. You know who they are, they have a damp patch which you don’t want to be caught looking at. The men are just as bad.

      Reply

    • Kate says:

      11:29am | 04/10/11

      I had a boss once who would arrive at 9:30, leave for a boozy lunch at 12, and return at 3:30. He would do absolutely no work and fail to consult with anybody until the day before a project was due, at which point it was panic stations as he attempted to micromanage the project, despite the fact that everyone had been coping perfectly well with it in his absence. Micromanagement is annoying enough but when the person doing it is half in the bag, it becomes even more frustrating. I only lasted a year there!

    • Shenanigans says:

      10:23am | 04/10/11

      I have a silent rage at people, who are apparently uni grads that can’t spell or punctuate. I’m straight out of school with no formal industry qualifications and can spell better better then a large majority of the people I work with, I don’t care if its the IT industry, i would like to be able to understand what people are trying to say in emails for once.

      Also saying “but I’m a programmer” doesn’t cut it, if you’re a programmer you’re supposed to be able to spell words, or are computers as illiterate as the programmers these days?

      Finally the one single thing that gets me really pissed is people who fart in the office, I mean seriously guys, come on. This isn’t the privacy of your own home, can’t just break wind whenever you feel like it, me and everyone one else here don’t want to smell the by-products of your digestive system

      Reply

    • JC says:

      01:52pm | 04/10/11

      “but I’m a programmer”
      The amount of times I get that confused with “but I’m a pro-gamer”..lol.

      On the subject of spelling and such, I don’t like it when I get emails that look like they were intended to be written on facebook. Try to keep your emails like an actual letter, guys!

    • meh says:

      03:52pm | 04/10/11

      But Dev’s alwys ct out vwls due 2 comp lmts 4 Physcl nmes. The naming conventions are due to computers of old. We we doing TXT speak way before todays kids.

      Had a floor wide shuffle of seats and the CIO was to get my desk, made sure I had Mexican on the night before I handed over that chair. Happiness is knowing your boss is sitting in your farts.

    • Direct says:

      09:48am | 05/10/11

      There’s nothing worse than a programmer who can’t spell. The sloppy approach they take to spelling is the sloppy approach they take to coding, commenting, source control, deployment and communication in general.

      Try maintaining their code is often a nightmare.

    • ponicus says:

      10:23am | 04/10/11

      Here is my list of pet peeves:
      1.  People who contribute 50c to the collection when someone is leaving or having a baby, who then show up to the going away function and act as though this was all their doing.

      2.  People who don’t attend meetings but then bitch and moan about the decisions that were made.  Show up in future and then you’ll have a chance to make things happen!

      3.  People who make YOU late for something because they show up late - i have a thing about punctuality, but often get a lift to events/meetings with others who don’t care, and they make me look as rude as they are!

      4.  Colleagues who will cheerfully spend an hour or more telling you how busy they are and they just can’t do everything they are expected to - maybe if they didn’t spend so much time talking about it they could actually get something done!  These same people are also the ones who never ask how your work is going, or if they do it is only so they can cut in and tell you something else about themselves.  I don’t know if they really do think that what they are doing is so much more important than anything i am doing, but it certainly feels that way.

      I feel much better just for getting that out of my system!

      Reply

    • ts says:

      12:23pm | 04/10/11

      @ponicus

      I hate *having* to contribute 50c to collections for babies, leaving, morning teas etc. firstly its almost always for someone I have no interest in, second the stingy company should pay for it and thirdly the fattest people in office always nick all the sausage rolls so I dont get anything for my money anyway

    • AJ says:

      10:31am | 04/10/11

      One of my co-workers likes to whistle as he works. Now normally this wouldn’t bother me but he does it incessantly and it is very high pitched. I once asked him very nicely if he could please stop it and that lasted for all of five minutes and now i have given up. And of course when i did ask him to stop all the other guys i work with started just so i didn’t feel like i was missing out.

