Call it engagement, fulfillment, or happiness, but a workplace can have a huge impact on our well-being and sense of purpose.
However, there are plenty of potential detractors that can make even an enjoyable job a living hell, such as a lack of recognition, a messed up work-life balance, and, of course, toxic colleagues.
So, in an attempt to remind you just how important the people around us are, we at Bored Panda have put together a collection of annoying employees who do nothing but test everyone's patience.
This post may include affiliate links.
Coworker Left This In The Break Room Today, With His Name And Phone Number. Bold Move
That's An Insufferable Perspective
According to research by Quality Logo Products, around 90% of Americans have a coworker who annoys them, and 57% of people have even considered quitting because of them.
Psychologist Daniel Goleman, author of the bestselling book 'Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ,' says that handling these colleagues has less to do with how you treat them and more to do with how you prepare yourself.
The most important things, Goleman points out, are self-awareness and self-management.
I Asked A Coworker To Count And Tally Up Some Apparel For Me. This Is What I Got
I’m still glad she did it, but you’re supposed to make each 5th tally a slash through the previous four, in order to easily count by groups of 5 when totaling.
I assumed that was common knowledge, but maybe it isn’t.
Maybe she doesn't know. Maybe you can teach her like: "Thank you for counting the apparel. But let me show you a neat trick..."
Coworker Keeps Avoiding Paying Me Back After She Conveniently Forgot Her Wallet At Dinner
A few weeks ago I decided to grab some dinner with a coworker. I rarely go out to eat as it's so expensive these days, but I finally decided to treat myself one night. My coworker ordered appetizers for herself, multiple drinks, a larger dinner and even dessert. When it came time to pay, we were each going to just pay for our food but she conveniently forgot her wallet and just sat there staring at me. I’m an awkward person and I really didn’t want to cover her food in the moment because it was more than I could even afford but it was such a weird situation and she promised to pay me back, so to just end the evening I covered her bill expecting to get reimbursed.
That was weeks ago and she keep posting on social media about going out to fancy restaurants or weekend trips but she always has an excuse when I ask to be paid back. I barely make a livable wage and being in the red because of her has caused me so much anxiety, I feel like such an idiot.
Whenever she posts about yet another fancy trip, leave a comment saying, "Where's the money, Lebowski??"
"It's important to know what you're feeling and how it shapes your perceptions, your motivations, your actions, and whether it harms your performance or not," the psychologist says.
"This leads you to recognize what is going on."
By identifying what exactly triggers us, we can better anticipate them and regulate ourselves.
Coworker Kept Using My Creamer. I Live On A Farm And He Knows It
My next step is to write breast milk.
I Don't Get Irritated Easily By Double Parking, But One Of My Coworkers Does This Every Day In A Full Parking Lot
I Have Been Writing A Fun Fact Every Week On An Unused Whiteboard At The Office. Someone Clearly Doesn't Like It
If these things persist and take a considerable toll on us, Goleman suggests giving yourself a little pep talk before going into the office.
"Okay, I'm going to spend two hours with this person who I know triggers me. It’s just this person, it’s not me. And I don’t have to react," he gives an example.
You can also "prepare your physiology" with various practices, such as box breathing.
"This actually shifts your physiology from sympathetic nervous system arousal, which is the stress and anxiety mode, to parasympathetic, which is the relax and recover mode," he says.
Brought This Pie To An Office Potluck. My Coworker Sliced It Like This And Took From The Middle
Coworkers Keep Stealing My Work Breakfasts. Maybe This Flow Chart Will Solve The Issue
The Way My Coworker Opens An Ice Bag. The Bag Literally Has A Drawstring
I had a woman working beneath me, so I was supposed to be training her but it was a lost cause because every bag she opened was torn thru. It was crazy and always a mess to clean up after.
By recognizing how our annoying coworker bothers us and preparing to deal with them, we can recover more quickly.
"You can't control what in life is going to trigger you," Goleman says. "But you can control how long you stay triggered and how long you are upset."
Time To Find A New Job. Or At Least New Coworkers
My 2 Coworkers Left 45 Minutes Early On A Holiday Weekend, Leaving Me With All These Dishes
I'm a head closer so I cannot leave until all of the work is done or I get in trouble. I'm going to be letting my boss know tomorrow when he asks why I was there an hour over my scheduled time.
My Coworker Loves To Strike Out The Previous Day At Midnight. Someone Beat Him To It Tonight
How My Coworkers Leave The Vacuum Cord
A new study by Kickresume found that these five types of coworkers are the most irritating:
- Credit Stealer (33%);
- Micromanager (32%);
- Chronic Complainer (30%);
- Personal Space Intruder (30);
- Lunch Thief (27%).
