What rude workplace behaviors aggravate people the most? To find out, the online hiring and job search site Monster surveyed 1,000 U.S. employees at different types of jobs and experience levels and industries. Survey respondents cited five behaviors they found particularly obnoxious.
Though the survey was conducted a little over a year ago, it’s still worth paying attention to the results and taking steps to improve these issues in your own workplace. More than two thirds of respondents said they’d consider leaving their jobs if their company didn’t have policies around workplace behavior. Today, in our increasingly acrimonious world, even more might employees may feel that way. Here are the behaviors survey respondents hated most.
1. Not cleaning up after oneself.
This was the number-one most annoying workplace behavior, with 88 percent of respondents saying it bugged them. That may come as a surprise to some business leaders, but it makes sense if you think about it. An office or other workplace is a shared space where people may spend about a third of their time. Messing up or cluttering that space can be as annoying to your colleagues as it would be to your partner or roommates if you did it at home.
Part of the problem could be that different people have different standards for what constitutes a mess. If someone’s winter coat, boots, and accessories are piled around the office, and they’ve left stacks of work-related papers on several chairs, is that a normal workplace look on a busy day, or is it a distracting jumble of clutter that interferes with other people’s concentration? Depending on your point of view, either could be true.
But when it comes to shared spaces, such as an open-plan office or sets of cubicles, it makes sense to err on the side of more neatness, not less. After all, you never know when a customer might drop by. And your standards should be particularly high in places such as rest rooms and kitchens, where lax standards of cleanliness could lead to hygiene concerns.
2. Gossiping.
Gossip is rampant in most workplaces, so it’s noteworthy that 81 percent of the Monster survey respondents said it was one of the worst workplace behaviors. And it certainly can be one of the most destructive. Talking about people behind their backs can lead to serious misunderstandings, hurt feelings, workplace envy, and many more problems. If sensitive information gets out into the grapevine, that could have serious repercussions for your company.
It’s impossible to completely eliminate workplace gossip. But as a leader, you can discourage it by setting the tone for your company or team, and by setting an example yourself. Begin by being as transparent with employees as you can. The more information is freely available, the less there will be to gossip about.
Next, when employees share gossip with you, especially if it’s about a colleague’s personal life, cut them off. Tell them politely that you don’t like listening to gossip. That may make them think twice before sharing their next juicy tidbit with the rumor mill. And of course, make sure not to engage in gossip yourself.
3. Using inappropriate language.
This can be a tricky issue, because “inappropriate” means different things to different people. On top of that, different workplaces and industries can have very different norms for what is or is not inappropriate. But in general, you’ll have a more harmonious workplace if you do your best to make sure different people from different backgrounds can work together comfortably there.
As a very general rule, profanity doesn’t belong in most office settings. Neither does language that makes other employees uncomfortable. You may have someone in the office who thinks it’s just fine to call his female colleagues “sweetheart” or “young lady,” but there’s a good chance it doesn’t seem fine to to those colleagues. The same goes for other forms of insensitive language, even if it’s considered harmless by the person using it.
4. Being unresponsive to messages.
Most of us get overloaded with messages in our overly communicative world. Between SMS texts, emails, workplace message boards, and communications software such as Slack and WhatsApp, it’s all too easy for messages to fall through the cracks. But 77 percent of Monster’s survey respondents found unresponsiveness to be one of the most annoying workplace behaviors. And they’re right. No one should ever ghost their co-workers.
Your best strategy here is to lead by example. If you respond to every message you get from someone in your company, the people who report to you will have a tough time claiming that they don’t have time to do the same.
5. Consistently being late to meetings.
Seventy-six percent of Monster’s survey respondents said this was one of the rudest workplace behaviors. Even if that weren’t the case, if someone is consistently late to meetings, it’s in your interest to change that behavior. They’re costing you money while their colleagues lose work time waiting for them.
You may inadvertently be doing some things that encourage latecomers to keep showing up late. if you spend the first few minutes of the meeting on low-value activities, such as people describing their weekends, or a reading of the meeting’s agenda, those who show up late won’t feel they’re missing anything important. And if you wait till everyone’s there to get started, then you’re actually punishing those who came on time.
Instead, try starting every meeting on time and making those first few minutes really valuable. For example, hand out plum assignments or perks during those first few minutes. Or take questions about a new initiative everyone is curious about. When people discover they’ve missed something they want by showing up late, they will change their ways.
Finally, keep in mind that this is a very general survey. The people on your team may have their own workplace behaviors that annoy them. Consider using this survey as a conversation starter. You may learn about some changes you should make before you lose key team members of your own.