A new study by Kickresume has surveyed almost 3,000 employees to reveal the ‘most grating’ colleague behaviours. This was undertaken, the firm states, to better understand how people manage these challenges in the workplace. The data was based on a survey of 2,894 respondents. Many of these traits are the opposite of what employers are typically seeking in job applicant candidates.
The assessment detailed the different types of annoying colleagues – which were ranked on a scale of between 1 and 5 – where this conduct surfaces, and how employees deal – or wish they dealt – with these issues.
The findings showed that 85 percent of people have dealt with an annoying coworker, with 58 percent saying these behaviours significantly affect their productivity.
The research found that the most troublesome types of coworker are:
| Worker type | Proportion of respondents |
| Credit Stealer | 33% |
| Micromanager | 32% |
| Chronic Complainer | 30% |
| Personal Space Intruder | 30% |
| Lunch Thief | 27% |
Peter Duris, CEO at Kickresume, says in a statement: “People often avoid direct confrontation, which shows that many workplaces might lack good communication training and conflict resolution resources. Fixing these issues could make employees happier and create a more supportive work environment.”
He adds: “Our findings are quite concerning, so we want to highlight the importance of creating a harmonious workplace where these behaviours are addressed. This could involve diplomatically making staff aware of how their actions affect the team. Doing this will help build a more united, friendly, and efficient workplace.”
The environment in which these behaviours were experienced was found to also play a role in how people feel about annoying colleagues. Here, 62 percent said they have faced irritating behaviour in the workplace directly.
For hybrid or remote working, 44 percent of employees found their colleagues annoying in the likes of emails and tools like Slack. In addition, 29 percent also felt the same with video calls and 37 percent, with phone calls.
Adding to this, 53 percent of employees who do hybrid – remote and in-person – work, believe that this has minimised experiencing annoying colleagues.
Those who seek to deal with an annoying colleague, tend to do so by directly asking their coworker to stop their behaviour.