Out Of Dishwasher Detergent. Coworker Decided To Use Dish Soap
The Surprise My Coworkers Left For Me
Unplug it, walk over to another desk (preferably one of the idiots who did this) unplug their keyboard and substitute this one.
First Day Back In The Office. Bought A Dozen Krispy Kreme Donuts To Take Home To Family. Went For Lunch And Someone Took Them From My Desk
When I was between undergrad & grad school (young) & working at my first office job I had a plate of cookies given to me on my desk on a decorative plate with colored plastic wrap around it and ribbon with a bow. It was clearly a holiday gift. It disappeared. That night, my roommates gave me all the shake from their weed & I leaned to make really potent “pot oil.” I made a new batch of cookies & wrapped them like the previous and brought them to work. They sat on my desk all day & disappeared the following. All three mailroom guys went home “sick” that day. The following day, a Friday, I walked a letter that needed to be mailed to their area. Without elaborating, I simply said “glad you’re feeling better. I hope the next time it doesn’t kill you” and laughed like it was a joke. The following Monday there was a bakery made box of cookies on my desk. No one went to HR, no one made a scene.
My Coworkers Are Idiots
Or it’s intentional. Like some people wear two different socks (which I like to do 😁)
I always wear two different socks. Too awkward trying to walk with both feet in just one sock! :p
Load More Replies...I'm the kind of coworker who'd switch them like this on purpose just to annoy people.
The study also discovered that 62% of respondents face their annoying coworkers directly in the office, making it the top spot for these frustrations.
But it doesn’t end there. Bothersome colleagues appear no matter if you're working in-person or remotely.
Written communication, such as emails and Slack messages, is a significant source of annoyance for 44% of employees. Furthermore, annoying coworkers can also ruin phone calls (37%) and video calls (29%).
Instant Red Flag
This Is How A Coworker Parks Every Day
I work at a national auto parts retailer. There’s only a handful of spots to start with then there’s this to deal with.
Someone In The Office Ate My Snacks While I Was On Leave. They Even Left The Empty Packaging Inside My Drawer
This Is My Office On Monday. It Will Remain Like This Until The Cleaning Staff Comes On Friday
But.. the sponge and soap are RIGHT THERE. I didn't know offices hired entire teams of toddlers.
When faced with behaviors you see in the pics, the biggest share of people — 32% to be precise — prefer to distance themselves from the culprit. I guess we really really are conflict-avoidant!
For more, check out our previous publications 50 People Share Just How Annoying Their Coworkers Really Are and 50 People Having A Miserable Day Thanks To Their Evil Coworkers.
Told Coworker He Can Have Half Of My Reese’s. This Is How He Handed It Back
The Number Of Times My Coworker Said "Obviously" In The Month Of April
Someone Poured Milk In The Coffee Machine At My Office
I don't even mind that someone made a coffee with milk, but what bothers me is that this person left a mess behind for someone else to clean up, and no one is admitting that they did it.
How My Coworker Opens A Box Of Gloves With A Perforated Top
Coworkers Used My Mug As A Pen Holder In My Absence
Finally got cold, went looking for my mug and found it like this. This is as clean as I could get it.
Pour some boiling water in, let it sit for a little bit. Dump the water. Put a little bit of dish soap and a few generous finger-fulls of baking soda on a soft cloth. Use some firm pressure and wipe out the sides and bottom of the mug. Should come right out.
The Way My Coworker Supported Stock On A Single Can Instead Of Breaking It All Down
The Way My Coworker Labels Vials And Expects People To Be Able To Read Them
It's the "I, seal, upside down axe, 83" vial.....thought that was obvious
My Coworker Has At Least 25 Years Of Experience Over Me In Office Work
Possible that those years of experience means your coworker knows that tucking doesn't work.
Coworker "Fixed" A Hole In The Roof Of Our Truck. And Yes, All Those Tools Are Attached
My Coworker Left His Tooth On The Desk. Again
I work at a front desk, so have to share the same one and this is the 2nd time he's done it. He claims he takes it out when he eats.
People Meet Outside My Office And Leave Chairs Blocking My Door. Left A Note Asking Them To Stop, Note Intact But Door Still Blocked
The note says: "It's no big deal to meet out here, but when you are done, please put the chair back and don't leave it blocking my door. Thank you!"
