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What most ticks you off at the office?
From loud talkers to grub thieves, annoying co-workers have a way of grinding on the soul.
The Today show tackled annoying co-worker behavior in a ‘ground-breaking’ expose Monday, Jan. 25, called “Pains in the Office.”
Host Meredith Vieira interviewed lesser paid Today show staffers about the annoying things other lesser paid Today show staffers do - stealing food, talking baby talk, lingering too long, spilling smelly foods in the microwave, etc.
(See the rather cute video below.)
If Michael Scott proves anything it is that annoying co-workers don’t only work at the Today show.
They are you, they are me.
Thirty-two percent of those who took part in a 2006 Harris Interactive poll listed “loud talkers” as one of their biggest pet peeves in the office.
Thirty percent were ticked off by cell phones ringing and 22 percent with those who use of speakerphones in public areas.
Another 9 percent hate when people using personal digital assistants (PDAs) during meetings.
Considering all of that, it is sort of surprising that 91 percent of people do not think profanity is acceptable in the workplace.
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Permalink | Comments (26) | Post your comment | Categories: talk

Compiled by "Smart Mouth" columnist Amelia Robinson, Seen and Overheard is fueled by juicy tidbits, oddball tales and strange sightings.
Comments
By where's the class
January 25, 2010 1:16 PM | Link to this
Annoying: employees who talk about their sex life, texting, gossiping, backbiting,underimining other’s efforts, taking credit for other’s work, negativity, laziness, lack of strong work ethic,and mental instability. It seems most people take pills to be able to function.
By Anon
January 25, 2010 1:19 PM | Link to this
Where I work it’s the people who wait till the last minute to give me something and then want it back the next/same day.
By pissed off
January 25, 2010 2:25 PM | Link to this
Incompetent workers and their bosses. IF you try to report them they say you are harrassing them,then you have a meeting with them and the employee still doesn’t do what their boss instructed them to do. Some people need to be placed where they don’t have to have interactions with anyone other than themselves. They are miserable and they are trouble makers. I don’t anyone to lose their job,times are tough,but just as i am expected to do my job,other should be expected to do the same. But if the manager is not too bright it’s no wonder the people who work for them are not either. Medication people,you need to have a therapeutic level to function. Some people don’t even realize they have a problem. How can you work any many different areas and cause problems everywhere you go but it is not seen that you have a problem? Is everyone else wrong but not you? Think again,you are the problem..LET’S QUIT SWEEPING MESS UNDER THE RUG AND LETS CLEAN THE MESS UP…
By fed up
January 25, 2010 2:38 PM | Link to this
Suck-ups to those in positions of power. Abuse of company resources when benefits are being cut. Rudeness and condescension. Congrats, you make more money than another human being; but when you treat them as lesser than you, you become the lesser of the two.
By Hypocrisy Victim
January 25, 2010 2:56 PM | Link to this
Affirmative Sexism and Affirmative Racism. No more alliances. It’s time we’re ALL accountable.
By EWW
January 25, 2010 2:58 PM | Link to this
SMELLY CANDLES AND INCENSE!!!
By Toe nails
January 25, 2010 3:31 PM | Link to this
I hate it when other people in the office cut their toe nails at their desk! Gross. I’d get back to the office and there is the guy in he next cubicle ….socks off cutting his toe nails!
By Toe nails
January 25, 2010 3:32 PM | Link to this
I hate it when other people in the office cut their toe nails at their desk! Gross. I’d get back to the office and there is the guy in he next cubicle ….socks off cutting his toe nails!
By Red
January 25, 2010 3:52 PM | Link to this
Employers who talk down/insult their staff Employees who spend most of the day talking to friends on the telephone or online Employers who fail to understand exactly which employee does all the work Employees who spread false accusations in order to feel important The above is why I now have my own business and report only to me.
By take this job and .........
January 25, 2010 3:56 PM | Link to this
Office politics. Just come in do your job and go home. Now that seems rather simple, doesn’t it?
