We spend a third of our lives working, and if you work in an office, that means spending a whole lot of time with your colleagues.
Whether you love them or loathe them, you’ll no doubt have picked up on some of your workmates’ less than favourable habits.
And we hate to be the ones to break it to you, but you’re probably doing things that irk them too.
And now, new research has found the icks that office workers find the most irritating.
Coming in strong at number one was food thieves. The research by Startups unsurprisingly found that you’re not going to make any friends by pinching milk or nabbing lunches from the office fridge.
But second on the list was a bit more of a shocker. Apparently, when it comes to a toilet break, we’re not a sociable bunch. A conversation in the toilets is the second biggest ick people have at work – so don’t even think about gossiping at the sinks.
Lesson learnt.
Being subjected to someone’s loud personal phone call was the ick that placed at number three on the list, so wait to have those conversations with your GP about your new and unusual rash until you get home.
Food related habits seemed to really rile up employees, with cooking smelly food in the microwave being the fourth biggest ick and eating loudly placing fifth.
Tech based icks also appeared on the list. Leaving message notifications on loud was also a big ‘ew’.
The survey also broke common icks down by generation.
Interestingly Gen X (those born between 1965 and 1980) said their number one ick was people oversharing about their love life.
Meanwhile, it’s the millennials that didn’t want a toilet cubicle chat, and for Gen Z, it was all about keeping it zen, and keeping those phone notifications on silent.
If you’re feeling a little called out by some of the office icks, it’s not all bad news.
The 16 office icks:
- Stealing milk/food from the fridge
- Someone starting a conversation in the toilets
- Loud personal phone calls
- Cooking smelly food in the microwave
- Eating loudly
- Leaving message notifications on loud
- Oversharing about their children
- Cringey email phrases
- Typing loudly
- Oversharing about their love life
- Holding the door when they are too far away
- Fitness brags
- Unnecessary business jargon
- Awkward goodbyes at the end of a video call
- Monday morning small talk
- Not sharing snacks
For those of you who like a little natter on a Monday morning, it placed 15th on the list of icks. You can keep getting away with that one without burning too many bridges.
Not sharing snacks placed last on the list of icks, so if you’re someone who brings in food for yourself to be enjoyed by only you, people get it. In fact, they’re probably hoping you don’t ask for theirs.
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