I’m quoted in this Fox Business News article on how to handle various types of annoying coworkers. I talk about dealing with know-it-alls and non-stop talkers.
(This interview occurred before I learned about coworkers who leave their nail clippings on your desk.)
{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve shared an office with a ‘Talk Your Ear Off’ coworker before. Bringing it up with them didn’t stop it either; they were incessant on constantly talking about topics that had no interest to me, and continued to try to talk to me about them even after I explicitly told them that I honestly didn’t care. All while I was trying to work.
In the end, I dealt with it by buying a pair of noise cancelling headphones, and listening to music as I worked; I couldn’t hear them any more, and I was able to work in peace. This may not be an option for everybody if your workplace doesn’t allow you to listen to music at your desk, however.
I’ve also shared an office with a woman who talked non-stop, and usually about medical issues. There was absolutely nothing she would not talk about. At first it annoyed me to no end, but after a while I let it go and would join the conversation. After all, we had to spend eight hours together every day. However, like I said, she had no boundaries so I had to be careful what I told her because next thing you know, she’d be blabbing it to the world, which could be used to your advantage if you wanted to leak some info.
Currently I work with a nail biter and spitter. Gross. He doesn’t even try to disguise it.
I had a woman in my office who talked non stop about….nothing. And it was literally non-stop…you couldn’t even have a conversation with her! The best was after a 5 minute ramble about who knows what when she said “look at all the condensation on my water bottle! That’s crazy isn’t it? It’s not even warm out! I wonder why? Maybe because I freeze it first? I do that so it’s cold all day and I don’t have to refill it. Sometimes I forget to freeze it and it’s so annoying because the water cooler is so far away I don’t like to refill it but I simply MUST have cold water! I just can’t drink room temperature water.”
Oy
I eventually brought my iPod earbuds and wore them whenever I was at my desk…I just tucked the end into my pocket so it looked like I was listening to music.
I work with a woman who always, and I mean always, tells every story three times. And yeah, I only survive by listening to meditation music podcasts on my computer.
Hmmm… I wonder if this woman is not at my company. Scary similarities.
I think I work with her husband. He’ll tell you what he needs to say in the first 5 minutes, then spend the next 30 minutes re-hashing the same thing over and over again. Fortunately, he recognizes this flaw in himself, and if you tell him to stop talking and go away, he does just that and doesn’t take it personally.
I find this so interesting. On one hand, what more can you ask of someone than knowing their own flaws and not being offended when you tell him to stop … on the other hand, this is such a weird thing to know about yourself and not make a point of reining in.
Ahhh…annoying co-workers. I will never understand why Common Office Drones (also known by their scientific name, Cubiclaeus Dwellerium) are forced to don khakis, cardigans and other suitable corporate-casual wear, commute long distances, often through rain, snow and other weather calamities, to large buildings with greyish-beige interiors, pseudo half-walls and depressing kitchenettes where sad muffins are eaten, only to stare into a computer for eight hours or more a day where their work can be done with very little human interaction, other than that which is conveyed through pixels on their screen or the occasional use of a telephone.
I understand people wanting to go green – but those who print on the backsides of paper and then leave them for you without drawing a slash through the scrap side.
Of course these are the same people who wouldn’t waste a post it note to tell you who left it, or what they would actually like you to do with the report, or whatever, that they just anonymously left on your desk.
And no, the relevant information isn’t always facing up – that would take all the fun out of trying to solve the mystery.
The constant talkers are horrible, but don’t bother me as much as the whistlers.
Whistling is like nails on a chalkboard to me, followed closely by those who sing in the office.
Maybe I just hate cheerful people. That’s entirely possible.
Also, people who bring crunchy food to eat as they stop by my office to ask for something. Eat before you come in here, especially if you want a favor. Your odds of getting a yes are much greater if you aren’t crunching on kettle chips while you’re asking.
If you must eat in my office there is one item on the list of approved foods: marshmallows. The quietest food in the world.
