1. Home
  2. Business & Finance
  3. Management
F. John Reh
John's Management Blog

By F. John Reh, About.com Guide to Management

Most Annoying People At Work

Wednesday July 25, 2007
J.P. was a big man. He had a loud, booming voice. I could hear every word he said on the phone. Unfortunately, so could every one in the eight cubicles between us. When I'm trying to write, in those days it was technical specifications, I need to concentrate and I really need quiet so I can. I asked J.P. a couple of times to quiet down, and he would - briefly. Then he would be back to full volume. I complained to my manager, who did nothing. Rather than have the quality of my work deteriorate because of a lack of concentration I transferred to another department.

A recent article by Forbes magazine lists loud talkers as the "most annoying" people at work. Smelly food, and constant cell phone ringing were also high on the list. After you finish the article, be sure to click the link in it to the cartoons of these behaviors. They are fun.

What are the things that you find most annoying at work? Did the Forbes article capture them all? Click the comments link just below and tell us what you find most annoying at work.

Comments
July 31, 2007 at 7:40 am
(1) Kurt says:

People that go talk to the boss first before coming to you regarding a subject that involves the 2 of you!

July 31, 2007 at 8:12 am
(2) John says:

People that don’t have good hygiene.

July 31, 2007 at 8:53 am
(3) Julie says:

People with explosive behavior patterns that disrupt everything while they look for something on their desk and accuse others of taking it before they find it under their nose.

July 31, 2007 at 9:46 am
(4) td says:

People who always want to pass the buck. They always are ready to blame someone else no matter how obvious it is that the mistake was their fault. It takes a stronger person to just own up and say, “I’m sorry, I totally screwed this up.”

July 31, 2007 at 11:36 am
(5) Juan says:

People who, no matter how gently you correct them, respond with an attitude of “It’s not my fault because ___” rather than “To fix this, why don’t we ___.”

Also, people who ask you to do something then come back a short time later asking if it’s done, all the while ignoring the other piles of work that were on your desk long before they arrived.

July 31, 2007 at 11:44 am
(6) TS says:

People who chew like a cow while they eat lunch at their desk…

July 31, 2007 at 1:11 pm
(7) Felix says:

Two groups of people: loud talkers and gossips!

July 31, 2007 at 6:23 pm
(8) Me says:

1. Stupid people who don’t know they are stupid.

2. People that are too spontaneous, for no apparent reason but their failure to plan. And when they realized thay are in a grilling pit, they expect everyone around to drop everything on the hands and start reacting immediately to their burning situation…

July 31, 2007 at 6:35 pm
(9) SnglRose says:

I am very disturbed by fellow employees who won’t get rid of anything, and their collection of useless junk expands to clutter up the entire office after it has totally consumed their workspaces. Productivity definitely suffers.

August 1, 2007 at 12:39 am
(10) kw says:

Don’t like gossips, because they erode moral; and don’t like whinners, because they always seem to have problems but no solutions (which means they haven’t even thought about it beyond their complaint). Both are WOT’s (wastes of time).

August 1, 2007 at 3:04 am
(11) blusteryday says:

Oh yes, the article hit many right on the head. My boss is the biggest culprit for a number of things mentioned:loud talker; annoying ring tone on phone; using voice mail; gets way too many personal calls; and open mouth eater.

But the thing that annoys me the most: The admin asst that is supposed to be assisting everyone in office with tasks. Most of the time when I go up to explain a task or an FYI to her, I have to wait for her to finish her PERSONAL phone call (which can be several minutes unless I out right interrupt). Usually she sees me standing right in front of her and gives me the “one minute” finger…ARGH!

August 1, 2007 at 3:05 am
(12) too annoyed says:

Just as bad as the playing games on PDA is the people who text and email each other while they are all in a seminar or meeting.

August 1, 2007 at 9:03 am
(13) Kelly says:

the Know It All is definitely the most annoying person at work. Also anyone who doesn’t ask questions when they are unsure what to do, and then goes ahead making mistakes which would have been avoided if only they had asked for help in the first place.

