We’ve all encountered annoying colleagues in our office. After all, everyone has a different personality, and you don’t get to choose your coworkers. Sometimes, the annoying habits of your colleagues can irritate you.
However, getting emotional about their annoying habits won’t help you to deal with them. It can make the situation worse.
Instead of ignoring or badmouthing your colleagues, there are some annoying habits of your colleagues you should learn to tolerate.
Well, let’s dig into this list of nine annoying habits of your colleagues to find out the reason!
1- The Habit of Constant Criticism
Do you have that one colleague who never misses a chance to criticize you at work?
Well, you do have all the rights to be mad at them. After all, no one likes to be criticized, right? But I’d argue that sometimes it’s good to tolerate your criticizing colleagues.
Criticism comes along with every work, and it doesn’t have to be all negative.
The best way you can tolerate your critique friend is by listening to what’s being said. Instead of jumping to conclusions, assume your colleague is trying to give you feedback. Though I agree that sometimes dealing with criticism can be irritating. But wouldn’t it be far worse if your colleagues notice you doing wrong at work and still keep mum?
So, next time instead of getting annoyed, say thank you for the feedback you received. Surprise your critique guy with a little bit of a positive attitude!
2-The Habit of Gossiping
We all know a colleague who is always known as the gossip king. Be it about your boss, unworking AC, or even the taste of office coffee, they just can’t refrain from gossiping.
There’s no denying that gossiping is truly a nasty habit. But, you’ve probably heard about the quote- “every bad thing has a good side?” Well, in this case, gossiping definitely has some good sides!
As per scientists, gossiping can help you in building friendships, bonding with others, and learning social skills. Positive gossip about others may even inspire or make you a better person. Also, ranting about workloads, professional issues can relieve stress and anxiety.
Psst: You can learn about your coworkers’ and superiors’ strengths and weaknesses from gossip. That’s something positive, right?
3-The Habit of Making Annoying Sound
When a coworker keeps making annoying sounds while working, it hits another level of irritation. People with this habit often tap their pens or fingers on the table, shake their legs, or tap their feet under the table.
But before you start shouting at your colleague, consider thinking about the reason for these behaviors.
If your colleague often plays with hair, finger, or small objects, they may have fidgeting. Fidgeting is a condition caused by frustration, boredom, nervousness, or a combination of all three.
Yes, the habit of making annoying sounds is irritating. Now that you know the reason behind this tolerating your coworker won’t be a hard thing.
4-The Habit of Bragging
Colleagues who love to brag about their contribution towards work falls into the braggart’s category.
Dealing with this specific habit is not something you’ll enjoy every day. But, instead of getting affected, you should tolerate this annoying habit for the sake of your own wellbeing. After all, giving too much importance to braggings will only drain your energy.
So, prioritize your emotional health, and avoid any kind of heated arguments with these colleagues.
5-The Habit of Hyper-Competition
No matter how hard you work, there will always be that one hyper-competitive colleague. They’ll get in early and leave the office late. And will always choose to work over lunch breaks!
Yes, it can be annoying!
Dealing with competitive coworkers can damage your self-esteem, make you feel bad about yourself. But, getting concerned about someone else’s behavior won’t give you any satisfaction. That’s why you should practice tolerance.
There’s no point in getting irked about their habits. All you need to do is, focus on your work and your own life.
6-The Habit of High Temper
Colleagues with high temper are challenging to deal with. They are often rigid, not open to suggestions and their anger may cause others to lose control.
So, never get involved in an argument with your angry colleague. And it’s better if you give them some time to cool off.
Also, your colleagues can have some personal issues that affect their mood and trigger anger. When you are bothered by others’ temper, you’ll lose your uniqueness.
7-The Habit of Excessive Chatting
Chatterbox is one of those colleagues who can have a never-ending conversation about anything. Just ask them a simple question like “hey, what’s your plan for the weekend?” And they’ll go on and on about every little detail of their weekend plans for an hour at least.
Rather than avoiding these colleagues, strike up a conversation only if you’re on a break and on a subject that you both will enjoy. So now the conversation will be enjoyable for both of you without wasting your valuable time. Here are other ways to escape the office chatterbox.
8-The Habit of Swearing
These days swearing has become a common part of the language Still many people consider swearing as an annoying and bad habit.
Recent studies have shown swearing as a tool to relieve work stress. It even helps to reduce pain and works as an emotional language. Next time you see your colleague is swearing during a conversation, don’t get irritated. Think of it as their way of coping with work stress and don’t take it personally.
Note: If the swearing turns out to be overly negative, get yourself out of the situation, ASAP.
9-The Habit of Social Awkwardness
Lastly, these types of colleagues hate socializing!
You can find these colleagues at their own desk, eating lunch alone. They’ll never show up at the office party and ignore every team activity.
Yep, it can be pretty awkward to deal with these unsociable coworkers. But, maybe they are simply introverted. Perhaps they don’t feel comfortable being the social butterfly.
The best thing you can do for them is to continue to work with them. Make sure to invite them to every team activity, even if they don’t show up.
Wrapping up,
Tolerating the annoying habits of your colleagues doesn’t mean you’re weak. It means that you are mature enough to understand their situation and let go of the irritation.
It’ll help you shift your focus on your own work.
So, next time when you find your colleagues too annoying, remember that no one is perfect. And you should learn to embrace their imperfection.
Are you working in a toxic workplace? Check this article to know the signs of a toxic workplace.