People who stand so closely when I’m fixing their computer that I can feel their breath moving my hair. Take two giant steps back, please. Also “this will be a few minutes” is code for “go find something to do and stop staring at me while I correct whatever you did to screw up your machine.”
Men who use the ladies room “because it’s cleaner.”
I need to stop typing – I could ramble all day.
Right outside my office is a group of cubicles, and there use to be a whistler there. He would whistle all day, show tunes, TV theme songs, commercial jingles, Bohemian Rhapsody, you name it. And it drove me absolutely nuts! I had discreetly asked some of his cube neighbors if it bothered them as well, and they said no, it didn’t. I don’t know which was more annoying, him whistling, or the fact that it didn’t seem to bother anyone else.
One day, I happened to browse upon an office etiquette website, and someone had posted a rant about the office whistler. I printed it out and taped it to his monitor screen one evening after he left, and I never heard another peep from him. He has since left the company to greener, and presumably more tune tolerant pastures.
Bohemian Rhapsody? It’s possible the greener pastures he moved to was my office. Our whistler made me hate that song, which I once loved.
And YES – the biggest irritant of all is other people not being annoyed by clearly annoying behavior!
My boss’s boss’s boss whistles constantly, and she visits our office two days out of five. Just shoot me now!
Ahhh…chip eaters. I stay sane by giving all of the annoying co-workers little pet names that I say inside my head every time I see them:
Miss Chip Eater
Mr. Lip Smacker
Ms. Sad Muffin-Eater
Mr. Smiley Asian Dude with the Super White Teeth
Mr. Bobble Head
Mrs. Tea Slurper
Miss Pee-Pee Pants
Ms. I Fax Everything
Mr. Butt-Scratcher
Ms. I Don’t Wash My Hands After Taking a Big Crap
Mr. Pompous Jerkface
Miss Stiletto Stomper
Miss Bathes in Perfume
Since this post I’ve been keeping a little list of annoying behavior to amuse myself…an unexpected collateral benefit has been that those behaviors are less annoying when I see them as another item I can add to my collection of asshattery.
Kind of like a weird sociology experiment…like when Ron Swanson went to Grain and Simple for the same reason other people go to the zoo (any Parks and Rec fans?)
My favorite? People coming into my office and browsing through the equipment I keep on a set of shelves asking, “Is this stuff for anybody?”
Yes, the IT department is exactly like a small yard sale, or the tech aisle at Wal-Mart. I buy network switches, routers, and extra internal hard drives just so everyone who comes into my office can leave with a lovely parting gift.
Also, stopping me from entering the ladies room, as my hand is on the door knob, to ask me for the first time about a particularly complex and involved query you need. Perfect timing – you now have my full attention.
Asking me if for an “extra” monitor (because, as we know, all computer equipment and peripherals are “extra” and not assigned on the basis of need) because “a lot of other people have two.” Explanations that anyone with multiple monitors is in engineering or IT and it’s based on need is met with complaints about that not being fair.
Because fair would certainly be to give dual monitors to everyone who uses a computer for minimal access to the network – so they don’t have to minimize their youtube video in order to check email.
Keeping a running list totally takes the sting out of stuff like that. Kind of like posting here – free therapy for workplace stress!
Some of the worst offenders I’ve had to work with:
non-stop talkers (one person would talk and talk while I was trying to eat my lunch in solitude, even though I pointedly ignored him and literally held my book up to my face).
cubicle neighbors who make loud and disgusting chewing and slurping noises while eating.
jerks who whistle.
one jackass in particular who would hog the office microwave literally all day and – irrationally – would get angry when someone else would try to heat up their lunch.
loud-mouthed slackers shouting on their cell phones on personal calls rather than doing their work.
The guy that chews on paper clips hour after hour, day after day, week after week, month after month – like sitting across the aisle from a neurotic squirrel on Red Bull. This boy can do NOTHING quietly, either – something as simple as turning the pages in a three-ring binder become a cacophonous symphony.
1. The woman who wore so much perfume that I could still smell it in the hall, five minutes after she had walked through.