August 1, 2007 at 10:35 am
(14) Anar says:

The Forbes article captured all most all of them. One of my co-workers talk loud on the phone, use annoying phone ring tone. There is another problom which was not mentioned in the article is smoking in the office. Most of my co-workers smoke. Me too. But i dont do it inside the office. I raised an issue and talked to my manager. We all discussed during the meeting and made a smocking zone-OUTSIDE. NO SMOKING ISIDE the OFFICE signs were everywhere. Some of them couldnt get used to the new rules. I was in charge to reminde. Now the problem is solved. Be patiened and polite all be fine…

August 1, 2007 at 11:50 am
(15) Christy says:

I agree with all the above annoying things! Also, coworkers that rapidly hang up and bang the phone down in your ear when you finish a conversation. Like “I will bash this phone down faster than you can!” How about the dodo who says “no problem” but constantly forgets what they agreed to do?

August 7, 2007 at 9:23 am
(16) Coco says:

Those who keep their desks neat but spread their clutter to common areas and those who send long poorly written emails that take at least 2 reads to finally understand.

August 8, 2007 at 1:59 am
(17) KD says:

1 – people who smell – either cause they havent had a bath, or their mouth stinks. I just cannot speak to people like these
2 – people who burp, belch, sneeze loudly…and without covering their mouth. Which means if ur standing close enough, too bad
3 – people who never pick up their phones (cell phones and land lines) even tho its ringing right next to them, so that everyone in the office can hear the phone ringing
4 – people who leave waste, paper etc around and under their workstations.. there’s a bin next to you for a reason !!!

November 19, 2007 at 10:43 am
(18) tunrayo says:

people who dont know and refuse to learn what they dont know.

people who are too lasy to work but love gossip all around.

October 15, 2008 at 5:35 pm
(19) Stone says:

The person that can’t do thier job then try to find excuses of why when in reality its just them. Example: JoAnn whos main job is to answer the phone but willing accepts others peoples work. Then while doing the work notices that the phone is getting in her way of her secondary task. So she relentlessly irritates the extremely patient IT person with her problem that is not a problem with IT but her until the poor IT guy wants to explode in her face and tell her that its not a problem with the computer its her problem because she doesn’t want to do her job. She needs replaced with someone that can handle doing 2 things at once and can do the simplest problem solving.

March 10, 2009 at 12:01 pm
(20) Crystal says:

People who always say they have soooo much work to do and then you catch them playing solitaire.

People who complain about their health, but still eat cheeseburgers at lunch and smoke on their breaks.

April 6, 2009 at 9:41 pm
(21) elizabeth says:

Constant cell phone ringing. Seriously. Why does your significant other have to call 12 times a day? And the long drawn-out stories about your dogs? Who. Cares.

April 13, 2009 at 10:25 am
(22) Frustrated says:

Loud talkers are bad, but loud talkers who insist on interrupting and then talking over everyone until they make their point are ABSOLUTELY MADDENING!!!!! Can you tell I am dealing with one of these people in my office?

To add insult to annoyance, this person is also a loud eater so I have to listen to her even when she isn’t talking! So frustrating >:(

July 20, 2009 at 10:29 am
(23) Stacey says:

I sit next to a gum cracker – 9 hours a day, everyday, for over a year. I may quit.

August 21, 2009 at 9:01 am
(24) Colin says:

Loud annoying big fat girls, with a big loud Betty from The Flintstones fake laughs. I may jump!!

October 6, 2009 at 7:49 am
(25) Becky from England says:

Big fat girls who eat constantly and complain about this struict “diet” they are on

Older women drafted in for temping, try and take over and undermine the girls who have been there ages. Just cos they are 60-odd and know EVERYTHING

Older women who brown nose the boss, but completley shamelessly piss off anyone else they work with because they believe they are more important just cos they are older and “more experienced” (yeah at making cups of coffee and going on about their garden)
!

November 5, 2009 at 4:16 pm
(26) muggs says:

Grown men and women who tell on people or feel harassment when no harassment has taken place.

Leave a Comment

Line and paragraph breaks are automatic. Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title="">, <b>, <i>, <strike>

Explore Management
About.com Special Features

Start your new business on the right foot with these helpful tips. More >

Easy steps to take control of your credit card debt. More >

  1. Home
  2. Business & Finance
  3. Management

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.