      Reply

    • S.L says:

      10:39am | 04/10/11

      Most annoying thing in my work is an employees partner who thinks she runs my business. Right down to organizing different people to do different shifts so they can spend more time together. As the person involved (her partner) is a very good worker I’ve objected and prevented shift changes but abstained from going off the deep end at the “new boss”. I won’t give a warning, when I’ve had enough that worker will be punted with a detailed explanation as to why….........

      Reply

    • Babe in the Woods says:

      10:51am | 04/10/11

      Pet peeves:  People who want to go into every detail of their private lives with me. Even when I clearly say “Look, I am working” they just go on. Now I just put on my headphones and call someone.  That works.  Another one is people whining about their job. We all have off days, but to whine every day?  Just leave!  Finally (apart from stink feet, that is a given) people who back-stab.  Mind you, I don’t hear it much now as I normally go up to the person just spoken about and ask them if what I just got told by so-and-so was true.  Ahhh, that was cathartic!

      Reply

    • Blenny says:

      10:56am | 04/10/11

      I hate people trolling on ‘the punch’ all day instead of doing work.

      Reply

    • jimbo says:

      04:15pm | 04/10/11

      ha ha worse than skidmarks!

    • Fizzy says:

      11:07am | 04/10/11

      I work in a very small office of 5 people, and I am the only woman, and as the admin person, things like dirty dishes seem to somehow be my job. It used to annoy me that everyone except this one guy seemd able to clean up after themselves.  I spoke to him numerous times, at first politely, then not so much.  I finally fixed the problem when every time he’d leave something grotty in the sink, it would magically make its way back to his desk.  I have worked in numerous industries, always within admin, and this is my big annoyance about the job.  That Admin somehow equals office slave or mother.

      Reply

    • Tina says:

      11:49am | 04/10/11

      That gets me as well. I will get a hiding from the boys now but it seems to be standard that the female in the office is automatically expected to be responsible for dishes, milk runs, stationery, repairing the printer and social events. My male colleagues always come to my desk to tell me there is no paper in the printer or where to find post its. It drives me nuts and the one or the other bloke already had to “immediately leave the vicinity” to hold on to his life.

    • Mahhrat says:

      01:30pm | 04/10/11

      I’ve found it’s an admin thing, not a gender thing (although I’m certain that happens as well).

      As a male admin, I see the mess.  But then I think, “If these idiots want to pay me $28 an hour to wash up after them, then I’ll do it”.

    • Babe in the Woods says:

      02:15pm | 04/10/11

      @Tina, one gentleman in my office came up and commented that nobody had stacked the dishwasher and there were dirty cups all over.  I just looked at him until he left.  Then when he returned from lunch he found about 30 dirty cups on his desk, with a bottle of dishwashing liquid.  Funny enough, nobody bothers me with that any more.

    • Ashley says:

      03:38pm | 04/10/11

      @Mahhrat
      I have the same attitude. I am the only female in an all male workplace. After lunch I wash the dishes and tidy up the kitchen it takes about 3/4 of an hour, (there is 11 of them and they seem to be able to use every dish in the place). If my male co workers ask for something during that time I just let them know that I am busy and they will have to do it themselves. I find the time quite relaxing.

    • Direct says:

      09:30pm | 04/10/11

      As a highly paid developer, I love nothing more than washing up, helping the admins lift heavy boxes or changing light bulbs. Heaps better than installing printers, trying to find what’s wrong with the indispensable maze of spreadsheets the previous account made or trying to get some heavily customised Access 97 database to keep chugging one more year.

      None of the above has anything to do with my role, but if I’m going to be paid to not do my job, I might as well do something that people actually appreciate.