2. The women who wear mules to work and I hear that damn slap slap slap all day long as they walk from their cubicles to the copy machine. No naked feet at work! Don’t do it! They make an annoying sound and it’s the rare person whose feet are so beautiful and well groomed that I want to see them.
oh the very worst are the people who have barely been there for a few months and they start telling you what to do (even though you are obviously hard at work with something else.) “hey go finish that over there.” or if you make a simple mistake (due to fatigue) they act like you did it on purpose “um can you please not do that”. (but with a real snaky tone” (you know the tone)
A coworker of mine likes to
1) Watch what i eat and share with the world
2) Announce to the world that “She’s not having cake”
3) Make comments about me – while i am sitting right next to her (although there’s a partition between us) and assume I would not hear it.
4) Calls me after work hours to “talk” for 3 hours about her issues, how her boyfriend is not treating her well, and hitting her and then plans a bunch of trips with him.
5) Gossip with one of the manager whom also spent the entire day gossiping.
She is very good at talking, and I think quite well liked among one of the groups. She is a contractor and all the contractors in my group likes to stick together. This is a group of very weight concious bunch and are constnatly asking me why I am not putting on as much weight even though I eat a lot (and I do – i gained more than 6lbs in the past month. I just cover it by getting a bigger sized shirts / sweaters etc…)
She is driving me nuts, I get nightmare about her, I would cry all night to my parents about her. She had been away for a few weeks and will be back to work soon. I worked so much better without her around. There’s still a week before I have to face her again,but I can’t stop thinking about all the neative things about her already. How can i deal with this nicely without making myself hated by my peers?
1. Stop taking her calls at home. If she asks at work why you’re not answering, tell her you’re busy with friends or something.
2. Ignore her comments about you at work, or tell her to stop commenting on your food and your weight.
You’re giving her too much power over your state of mind; stop giving her that much control!
I used have a manager that she felt she was never wrong, she always found ways to blame others, in a sense. Basically if you ask her still to this day she never made a mistake. I cannot stand that idea, since no one is perfect. She would also gossip all the time, I think it was since she was the HR of the company. I really wonder why someone would give her that position? She intentionally would go around people’s back and talk about their business. I hope there is such thing as Karma.
Some annoying coworkers won’t take a “hint”, and supervisors won’t get involved. One fellow from a neighboring department comes to my desk almost every day to say hello. I have no problem with this, but he then talks about everything and anything that comes into his head and he won’t LEAVE. “Gee, you have a stapler just like I do! Do you use it?” segues into, “Did you go to the office party last year?” We had chicken! Do you like chicken?” and this segues into, “Oh, I see you have pills on your desk! What is your health issue? Tell me, it will make you feel better!”
The guy will sometimes end a conversation and start to walk away, but then will turn around and start blabbing again. He’s shy, lonely, and a BORE, which explains why he’s lonely. Much of what he says to me borders on “stupid”, and I don’t say that unkindly, I mean it, literally. I once emailed a friend while he was “conversing” with me and asked this friend to call me so that I’d have an excuse to end the conversation, and if I don’t even look at him or speak to him while he’s talking, he STILL goes on and on with his monologue nevertheless.
I’ve tried many polite ways to end this, but only succeed in hurting his feelings for a day or two, then he starts it all over again. My boss and other people simply say that “that’s how he is”. Do I have to be rude and angry with him to get this to stop?
No, but you need to be direct and assertive: “I can’t talk now.” “I need to make a phone call.” “I need to finish this report.” Etc.
I could use some advice. I work in a tiny office; only meant for one person at a time. The office is empty and available in the morning (so great – go for it – use the space!) My issue is that when I arrive 10 minutes before my scheduled start time (to set up for the day, turn on computer, etc.) she refuses to vacate the office prior to my arrival so I end up crawling over her and her belongings in order to try and do my work. I don’t think asking for a proper, chaos-free transition is too much to ask?? Thoughts?
Who is the person who’s in there and why is she in there? Are you the only person officially assigned to that office? If so, you need to assert yourself say. “Hi Jane. I need to get in here now, so I need to ask you to leave.”
