Wash Your Hands! Clean Your Cubicle!



Employees are often irritated by the little things at work, like people coming to work sick or leaving the restroom without washing their hands. Less trivial behaviors—such as colleagues taking credit for work that isn't theirs or withholding access or information—can also be irksome. Female employees tend to be more annoyed by some behaviors than male employees, and older Millennials are more likely to confront a co-worker, according to findings from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

"While some pet peeves seem trivial, others can have significant repercussions on workers' engagement and even their productivity, such as co-workers who take credit for others' work or co-workers who 'gatekeep' information," said Casey Sword, a senior specialist with SHRM Research.

Among a list of 19 irksome behaviors, these eight set respondents' teeth on edge most often, according to the survey conducted in August with 507 U.S. workers:

• Co-workers who don't wash their hands after using the restroom (cited by 74 percent of respondents).
• Co-workers who take credit for others' work (64 percent). A different survey, conducted by Quality Logo Products with 1,900 U.S. workers in February 2022, found that 47 percent of respondents identified this as a pet peeve.
• Co-workers who "gatekeep" information (61 percent). A workplace gatekeeper is "an employee who controls access, either to someone in authority or to information."
• Co-workers who intentionally break company rules or policies (47 percent).
• Co-workers with poor personal hygiene (47 percent). Nearly one-third (31 percent) of respondents said they've had colleagues with less-than-desirable hygiene.
• Co-workers who don't clean up their work area (46 percent).
  
• Co-workers who come to work sick (43 percent). Workers don't want to hear their colleagues coughing and sneezing or otherwise witness them sharing their germs. SHRM's Employee Benefits Survey, released in June 2022, found that among its 3,129 respondents, 96 percent indicated their organization offers paid sick leave. HR may want to remind employees of their company's sick-leave policy, and managers can enforce a culture that discourages individuals from reporting to work sick.
• Co-workers who perform personal hygiene tasks at work (38 percent).

Who Gets Upset?

Women were more likely than men to be annoyed "a lot" by co-workers who regularly left work or meetings early (44 percent versus 20 percent), SHRM found.

Women were also more likely than men to say it bothers them "a lot" when co-workers don't wash their hands after they've used the restroom (85 percent versus 64 percent).

So what do employees do when they can't take it anymore? Half (50 percent) grit their teeth and say or do nothing.

However, if they're older Millennials—those ages 31 to 41—they're more likely than their Baby Boomer and Traditionalist colleagues to confront the offender (36 percent versus 25 percent). 

Some people take it a step further, with one-fourth (24 percent) of respondents overall saying they'll complain to a manager or supervisor and 8 percent knocking on HR's door or leaving an anonymous sign or note.

The size of the organization seems to have a bearing on how likely someone is to confront a co-worker about annoying behavior, with 46 percent of those at organizations with 500 to 4,999 employees more likely to do so. Those working at small (1 to 99 employees), medium (100 to 499 employees) and extra-large organizations (5,000 or more workers) were less likely to confront a co-worker about an annoying habit. 

Other SHRM resource:
What Should HR Do When an Employee's Body Odor Is Affecting the Workplace?, SHRM HR Q&A