The Habits Your Co-Workers Hate

Chewsygum.com decided to conduct a survey asking 1,782 people about their colleague’s worst habits in the workplace.

Loud or open mouth chewing came in first place with 70% of people saying that this is the thing that they hate their co-worker doing the most. Having a messy desk is something 36% of participants dislike and while it wasn’t what they found most annoying 65% of participants said that when their co-worker has a messy desk it distracts them.

42% said they hate it when their co-worker plays their music too loud but only 1 in 4 ask them to turn it down, 48% said they play their own music to drown it out, whilst 27% just ignore it. Strong smells irritate 68% of British workers the most - this covered everything from bringing in smelly foods, having body odour and wearing too much perfume or cologne. The two foods that participants hate smelling the most were fish and eggs.

Interestingly, only 16% dislike it when the person they are working with doesn’t make attempts to be social. However, Chewsygum.com fond that a whopping 74% of participants believe their co-workers should be social.

The Bad Habit Top 10:

1. Loud or open mouth chewing - 70%
2. Being a source of strong smells - 68%
3. Coughing/sneezing/sniffling - 48%
4. Rhythmic tapping - 43%
5. Loud music - 42%
6. Having a messy desk space - 36%
7. Loud breathing - 32%
8. Cutlery clinking - 27%
9. Loud typing - 26%
10. Being antisocial - 16%

Image License: Creative Commons Zero - CC0