By Outstanding Employee
January 25, 2010 4:21 PM | Link to this
To “wheres the class”: Your comment regarding “people who take pills to function” is ignorant and mean-spirited. Do you understand anything about mental illnesses? Based on your response, it seems you are uninformed when it comes to this matter. If you did, you would have empathy for the millions of people who suffer from their debilitating effects. What you refer to as “people who take pills to function” I call brave souls who are fighting back against an illness to regain their lives. Mental illness is no different than cancer or other types of diseases in that it takes a strong person to overcome the symptoms. Your comment is an insult to those who have fought back against mental illness because you mock their struggle. It is a shame that the stigma of mental illness is so prevalent because of ignorant people like you. I recommend that you take some time to educate yourself before you post any more comments.
By jane
January 25, 2010 4:34 PM | Link to this
lazy people that don’t wanna work but want that paycheck every 2 weeks!!!!!!
By Leon Harrison
January 25, 2010 7:18 PM | Link to this
Haitian-compassion contests and nagging-nanny advice on my TV, here at the Buckeye Bureau of East Kentucky Magazine, if you know what I mean.
By Annoyed
January 25, 2010 10:39 PM | Link to this
Catty women gettin’ in everyone’s business! Cell phones, loud laughers, some lady complaining every day about how she doesn’t like her job anymore, butt kissers, empty paper trays, people who don’t flush the toilets, people who leave long hair all over the bathroom sink counters, gossipers blabbing on the phone all day, and a bunch of other stuff I can’t think of right now. So, can I get some of those meds people mentioned earlier so I can function all day and not be annoyed by pointless crap??? Ha Ha. ;-)
By Karla
January 26, 2010 6:50 AM | Link to this
People who come to work and socialize. I see certain people everyday stand around all day long and talk, and then get annoyed when you need to ask this person they are speaking to a question.
By Medical Office Girl
January 26, 2010 7:23 AM | Link to this
all of the above!! you all said it! do you work at my office!?? Bosses getting over on people and people that do not do the work and can not do the work (should have never been hired) is what is the worst. And if you say anything about it…they get away with it and you have to do their job while they still collect a check….!!!
By livin' da thug life
January 26, 2010 8:56 AM | Link to this
I hate it when somebody cuts a big nasty fart and stinks up the office!!!! Gross!!!!
By Nasty Boy
January 26, 2010 9:04 AM | Link to this
I agree with “thug life”. This guy i work with eats egg whites all of the time. His farts are so bad that we can smell him all the way down the hall way. I think he needs to see a doctor or somethings. The worst part is he thinks it’s funny!!!
By FW
January 26, 2010 9:20 AM | Link to this
Favoritism….we have team leaders and one of them favor one person over the rest. She gets away with doing nothing while others have to pick up the slack. We are not allowed cell phones at our desks, but she constantly is on hers and texts daily. The rest of the department has to put up with this.
By amber
January 26, 2010 9:56 AM | Link to this
What really is bad is when you share a desk w/ someone and they are a nosey person in your business all the time. Include themself in everyone’s conversation to make it look like they fit in! Mind your own business!
By Dixie Normous
January 26, 2010 11:12 AM | Link to this
How about those of you with super annoying personal habits, like clearing your throat every 30 seconds. That is NOT necessary!! Or the constant tapping on your desk that eventually turns into drumming. Oh, how about the sucking up nasal drippings so loud, the guy with his office door closed can hear you. What is that all about???
By Ms. Smith
January 26, 2010 11:36 AM | Link to this
The little sales girl who calls and asks for Mrs. Smith. What makes them think I am married??
By Ron H.
January 26, 2010 11:45 AM | Link to this
Cell phones ringing are bad, but what makes them worse is when the person takes the call, and then procedes to have a 5-20 minutes conversation, loudly! And then after they finally hang up, you hear them say something like “Sheesh, can you beleive the nerve of that person calling me up at work like that?”. You didn’t have to take the call!!!!!!
By null
January 26, 2010 12:37 PM | Link to this
Random headbutting.
By Richard
January 26, 2010 1:19 PM | Link to this
I hate all the mouth-breathing Ohio State fans. Most of them couldn’t get into ITT, let alone Ohio State. I hate that if you are a fan of a different team, Ohio State fans do stuff like key your car and steal your personal items and put Ohio State stuff all over your desk. They also say they want to rape my daughter so she knows how good it feels to be a Buckeye.
By Betty
February 3, 2010 12:35 PM | Link to this
I hate it when co-workers show me their ugly kids or grandkids pictures and wait for ” oh how cute “, when the kid looks like a chia pet.