    • hmm says:

      11:10am | 04/10/11

      People who take only their paper from the copier and never drop your printouts on your desk (even though they’re walking right past you and you always deliver their printouts).  People who give you 12 months worth of travel receipts and ask you to help them do their reimbursements.  It looks like a 12 pack of toilet tissue all ripped to pieces.  They even miss crucial information like names/places/guests etc.  I have resigned now and can’t be bothered doing someone’s shit work.  Pet hate is walking all the way down the other end of the office to talk to a colleague about a work related issue, when someone else walks up to the same person and just talks over you.  I usually say loudly ‘well I guess I will have to talk to you later today when you’re free.  Should I make an appointment next time?”

      Reply

    • Tina says:

      11:39am | 04/10/11

      wink And I dont like people leaving their printouts in the printer so I have to sort through everything when I pick my stuff up. When people dont pick up their stuff, I usually throw it in the security bin next to it.

    • TimB says:

      01:38pm | 04/10/11

      “People who give you 12 months worth of travel receipts and ask you to help them do their reimbursements”

      Hell yes. I’ve been there.

      It’s also annoying when there is no kind of order to the receipts (especially in relation to the summary sheet they’re supposed to supply with them).

      And of course you’ll be lucky if even *half * of the info supplied on said summary sheet actually resembles the info the receipts provided.

      Then you’ll get demands for payment right away. Fun times.

    • Kika says:

      11:13am | 04/10/11

      *People who talk incessantly all day everyday who have the attention span of a goldfish who then turn around and winge that their productivity levels are low and it’s some sort of conspiracy against them
      * The same people who gloat and carry on when they actually have a good day “Ha ha I beat you..” Yeah and?
      * People who refuse to learn any new skills and rely on absolutely everybody else to do difficult things which require just a tiny bit of thought
      * When you try to teach these people new things they either pretend as though they already new and lose attention half way through your instruction like it’s totally boring and unnecessary
      * Managers who can’t handle their staff and want to suss out people who ARE productive because it makes them and their fudging of their stats reporting bad
      * People who complain about people taking personal phone calls, but do exactly the same thing themselves
      * OPEN PLAN OFFICES! Who came up with these stupid ideas?  The Architects who designed my building said it would encourage collaboration and sharing of ideas. Well, news to you fluff heads, we don’t need collaboration in our industry. We need to think and think hard all day everyday. When you’ve got people having personal conversations across the other side of the office and it is annoying you, IT DOESNT WORK. I want a cubicle… :-(

      Reply

    • kIKA says:

      11:26am | 04/10/11

      Spelling edit! KNEW not NEW. MAN i ANNOYED MYSELF.

    • Tina says:

      11:55am | 04/10/11

      Why is everyone here against open plan offices? I am surprised.

    • Trumpster says:

      12:00pm | 04/10/11

      Caps lock edit?

    • KH says:

      12:31pm | 04/10/11

      There is ‘open plan’ and then there is ‘open plan’.  I have a friend who showed me a photo of his old workplace in Sydney - instead of desks, there are these giant bench tables and there were 10 people crowded onto each one - it was their permanent ‘desk’ - screens, computers, phones and cables everywhere, hardly any room (he tells me it was just under 80cm per person) - and there were several of these setups on the one floor, so not only were you sitting practically on top of the person next to you on both sides (unless you were lucky and scored an end seat), there was someone less than 2 metres behind you as well (unless you were lucky and scored a table against a wall).  I’ve never seen anything so awful in my whole career!  He said you could hear the person next to you breathing, let alone talking, eating and so on.  Everyone could see what you were doing every minute, and no phone call was private in any way - if more than one person at a time was on the phone, he said he had to get up and walk away the noise was so bad.  The company insisted it was ‘collaborative’.  He left after 3 months. 
      I work in an open plan office, but at least we all have desks and some space to pin up a picture!  I’m willing to overlook my pet peeves if I never ever have to work in a place that treats their staff so disrespectfully. It was like some kind of milking shed or something…..

    • Kika says:

      01:51pm | 04/10/11

      KH - that’s like my office! They crammed an entire 23 level building of people into 9 floors by jamming as many people as possible on each floor and cramming us all into these shared desks with only a tiny wall separating us. There is no privacy, everyone can see what we are all doing at any moment. Right now I can hear some ladies having a personal discussion in the kitchen really loudly- 15 metres or so away.