The Way My Coworker Discards Their Cigarette Butts
I Keep A Pack Of Gum In My Cubicle At Work. Tried To Grab A Piece And Discover This. I Hate My Coworkers
A Coworker Ate Half My Sandwich And Had The Audacity To Leave The Other Half
My Coworker Doesn't Have A Badge, So I Have To Open The Door For Him Every Day
This is more on the workplace honestly. My swipe card for work only opens the one building I run my afterschool program in (the school hall) and the outside gates. I can't even get into the main office after a certain time in the afternoon. Makes it awkward sometimes. The school are very reluctant to give out another card, so when I occasionally get to have someone work with me, they also have to text me to get in (or go through the school office, which is more annoying).
Would Really Like To Thank My Generous Coworker For Leaving This For Me
My Coworkers Dropped A Pallet And Left Me To Clean It Up
That May Be Worse Than Microwaving Fish
Actually Remembered To Bring My Lunch To Work. Coworker Didn't Remember To Close The Pepper
No One Puts The Dishes Away In The Communal Office Sink
It looks like this every day. The dishwasher is directly next to this sink. Are my coworkers this lazy? Do they not realize there is not a maid here to clean up after them? Or just completely disrespectful?
My Coworker Was Asked To Cut The Cake Today At Work
This Is Donut Anarchy: My Friend's Coworker Cut A Piece Out Of Every Donut In The Box
A bit weird but at least they used a knife. And they propably wanted to have a taste of each different one. Also they didn't take away too much. All the parts barely combine up to a whole donut.
Job Was Supposed To Be Done Today. Coworker Brought And Installed The Wrong Door. Guess Who Has To Waste Two Hours To Fix It Tomorrow?
The Way My Coworkers Ate This Cake
My Coworker Lacks Common Sense A Lot Of The Time. Got To Work To Find This Email And A Half-Finished Job
I Hate My Coworkers
Every Week, My Coworker Only Eats This Much Of Her Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich Before Throwing It In The Garbage
Coworker Said We Couldn't Use The Warmer Because It Was "Already Being Used"
How long does it take to warm up the pancakes? Shouldn't take that long?
One Microwave At Work. Someone Is Cooking For 28 Minutes
My Coworker Brags That Her Chair (Blue) Is 20 Years Old, While At The Same Time, Multiple Times A Month, She Needs To Take Sick Leave Because Of Back Pains. She Refuses To Take A New Chair
Put in a requisition, make sure she gets a new ergonomically designed chair on one of the many times that she's out sick. Say that it was required by your workforce to upgrade to an ergonomically designed, back pain sparing chair.
Coworker Feels The Need To Share Everything On A Company-Wide Channel. Here's Today's Latest Unrequested Update
Offered A Coworker Some Of My Mini Muffins. This Is How She Opened The Box
Sometimes boxes just don't open the way they're supposed to. Remember when milk cartons would never open where the directions said to open it? and you had to rip it open on another side?
New Girl Arrived At Work With No Way To Get In Before I Even Leave For Work. Then Within Half An Hour Of Me Being There She Asked If I Could Drive Her Home Every Night
She's a good worker but I am sick of people taking jobs that they have no way to get to or from and expecting me to drive them. This is like the fourth person in a row, and she knew where we were because she did a paid trial shift.
My Coworker Always Leaves The Microwave Door Open
How A Coworker Opened This Resealable Bag
My Coworkers Are Worse Than Chimpanzees
This is a shared lunch room and this is how it’s left by the night crew every time. In what world is it acceptable to leave things like this.
My Coworkers Complained To My Manager That I Pee Too Much
My Coworker Never Rinses Anything Off Before Running It Through Our Dishwasher, So I Have To Go Behind Her And Rewash Almost Everything
She knows very well that our dishwasher is a glorified sanitizer. Yet she acts surprised every time when nothing comes out clean, even though she refuses to rinse off heavy amounts of food.
"This can go two ways, Twаtiana. Either you wash this off or this will be your lunch."
I Took Out The Trash Bin Last And My Coworkers Refuse To Take Their Turn
We have 5 people here and we share the bathroom with another store next door, so it has to be emptied daily. This was day three of nobody taking it out. There’s no designated trash person, since we share our workspace and bathroom so we all agreed to "take turns".
Apparently My Coworkers Don't Know How To Read
My Coworker Called Out 18 Minutes Before His Shift Was Supposed To Start. He Wasn't Even In The State
Coworker Has Had This Mouse For Years. How Do People Just Leave The Plastic On
IKR? Peeling film off stuff like that is one of the great joys in life.