She is the nurse, who floats through the school district and is frustrated at not having a dedicated work space. I am the School Health Aide, specific to the location and yes, with a specific start and end time. I’ve made it very clear that her being there at the same time is hindering my ability to do my work, which is to assist the students in a timely manner. My supervisor is the school principal but she oversees the health related issues.
Yeah, that sucks for her, but you just need to assert yourself using the language I suggested above.
Thanks – guess I just have to go for it.
I manage a small medical office. I have one front desk person who is an ocd/overachiever, semi retired. She likes to appear superior to the staff. On the other hand I have another front desk person who is younger, struggling financially, tethered to her cell phone, slack in her work. Two days a week they have to work together, oil and water. I run a very harmonious office, any suggestions on how to approach this mix and keep the peace?
Sounds like you need to get more assertive with the slacking of the younger person. She either reaches a high bar and gets off her cell phone or you need to replace her.
You are right, Thank you.
you know how there is always that one person who just annoys you!! I can’t put my finger directly what single thing she does to just annoy me. She is very nice (as a person) but just makes the hair stand on my neck every time I see her or talk to her. I can’t avoid her because I have to work directly with her. She:
constantly interrupts when I am talking
butts into an “A” and “B” conversation when she is “D”
questions everything and just can’t let things go
can not follow direction and has to do her own thing (she dances to her own beat)
everything she does is at a snails pace
she has to be right up on me all the time.
UGH!!!! I have been biting my tounge but one of these days I am going to SNAP and BAD!! I can’t find the proper way of telling her to just BACK OFF!! and SHUT UP!! I don’t know how to make myself more tolerable to her. I try everyday telling myself that that is just her way….she is a nice person….maybe I am being too hard on her but OMG she is just that annoying!!!
HELP PLEASE!!!!!
I am an engineer in a semi-cube with no privacy in the aerospace industry and have a constantly chattering, loud person who talks sports and other non-work related subjects repeatedly all day long three feet away. My expensive noise cancelling headphones don’t cover it! Earplugs don’t mask him, either. Management has done nothing to quiet him, it seems, although I have complained a few times, as have others. My manager suggested the headphones when I told him I could not think in this environment. Maybe I’m easily distracted, but blaring music to a level where it actually begins to drown out this guy is not helping my concentration, either. Manager also suggested I “learn to tune it out”. I have been trying to do so…for four years. I have also tried turning away, ignoring him completely as if I did not hear him, getting up and walking away, and even blatantly saying “I have to stop talking and get this finished now”, to no avail. I just want to do my job, not make this guy miserable or get him into trouble, but am running out of options to cope with the distraction.
What about a big-picture conversation with this guy, as opposed to just addressing it case-by-case? Tell him that you’re finding it hard to concentrate on your work because of all the non-work talk and ask him to tone it down.
Thanks. The problem with the case-by-case basis is not only that it reoccurs, but also that he continues to carry on the same conversation without missing a beat, (albeit more of a monologue at that point,) so it may not help, but I will certainly give it a try.
Sorry, that’s what I mean — don’t just address it case-by-case but talk to him about the problem overall: This is happening a lot, it’s causing a problem for me, what can we do?