      When I have to make an important call someone else will inevitably get on the phone or talk and I can’t even hear myself talk let alone discuss something important with someone. We have ‘quiet rooms’ yet there are hardly ever utilised. If I had my way I’d be in there everyday.

      I had an end seat once and it’s just as loud and I used to be sitting in a walkway - right opposite a fridge, in between pods and against the main thoroughfare so it was like living on a main road with all your windows and doors open for the whole world to see.

      I actually had to be asked to be moved away from this guy because he talks all day… on the phone, to himself, about every file he touches like we all give a damn…

      My favourite days at work are the days when it’s a public holiday… I can actually get some solid work done.

    • John Paladin says:

      11:13am | 04/10/11

      My pet peeve at work?
      I work with someone who is senior to me and is notionally responsible for me but is not technically my boss. In pretty much every conversation we have with client he will say,
      “I will do this, that and the other thing for you straightaway”
      I know this will end up once the client has gone being ‘Hey John Paladin, please make sure that you do this, that and the other straightaway’.
      Without any concern about how busy I might be.

      Reply

    • Kika says:

      01:53pm | 04/10/11

      Delegation…. the joy of delegation.

    • LJ Dots says:

      06:40pm | 04/10/11

      John Paladin and I creatively & collaboratively workshopped that comment, but I delegated it to John to do the actual writing and the actual posting.

      I’m glad you like it Kika, I’m happy to take the credit.

    • Youikim says:

      11:24am | 04/10/11

      Dirty women. I work with a skank who insists on snorting like a pig at her desk every time she has a cold. It drives me insane. Add to that her questionable bathroom hygiene regime and you have a recipe for insanity.

      Reply

    • du says:

      11:25am | 04/10/11

      Not all the people sit at desks pretending they are doing something. some still produce something ,and have no time to bother with office politics. So you will excuse me that your ravings are of little interest to me.

      Reply

    • Kate says:

      11:36am | 04/10/11

      Pet peeves from my current, and former, jobs:

      People who leave a mess in the kitchen. I hate to think what their homes look like, or perhaps they have a parent or partner who happily tidies up after them.
      People playing loud music without headphones. Yes, I will probably hate what you’re listening to and no, repeated exposure to it won’t help.
      Managers who don’t allow any independence and look over your shoulder all day. Most people are capable of a bit of multi-tasking, and spending 10 minutes here and there on the internet won’t stop them from completing their work.
      Finally, people who are happy to reap the benefits of office birthday presents etc., but who never organise or put in when it’s somebody else’s turn. A guy I work with has received a birthday present and a present for the birth of his first child, yet failed to chip in for birthday presents for anyone else. My fiance has chipped in for about sixty million people’s various gifts and still has not received an engagement present from his co-workers, even though such gifts are fairly common where he works. Geez that annoys me.

      Reply

    • Mel says:

      01:03pm | 04/10/11

      You expect an engagement present? Are you kidding? I hate contributing every 5 minutes for presents for people’s babies, birthdays, farewells etc but I do it anyway because it’s protocol. I don’t think an engagement is an occasion for an office whip around.

    • Kate says:

      02:39pm | 04/10/11

      I don’t actually, my work didn’t do one for me and I’m cool with it.
      However, my fiance’s work have given engagement, wedding or baby presents to absolutely everyone else in his office, so I think it’s a bit unfair for him to miss out.
      Personally I’m of the opinion that it should be restricted to birthdays only - that’s what we do where I work. But if you’ve set the protocol that you’re giving gifts for all occasions, you can’t just leave certain people out.

