Your pet peeves at work?

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Office environments, construction sites, catering, retail, HGV drivers... we all have our pet peeves. What are yours?

I have 2 main peeves (office environment):

1. Corridor-hoggers. This is where 2 or more people hold a "meeting" at a choke-point. That could be right in front of an entrance, corridor corners, outside an office (so blocking it), a fire exit, or in the corridor where it is at its narrowest. In the building where I work, the corridor is wider (indented) every approx. 2nd or 3rd door. Use it! Or use an empty room... plenty of them. It happens at my current workplace and every previous place I've worked, both private sector and public sector. CORRIDOR-HOGGERS ARE ALWAYS MALE!

2. The food police. For those who eat in the office, the food police will ask what they've had, even if it's in plain view. It's the same obsessive-compulsive conversation every day without fail, that it cannot be good for their mental health. For those who don't bring food to the office, it's still the same conversation except that it's past tense. Just buy the bloody thing if you are that inclined, it's only £2.75 from the canteen. The menu's on the intranet. THE FOOD POLICE ARE ALWAYS FEMALE!

And when I am in the canteen... chair-scrapers. People who press the chair legs hard against the floor while dragging them to deliberately produce a louder noise than the room's accoustics is designed for. CHAIR-SCRAPERS ARE BOTH GENDERS! :p
 
Soldato
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Joined
10 May 2004
Posts
12,831
Location
Sunny Stafford
Whispering

I get paranoid when people start whispering around me. I think in my case it's because I'm hard of hearing so I'm being singled out from the rest of the office. In the last place I worked, the whispering went on around me for month, then a redundancy round took place. I initially survived that round of redundancies, but a few months later there was another round and I got the chop this time.

in my next workplace, totally different company, whispering was going on around me again for months. What happened next? Yes, a redundancy round. You couldn't make it up!! This time though, I was sole survivor of the cuts and I'm still working for the company now.

Staff - useless morons that break things, go on sick leave, sleep in, basically do **** all for their pay. Makes me want to vote Conservative.

People going off sick for 6 months, then magically becoming 'well' again before their salary switches to half play. So I agree with you even if I'm not a Tory.

Noises from peoples personal phones, alarms... notifications ... letting it ring ... Must resist putting it in their drink....

This too, which is why I hate open-plan offices. Thankfully I'll be moving to a quieter office soon with just 2 other people. We'll have our own 4 walls.

People constantly talking about love island even though they claim they don't watch it.

It's mostly X Factor that the girls talk about year-on-year, but yeah the craze atm is Love Island and before that it was the Bake-Off.

Mine are:-

1: People who get uppity just because I'm having a conversation with a colleague in the corridor. Is it really so hard to say "excuse me" if they want to get past, I'd happily move every time.

2: People who seem unable to hold a simple conversation. Asking about the weather or what someone has had for lunch are staples of British etiquette. If someone is so socially inept that participate in these ice breakers then then need therapy.

3: People who tut when someone accidentally scrapes the chair against the floor in the canteen when standing up - what's their problem?

LOL well played :p
 
Soldato
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Joined
10 May 2004
Posts
12,831
Location
Sunny Stafford
People who turn up for work one minute early then get cereal out of their desk drawer, scrounge milk from someone then eat a leisurely breakfast at their desk!

Guess what those people, I have breakfast at home because I'm normal and like to be productive at work.

I've worked in both public sector and private sector, and I've only ever seen people desk-breakfasting in the public sector! They're the same people who Facebook on their phone all day and talk about X Factor / Bake-Off / Love Island etc. Always girls.

Bloody millenials... young lad at work had his dog put down on Friday, which is obviously very sad. If I lost my dog I'd be gutted don't get me wrong.

Today someone asked me to sign a sympathy card for him...erm no, I won't be doing that, sorry... Victor Meldrew mic drop...

Where I work now, our bereavement policy covers better half, parents, siblings and offspring. That is paid compassionate leave up to 2 weeks. Grandparents is at manager's discretion. Check this out though, my previous manager managed to get a few days paid compassionate leave for her dog last year! Plus, it wasn't her only dog - she has 3.

"touch/touching base".

Bull**** bingo does my suede in too. "Synergy". "The bigger picture". "Web 2.0". "Social media". "Drilling down". "Win-win". "Game plan" and so on.
 
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