I work with an office full of talkers. It used to be quiet but we had to hire from a company we took over and the noise has not stopped. The two main ones are needy overbearing yakers. Even when it does get quiet one reads her emails and proceed to laugh out loud until someone hears her. Then the two will quip each other back and forth till they get a response from someone. Our manager thinks this is fine as long as the work is getting done. He doesn’t think about the ones who like it somewhat quiet in order to get their work done. It is heaven when they are on holidays or just away!!!!! yeah
My new cubicle neighbor is driving me insane. I asked the office manager to please distribute a general memo on cubicle etiquette because it’s not just one thing she does. Our cubicles are 4 feet apart, becuase of the set up we face each other. She eats all day long, anything she can fit in her mouth. Chews with her mouth open, slurps her drinks, smacks, picks her teeth and licks her fingers. Eats lunch (will order a full pizza) at 10:45 a.m. Talks to her pc, “stop it!” “Don’t do that!”, strings of profanity in a row when something doesn’t go smoothly, brushes her hair, puts on deodorant & full makeup at her desk, sighs super loudly throughout the day & especially when she leaves her desk & returns. Taps her fingernails on the desk, clicks the pens off and on off and on, personal calls all day, baby talks to her man. UGH! Oh and let me not forget, when she does wear the headphones to listen to music, she sings out loud. I’m going insane and don’t know what to do. She is aware because when an attorney walks by she will tone it down, I’ve asked nicely, hinted, flat out told her I’m noise senstive (not all noises but crunching yes!) right after I told her that, for 30 minutes she at super crunchy something. I’ve never known anyone so inconsiderate and ill mannered and my office manager said no to distributing the general cubicile etiquette memo. What else can I do?
Headphones!
I tried earplugs to no avail. Should have mentioned headphones are out because I need to be able to hear my direct supervisor (Senior Partner) when he speaks to me from his office.
I am a tax accountant and need a lot of quiet to research and perform my job effectively. However, they sat a salesperson next to me who is loud, very heavy, burps all day long, and sits in chair facing my cubicle as he is on the phone. He is a heavy smoker, so when he comes back inside his clothes and coat stink which nauseates me. I spray air freshener all the time. He recently caught a cold and never covers his mouth when he coughs or sneezes. Grant it he says excuse me at least 50 times a day. I have been in this situation for 6 months now and have complained to my boss many times. Everyone here feels sorry for me having to sit next to this guy. My main concern is I cannot perform my job effectively. I am on the verge of quitting. I do like my job. It is close to home.
Thanks!
I have a co-worker we almost share a desk, slurps her tea in the morning which I can hear even if I have my head phones On with loud music. By 10 she starts eating apples with loud noises, I mean the mouth open . with just four bites completes eating an apple. It goes on till noon even after lunch. Sometines 8 to 10 apples. I only wished she was quiet in eating her food and drinking her tea, at least being respectable towards the co-worker. I don’t know how to mention this to her politely. I dont’ wish to hurt her feelings.
I have two co-workers that just aggravating and annoying, the first one just loves to complain and complain to other co workers as if he’s the only one who has a lot to do, but ugh, man he is sure a burper and i mean not quietly but loudly, it just so disgusting and doesn’t even excuse himself either. Every chance he gets burp there and burp here.
The other one, just loves talking and talking on his cell phone and company phone, and it just goes on for hours and when he’s looks like he’s working he just sits there in front of his computer and just stare for hours as if he’s sleeping with his eyes open.
Doesn’t like to do his own work, he’s says he’s a college graduate with a Bachelor’s but doesn’t even know the basics how to work a printer or Microsoft Office – now how is that even possible?? Oh, and when he yawn he just have to make these loud sounds when he’s yawning and it so annoying, especially I find it very rude when your being spoken to and then they yawn right in front of you or when you are talking to them and they yawn that is just plain rude!
I’m on a very thin string of just exploding.
Same situation here. I dont know what we can do about these lunatics. Who burps out loud? We have this girl that does it and it is so disgusting I could vomit. Really, they can’t stifle that sound? I dont get it. I got one behind me that yawns like it’s a job. PLUS, we arent allowed to wear headphones at work, I don’t know why but it is their bogus rule. The burper also brown noses very badly, it is causing alot of tension in our department. She calls my boss on the phone even tho they sit 3 desks away. Really? ugh. Oh, and she is here an hour ahead of time, waiting for me to get here so she can bombard with me with every excruciating detail of her night. I dread coming to work because of this girl, I can barely stomach driving here. The supervisor and manager think she is so wonderful that it is pointless to even complain to them about her. So after 10 years, I am looking for a new job. I know it is a bad time for jobs but I can’t take it anymore. She has been here 1 year and questions me about my work. I can’t wait til the day I can leave here and tell that chick just how miserable she has made my life and everyone around her.