    • Ned says:

      11:38am | 04/10/11

      I hate open plan offices. People seem to think that because they can see me they can interrupt me at any time, I get hassled several times a day by people, even my boss who then has the nerve to wonder why I didn’t get my work done when I could work more efficiently if people weren’t bugging me every 15 minutes! and these interruptions are never important, it’s either information I’ve given them previously, or “what’s the password for this app again?” grrrr and they wonder why IT guys are so irritable…


      FTR not posting from work, day off ftw! I’m going outside…

      Reply

    • True story says:

      11:40am | 04/10/11

      The one who wont believe anything unless they hear it from themselves…

      “Hey boss, we should do thing X because situation Y.”

      No. I disagree. Haven’t you heard of situation Y? It means we should do thing X.

      *swallow* “Ah.. ok then..”

      YOU FREAKING CLOWN!!!!!

      One time, and I shit you not, I spent two entire weeks trying to tell this person that I was quoting them the operational guide that went with the very policy they were talking about. Two whole weeks of me saying “yes. Thats the policy. I know that. This is the operational guide for the policy…” you know? As in the thing that says how the policy is implemented? The operational guide that says “we meet our policy objectives by undertaking set tasks”???? Two WEEKS!
      unbfknlvble

      Reply

    • Counting down the days. says:

      12:02pm | 04/10/11

      I hear you ‘whatever’ - My collegue had a glass paper weight thrown at her head by our boss…. I think I could deal with a bit of whistling :(

      Reply

    • Ms Solitude says:

      12:17pm | 04/10/11

      My top pet peeves are people who talk way too loudly (so loudly you can hear them on the other side of the office) and those inconsiderate people who don’t put their mobiles on silent as soon as they enter the office.  Then there are those people who feel the need to sh*t me to tears with stories about their offspring - I don’t have kids, I loathe them, I don’t care.  And don’t get me started on the boring as bat sh*t social gatherings (weekly morning teas, monthly birthdays, the last day of the year afternoon tea & the christmas party - I’ve been here four years and have never gone).

      Reply

    • Mr Social says:

      04:17pm | 04/10/11

      And that’s exactly why we all hate you.

    • LJ Dots says:

      06:52pm | 04/10/11

      All things considered, as an employer I think I would hire Ms Solitude ahead of Mr Social

    • Judas says:

      12:25pm | 04/10/11

      There are three main areas of poor etiquette in the workplace that bring me close to conniptions of murderous rage:

      1 - Improper lavatory techniques:

      This can be divided into three main areas:

      a) The MCB or Middle Cubicle Bandit, described in detail here - http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=middle cubicle bandit :

      Is it really necessary to sidle up to a fellow cubicle user when there are others spare?

      b) Poor pubic discipline:

      Whilst I appreciate that the state in which one keeps ones own pubic area is a private matter, it is extremely offensive to have to share a urinal or cubicle with a colleague who has decided to decorate the place with pubic hair with the apparent gay abandon of a squealing teenager tossing confetti at a wedding.

      c) Bad aim:

      Urinals and toilet bowls are pretty large receptacles - how on earth anyone can miss and shower the floor with their expulsions is beyond me.

      2 - Laziness in email sign-offs:

      Whilst one might, just *might* be forgiven for signing off with “rgds” or “tks/thx” if one is late for a meeting with the Queen and using a mobile phone to answer emails, there is little to no excuse for doing so whilst using a keyboard.

      It is the height of rudeness, particularly when the entire novella proceeding the sign-off is devoid of grammatical errors.

      The ultimate form of this unpalatable behaviour, however, is to have these vowelless jumbles of text as part of ones automatic signature.

      3 - Inconsiderate idiosyncrasies:

      Be they wheezing, burping, farting, sucking on ones lips, clicking ones tongue, continually exhaling in an overly dramatic manner - people do need to be aware that the workplace isn’t ones lounge room.

      By all means, click, whistle, hum, fart and suck away at home, but when you are sharing an office, muzzle yourself.

      Reply

    • ts says:

      01:05pm | 04/10/11

      Judas

      We have a couple of managers who sign of with their first initial ‘R’ and such.

