A huge part of almost any job is getting along with and working well with others. That can be hard to do though if there is a member of staff or two that simply drives everyone else nuts. It’s easier than you might think to rub people the wrong way at work so take a look at this list and if you recognize any of these annoying traits in yourself it’s time to put a stop to them before your bad habits earn you the “office nuisance “label:
Lack of Preparation – You show up for meetings on time alright but you always seem to be missing one little piece of information, one spreadsheet or one memo that is crucial to your participation and the meeting is held up for ten minutes as you dig through your desk to find it.
This kind of behavior not only demonstrates to your coworkers that your organizational skills leave a lot to be desired but to many it may seem to be a mark that you really do not respect your coworkers time. Take an extra ten minutes (even if it means coming to work early) to make sure that when you walk into that conference room you are ready to go.
Bad Phone Etiquette – Your phone conversations are so loud that they can be heard all the way across the office and everyone knows that you have a hot date tonight/ your spouse is an idiot/ your cat has flu. People who spend too much time on personal phone calls tend to be resented by their coworkers (its wasting on the clock time) and when those details have to be shared with everyone else because you can’t keep your voice down the resentment doubles.
Keep personal calls short and sweet and if you really must leave your cellphone on (if you are allowed) put it on vibrate; you might think your latest ringtone is the best ever but everyone else might not agree.
You Love to Play the Walking Wounded – You may think that you are doing everyone in the office by dragging yourself to work with a 103 degree fever and/or a somewhat unusual rash but it is unlikely that your coworkers will agree. Instead they are likely to be locked in their offices frantically covering everything (including themselves) with Lysol spray and cursing about your sickly presence under their breath.
If you have anything more than the sniffles stay home, your coworkers will pick up the slack while you recover and they will thank you for not sharing for once.
You er..Smell
Not the “hasn’t had a shower in a month” kind of smell but the “oh my gosh did he bathe in a vat of Drakkar Noir” or the “smells like a ten year old ashtray” kind of smell. Your scent is important, especially when you’re working in a small, poorly ventilated space with lots of other people around, so be considerate of other people’s noses.
If you must smoke “air” yourself out before you come in, save the fancy cologne for date night and don’t eat boiled eggs or onions for lunch, it tends to put everyone else off theirs.
