Last week (6/15), the USA Today Snapshot® answered the question: “What co-worker behaviors annoy you the most?” What would you answer?
According to Accountemps survey, 1,400 chief financial officers found these traits most annoying:
41% – Sloppy work
23% – Gossiping or engaging in office politics
18% – Missing deadlines
12% – Being late
5% – Presenting others’ ideas as one’s own.
“Having to constantly double-check someone else’s work is a sure recipe for tension between coworkers,” says Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps, in a press release. “The success of any team depends on everyone carrying his or her weight.”
You’re darn right, Max. Not only is it annoying, but it is inefficient. Not very productive at all.
However, equally as counter-productive is the annoyed person who doesn’t say anything about it to their co-worker. If it’s just a one-time event, no big deal. When it persists, that is a different matter altogether! You’re not doing anyone any favors by turning a blind eye to this type of disruptive behavior.
You have to point it out, describe the detrimental effects on you and/or the team, and make a request to change or stop the behavior. Some people call this “feedback” and it has to be delivered in a way that it can be heard. Sometimes that might be better coming from the team leader, or someone the person admires and respects. In high performing teams, this kind of feedback can come from anyone on the team, regardless of job description.