      Are they that busy that they cant type their 5 letter name? Are they trying to appear all “pal-sy”? Do they think they are so important that everyone would know who R is? What is it?

      The same managers would be P***ed off if everyone identified themselves with their one letter initial - they’d be hosting meetings with the attendees being A, B, C .....

    • Redeker Plan says:

      01:42pm | 04/10/11

      Bravo Sir, for your use of the word “conniptions”; we don’t see it often enough.

      To your list of improper lavatory techniques I would add:
      - Leaving huge skid-marks and not cleaning up after yourself
      - Peeing on the seat (women) and not cleaning up after yourself
      - Not looking back after flushing to make sure you haven’t left a floater
      - Brushing your teeth/flossing in communal bathroom then leaving half- chewed bits of food mixed with spit in the sink - GAG!

      Oh - and leaving your empty tuna tin in the kitchenette next to my cubicle so I get to spend the rest of the day sniffing catfood

    • Bluebagger says:

      12:47pm | 05/10/11

      I cannot stand when people thank me in emails (and in person for that matter) by saying ‘Ta’. Ta is a word you teach babies when they are not yet old enough to say Thank you!!  Drives me insane!!!

    • Anonymous says:

      12:47pm | 04/10/11

      Sick people who come into work and cough over everyone! Stay at home already!

      Reply

    • Tanya says:

      01:03pm | 04/10/11

      The psychopath!

      I work with one who besides being a bully, dobber and troublemaker, has actually transformed herself into my doppelganger – wears identical clothes, shoes, hair-style and makeup. At first I thought I was imagining it until people started to remark on my role model status.  I have a very distinct tone of voice, manner and phraseology that comes from being raised by plumb-in-mouth parents who slapped us for any utterance that was remotely colloquial. When I first began work in this company, this woman’s speech and manners were something akin to her having been raised by wolves. Try hearing a perfect imitation of your own voice echoing across the office as you struggle with something that requires an intense amount of energy and focus.

      It is non-criminal identity theft that may well drive me insane.

      Reply

    • Ian1 says:

      02:04pm | 04/10/11

      Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  People mistakenly think flattery is good.  I consider myself quite good at flattery but know that the Apostles tried to avoid flattery.  So, yeah, don’t know whether to flatter or not.

      I suggest avoiding your doppleganger, but feel chuffed all the same.  She may not have had parents like yours, but by the sounds of things it hasn’t taken her long to learn from you of them.

    • Trent says:

      01:24pm | 04/10/11

      People who eat like horses.
      People who eat with their mouth open.
      People who need to slurp loudly.
      People need to grunt loudly.
      People who over use the words “basicly” and “ya know”

      Reply

    • Spelling Nazi says:

      03:50pm | 04/10/11

      @Trent - BASICALLY one of my peeves is people who cannot spell

    • missb says:

      01:31pm | 04/10/11

      1. People who regularly take and make personal calls while in the office. I don’t want to hear them. Take your mobile and go out in the hallway or outside. My boss is a repeat offender.

      2. People who drone on endlessly about their kids. Or husbands/wives/dogs/hobbies. But kids especially. We have two serial offenders in our workplace. In fact, I can hear one of them now in the hallway.

      3. People who ask you about something, then start talking over the top of you and telling you that you’re wrong. This is especially annoying if what they are asking you is something that you would only know the answer to.

      Reply

    • John says:

      01:49pm | 04/10/11

      The one this that really get me pissed is when a senor member of the company, such as a CEO and states one thing then within weeks basically does what he stated would not happen.  These people an ethical and morally bankrupt and I feel disgusted to be around them

      Reply

    • Ian1 says:

      01:49pm | 04/10/11

      Colleagues whose life experience amounts to 18 years or such in the same workplace.

      I mean, seriously, who hires someone who hasn’t moved from place to place just for variety’s sake?

      Does anyone want their job to define who they are to that extent?
      Is something wrong with all these workplace squatters?