My Coworker Locked Me In The Porta Potty And Then Went To Lunch
That's solid copper wire from an electrical cable. Plotting my revenge now.
Nothing a stomp with a solid workboot can't fix. Both the door and the coworker.
The Way My Coworker Staples Paper
I Thought It Was Common Sense To Call In Sick To Work
How My Coworker Cut This Cheesecake
My boss bought us a cheesecake for meeting a sales goal. I cut two beautiful slices out of it and while I was handing them out my coworker butchered it.
There seems to be a lot of office workers out there who don't have a clue how to cut a cake. Why is that?
I’m Having A Daily Battle With An Unknown Coworker On The Proper Orientation Of The Toilet Paper Roll
My dad always says that there's NO correct way. Until I found the patent for TP showing how it's supposed to be hung. He's a retired patent attorney, LOL! Now he can never say that again.
My Fully Grown Adult Coworkers Love To Pull This Move To Avoid The Very Tedious Task Of Throwing The Empty Roll In The Trash And Putting A New One In Its Place
In My Defense, I Never Followed Her Back In The First Place Because She Was Annoying In Real Life. Checkmate
My Coworker Hyped Up Her "Lasagna" All Week. This Is What She Ended Up Bringing
My Coworker Types In Caps On Everything, Even To Clients
My Coworker Does This All The Time. You Don't Need To Queue Me Up, Just Message Me When You're Ready To Ask Your Question
World's Most Annoying Coworker Lives Up To Expectations
How Much Coffee My Coworkers Leave In The Pot Everyday
"You kill the joe, you make some mo'.." Terry Tate, Office Linebacker
My Coworker Brought In A Cookie Cake And Offered To Cut It Up
Coworker Unable To Staple Things To Paper Without It Hanging Over The Edge
My Coworker Is A Monster Who Clearly Doesn't Know How To Properly Staple Papers Together
How My Coworkers Cut Cake
One Of My Coworkers In IT Unboxed 10 New Computers And Set Them Aside This Morning
Every Day, Sometimes Twice A Day, Coworker Leaves Dirty Dishes In The Sink With The Dishwasher Right Next To It
What baffles me about this at my workplace is the fact that the sink is further from the door than the dishwasher. Colleagues take three to four extra steps to put stuff in the sink instead of the dishwasher.
The Way My Coworkers Use The Dish Soap
I Have Multiple Coworkers Who Leave Their Lunches Out Instead Of Putting Them In The Fridge. It Stinks
Salmonella, E-coli, food poisoning, come do down! You're our next contestant on.....
How My Coworkers Stack Pallets. I Hate This
Another reason that I'm so thankful to work from home. It's also one of the reasons that I rarely ate "communal" food when I worked in an office. I kept my snacks locked in my desk, and my lunch in a sealed cooler. I had my own coffee maker and cup in my office. Some of these folks are just disgusting, lazy, self-absorbed children.
Lots of people upset by how cakes are cut. It tastes the same no matter how it is sliced.
Not if you're stuck with one of the pieces with a ton of frosting and almost no cake.
Load More Replies...I don't understand the "coworker eat my lunch again" situation. If it was my lunch to be eaten, and for me to be left hungry, I would go home, paid of course. I would walk over to my boss and demand me to feed, or else I would go home. Because I cannot concentrate on working hungry. People need to face consequences or else it will repeat again. This would happen to me only one time. I won't suck it up and suffer. I would go to a higher placed manager or boss and let him handle it. Or I will go home eating and stay home. So my problem will be my boss's problem. This is how you end workfloor harrassment.
Another reason that I'm so thankful to work from home. It's also one of the reasons that I rarely ate "communal" food when I worked in an office. I kept my snacks locked in my desk, and my lunch in a sealed cooler. I had my own coffee maker and cup in my office. Some of these folks are just disgusting, lazy, self-absorbed children.
Lots of people upset by how cakes are cut. It tastes the same no matter how it is sliced.
Not if you're stuck with one of the pieces with a ton of frosting and almost no cake.
Load More Replies...I don't understand the "coworker eat my lunch again" situation. If it was my lunch to be eaten, and for me to be left hungry, I would go home, paid of course. I would walk over to my boss and demand me to feed, or else I would go home. Because I cannot concentrate on working hungry. People need to face consequences or else it will repeat again. This would happen to me only one time. I won't suck it up and suffer. I would go to a higher placed manager or boss and let him handle it. Or I will go home eating and stay home. So my problem will be my boss's problem. This is how you end workfloor harrassment.
