Worst Offenders List
It’s no doubt that since we spent most of our time in our place of employment, we are bound to be irritated by one another, or by the situations we run into day in and day out. After all, even the most calm among us can’t help but be irritated by things in our personal life so it’s no surprise that these pet peeves appear in the workplace as well. We’ve scoured the Internet to find what the most typical workplace pet peeves are in an effort to celebrate (and commiserate) some of the little absurdities that we all know so well.
Without further ado, and in no particular order, we give your our Top 6 Workplace Pet Peeves:
1. The Fish Market
We call our #1, The Fish Market, but this is an all-encompassing category where the aquatic animal is king. We’re talking about lunch, my friends. When lunchtime comes around, there is bound to be at least one person microwaving salmon and it stinks up the whole joint. It doesn’t have to be the microwave alone; sometimes a simple egg salad sandwich is enough to have the offending party on the receiving end of some major dirty looks. I’ll raise my hand here as I love a good egg salad sandwich and have been known to shout, “Egg!” whenever I’ve packed that for lunch. Not that it helps, but I’m here to make amends. I’m sorry all!
2. The Ghost
Have you heard of The Ghost? I’m sure you have seen what’s left in The Ghost’s wake or what’s not left, I should say. The Ghost usually messes up office machinery and walks away. Copier jam? That’s The Ghost. Printer jam? Yep, Ghost again. It’s not only messing up machines, The Ghost has been known to leave the printer paper-less too. As an admin for many years, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been called in to clean up after The Ghost. Knock it off, Ghost!
3. The Taker
The Taker is a close relative of The Ghost. The Taker is the offender who drinks the last cup of coffee without starting a new pot. Or, even more offensive, leaves only a sips worth behind in their wake. The Taker also leaves water jugs empty. An extreme Taker is actually also known to take food out of the fridge. That is the worst of the worst.
4. The Tabloids
Gossip has existed for years and I’m sure will exist for years to come. It doesn’t make it okay, but its not likely to go anywhere anytime soon. It is a major pet peeve for many people. Not only is it annoying (and potentially damaging) to the person who is being gossiped about; a majority of people find it really off-putting. Gossiping also just looks bad for the gossiper as it reflects childish behavior. This is one pet peeve that truly can hurt the offender.
5. Simmer Down Now
Yea, we’re talking to you, loud talkers. Maybe this time, don’t bring it up to 11? Loud talkers can be very distracting to surrounding coworkers. Not only does everyone not want to hear your business, you could be spilling the beans on confidential information inadvertently. So, use your indoor voice, please? The same goes to you, Lingerers. We know who you are lingering over work spaces chatting up friends while others try to work. You almost made our list, so wise up!
6. Reply-all Hell
We saved the best for last, friends. Being stuck in Reply-all Hell. There isn’t one person out there who can say that they’ve never looked at their inbox in horror as reply-all emails trickle in one after another after another. It’s the bane of an email user’s existence. And there’s seemingly no escape. Simple reply-alls with a “yes” or a “thank you” are enough to drive you up a wall. Let’s all have a communal “GRRR” at this king of all pet-peeves. If you’re in need of some email tips, you may want to check out our blog on What to with that Pesky Inbox.
That’s our list of what we found and agreed to be the most annoying workplace pet-peeves out there. If you find any of these surprising, you just may be one of these offenders. Consider this a friendly reminder to mind your coworkers and keep the peace.
What do you think? Have we covered the biggies in the pet peeve field? If you think we’re missing a big annoyance, add it to our comments below!