      Or is it just me…

      Reply

    • Kate says:

      02:43pm | 04/10/11

      My mum is a teacher, and a couple of her colleagues attended one school from Prep to Year 12, did teaching at uni and came back to teach at the same school. They’ve never experienced anything else other than a couple of weeks doing teaching rounds at other places while at uni. I find that seriously weird, but they seem to love it.
      The problem is when these people resist change and improvements to work practices because “we’ve always done it this way”. Never mind that what they’re doing is outdated or unnecessarily time-consuming.

    • iansand says:

      02:53pm | 04/10/11

      18 years’ experience or one year 18 times?

    • Jason says:

      02:21pm | 04/10/11

      My number 1 pet peeve is staff who are ‘supposedly’ experienced and earn good money yet can’t effectively complete the most basic of tasks. I’ve been in a technical role for almost 7 years now. I dont know how many times we get fresh faced uni grad students who are automatically acredited with a title and pay packet but can’t perform the most basic of duties. I’m still considered a junior in my company (as i did not complete my uni degree due to personal family issue) yet I manage teams of people with job titles more important to mine, earn double the salary i do, and when a job is done properly because I pride myself on the work I output they get all the credit.

      Reply

    • Kika says:

      03:21pm | 04/10/11

      I’m the opposite. I am a uni graduate but was fobbed over for a promotion because some chick is an expert liar and managed to convince the boss she was older than she said she was and had completed a business degree. She told me 3 times she never finished because she didn’t like it. She actually accidentally admitted to my team leader the other day in a chat about not finishing uni… LIAR. Yet she gets paid $15K more than I do because she can lie better than I can.

    • Grandmother Mercer says:

      02:42pm | 04/10/11

      Oh darling. I havent worked since 1928!

      Reply

    • Giselle says:

      03:35pm | 04/10/11

      Lazy people who cant manage more than a 6 hour day even though they are getting paid for 8 and who fob off all their work to others

      Reply

    • Utopia Boy says:

      04:26pm | 04/10/11

      My pet peeve is the time difference between my office in Oman, the Dubai Regional office, Perth office and headquarters in South Africa.
      Not only is there a seven hour difference, but even the bloody weekends are on different days in RSA (Saturday Sunday), UAE (Friday Saturday) and Oman (Thursday Friday).
      So teleconferences, tasks and deadlines are set / hosted in RSA, to suit RSA schedules, with no consideration for the rest of us. Why do people hold conferences on Friday afternoons?

      Reply

    • Lloyd says:

      04:29pm | 04/10/11

      Does anyone apart from me not work in an office? Doesn’t seem so.

      Reply

    • Fiona says:

      09:47pm | 05/10/11

      I don’t. I’m a nurse. I work in a clinic and hospital. People that whinge about office space make me laugh. We’re lucky to get lockers in hospital. Oh and when management needs extra staff they will try to guilt trip the part timers into working extra shifts to save money. The Christmas/new years eve roster can be the site of a war zone, just as the Christmas holiday roster. That’s just to name a few.

    • Pen Pusher says:

      06:43pm | 04/10/11

      People who open tins of tuna or salmon at their desks drive me nuts.  The smell is so awful that I end up wretching at my desk. 

      Colleagues who gossip, I was once seen out and about on my weekend with my partner and his daughter (from his previous marriage)  I was greeted on Monday morning with a group of colleagues telling me “you shouldn’t be dating someone who has a kid”... um excuse me, the reason it’s called a private life is because it’s FRICKING PRIVATE!

      Reply

    • Ben says:

      08:37pm | 04/10/11

      One of my peeves is when your on the phone to a colleague outside of your own office or to a customer, and the rest of your team in the pod that you are sitting in are talking so loud that you have to leave the room (provided I am using my mobile) or throw something at them in an effort to keep it down. I work in IT so its not uncommon for it to be noisy but when others are trying to concentrate on something - it can be very distracting.

