POINTLESS meetings, broken printers and Facebook skivers – the worst office irritants which creep under every office worker’s skin have been revealed.
Bad canteen food, smelly co-workers, dress-down Fridays and motivational speakers have all made their way into a top 10 list compiled from a survey of 2,000 office workers across the UK.
And a host of new terms for increasingly common situations at work have emerged, such as the “Dracula shift” for those winter days spent going to work and coming home in darkness, and the “bog shaker” for those having a private breakdown in the loo.
Other euphemisms for those situations many office workers will recognise is the “Chinese holiday” – faking a need for the loo to spend five minutes in a cubicle with head in hands – the “Cashanova” – someone who brings in clients or business on charm alone – and the “Mills and Doom”, for an office romance.
The survey found 70% of office workers admitted judging colleagues on their work etiquette, including poor table manners over lunch, while people who label their food in office kitchen cupboards were cited as some of the most irritating, with 21% of respondents thinking they were “suspicious people” whose “un-sharing attitude is reflected in their lack of team spirit”.
Half-hearted attempts at boosting office morale also figured in the top 10, with forced social events, dress-down Fridays, employee of the month and tea trolleys all being cited as useless initiatives.
When asked why these perks annoyed people, 36% said that they would prefer the company spent the money on them instead of “silly motivational schemes”.
Business psychologist Steve Whiddett, who is based in Tintern, agreed.
He said: “Motivational speaking, dress-down days, they don’t really make a difference.
“What makes a difference is people thinking they are not being taken for granted and that they are being valued and given freedom.
“In a company where you want to award staff, just give everyone a box of chocolates, and do it personally – you will see a real difference.
“It all comes down to this: if people feel they are not being treated fairly then that will affect how they feel and how they work.
“If an organisation is telling people how to behave there is a chance people might feel a bit patronised and respond accordingly.
“It’s like they are saying these adults cannot tell themselves what is appropriate to wear in the workplace and what isn’t.
“It doesn’t go without saying that doing something that some people might find entertaining will automatically be entertaining to everyone.
“It is the same thing with e-mails – what people intend and what people interpret can be very different.
“If someone is perhaps from an older generation and they don’t like using a computer, finding someone who is not only fully capable but also playful with their e-mails might irritate them even more.”
Employment lawyer Nia Cooper, of Cardiff-based firm Capital Law, said: “Dealing with these issues can be challenging. For example, it is very sensitive and very personal having to speak to somebody about the way they look or their hygiene standards, so it is one of the hardest things an HR practitioner will have to do.
“Spending too much time on Facebook is also a massive issue, as is its role as a mechanism to bully.
“I have been involved in a number of cases where Facebook posts have been identified as being in breach of harassment rules.
“In our office we have got an e-mail policy covering what time you send them, who you send them to and how you express yourself because e-mails can be interpreted in a variety of different ways.
“You would be amazed by the number of issues like this we deal with on a daily basis.”
The survey of 2,000 office workers was to mark the launch of TV channel Dave’s Best Part Time Job in the World.
Our top 10 office gripes, according to the survey: next page
Our top 10 office gripes, according to the survey
1. Pointless meetings
2. IT misery – blocked printers, slow broadband and internet crashes
3. Office Jargon
4. Poor Hygiene – smelly co-workers and not cleaning up in the kitchen
5. Employees who spend too much time on Facebook instead of working
6. Office gossip
7. Meaningless perks – dress-down Friday, tea trolleys on a Friday and employee of the month
8. Canteen food
9. Poor email etiquette – emoticons on emails, emailing workers sat next to you, or quotes from philosophers on signatures
10. Motivational speakers brought in to raise morale
