Co-workers are annoying the heck out of each other

Do you find your co-workers grating? Turns out, that might not just be a you problem.

A recent survey of ~3k employees from resume platform Kickresume found that 85% of employees have dealt with an annoying co-worker, with 58% reporting reduced productivity as a result.

That’s a pretty high number that likely indicates many of us are annoying one other.

What do these annoying co-workers do?
The survey named the five most irksome behaviors:

Stealing credit for other people’s work (33%)
Micromanaging (32%)
Frequent complaining (30%)
Invading personal space (30%)
Lunch theft (27%)
Some of these issues are obviously mitigated by working at home — it’s hard to steal your co-worker’s lunch from their own fridge. (Also, can we just point out how baffling it is that adults who aren’t the Hamburglar still do this?)

But 33% of Gen Z respondents said remote work had increased irritating behaviors, possibly due to many younger employees starting their careers over Zoom amid the pandemic and the rise of remote work.

The pandemic…
… may also be why people are feeling more annoyed than ever.

Misconduct solutions company Work Shield found that co-worker complaints spiked at the onset of the pandemic and as workers returned to the office. Work Shield CEO Jared Pope told Fast Company he thinks it’s because “people forgot how to act” around others.

Meanwhile, work friendships are fizzling out as employees struggle to bond in remote or hybrid settings.

There are numerous think pieces about whether that’s a good or bad thing, but it likely means we’ve lost the co-workers with whom we’d typically vent, leading to issues festering until a complaint is made.

What do experts suggest?
Obviously, harassment should be reported to supervisors. But if you’re just annoyed, consider looking within and examining your own emotions and responses. And if that doesn’t work, try approaching the co-worker directly — not with anger, but with curiosity and empathy.