      Reply

    • Lee Smith says:

      10:52pm | 04/10/11

      I had a lady sit on the other side of the petition from me for 12 months and all she did was talk to her husband about trying to have a baby and then relay that conversation to every friend in her phone directory. LOUDLY. VERY LOUDLY. I knew more about that woman than i knew about my best friends, icky stuff. Stuff like how she didn’t want the baby (she was 40) cause she had two older kids but he wanted it (he was 28) and how she was just going through the motions… blah blah blah… and then we got to hear every conversation with the dr and infertility clinic and her relay the bad news to her husband every time they didn’t conceive. and then relay that info to her friends. god it was awful and she’d just never shut up. earphones solved the problem. and then i moved to a desk closer to my own team.

      Reply

    • Damian Jansen says:

      11:24pm | 04/10/11

      People who leave a filthy pile of dishes in the common kitchenette.
      And people who leave dirty great big sh*t stains in the toilets.
      Sometimes I feel I work with 8 year olds.

      Reply

    • J Foo says:

      07:15am | 05/10/11

      Here’s a cracker fellow ‘Punchees’...Pet peeve ... Improper use of company funds. Prime example -  My former boss… Used to claim that Friday was, in fact, ‘her day’. This translates to ‘Helen gets to go out on long client(?) lunches using the company credit card and then give herself (and her red-wine stained teeth) a 3PM early mark day’. Yay for useless, lazy middle-management who take credit for our hard work and high sales figures. Waste of space ... and money.

      Reply

    • James says:

      08:55am | 05/10/11

      Nosey co-workers are the worst. the kind that ‘secretly’ listen in and mentally record any conversation that happens in the office, private or work related. they also pretend to go to the printer etc simply so they have a chance to ‘secretly’ glance at others screens. They check their watch whenever someone goes or comes back from lunch (of course they NEVER go to lunch) and then gossips about people just audible enough so you know theyre doing it but not what its about. Then theres the glaring and staring. Luckily I was rarely the target of this person but my god it made for an incredibly awkward environment

      Reply

    • Tanya says:

      10:00am | 05/10/11

      They go to the printer to see what’s been printed out and not collected!

    • Bluebagger says:

      12:40pm | 05/10/11

      My pet peeve has to be people standing chatting behind me.  And because I’m fairly new in my workplace, it’s not up to me to tell people to f%^& off!

      Reply

    • David says:

      04:54pm | 05/10/11

      There are lots of people round here who piss me off like bosses that are never at work and self righteous religionists that treat me like crap but the worst thing is the guy who comes in here and pisses and moans to my supervisor about what is wrong with everyone else that works in his department. I think I am the only one who is calling it for what it is. I call it workplace bulling. This guy is trying to build a network of allies by going around and spreading bad vibes about his enemies - Its typical bullying behavior. And when I’ve ever had to ask him to do anything for me he has always been a can’t do man. There was always a reason why he couldn’t do it for three months - usually because he is too busy - but the thing is his department was shut down and he was moved because he had no work! The thing that really pisses me right off is that everyone thinks he is wonderful. My supervisor eats it all up and craps on about how methodical and efficient he is at his job and his supervisor loves him too. Am I the only person that realises that these cynical can’t do rumour spreading bullies are poison?

      Thanks, I’ve had my work rant now.

      Reply

    • Susan says:

      10:32am | 06/10/11

      I am pretty sure I am in love with that guy that thought he got sneezed on.

      He took that with such good humour better than I would have.

      Wasn’t angry - just took it in his stride.

      Yep, I am in love (call me…)

      Reply

    • Richard says:

      07:31pm | 10/10/11

      Well I work in an office in Afghanisgtan and I want to tell you all how sorry I feel for you.  I work in the shell of a bombed out building and what with the sound of constant gunfire and bombs all day long, and in constant fear of a drone landing on what remains of our building, and not paid for the last six months, I just can’t think of a pet work peeve right now.  I hope you are all feeling better soon.

      Reply
 
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