Annoying things your work colleagues do all the time? #3

[ChastityDingle]

Regarding point 1, I assume they sent you a new email, rather than forwarding their original one on? If I was copied into an email where someone was chasing a reply, the first thing I'd do would be to check the time and date the original email was sent.

And yeah, point 2 is annoying. I hate it when people put in a meeting over lunch and start the meeting invite with: "Sorry I know this time isn't ideal, but it's the only time we're all free". Yeah, cause it's our lunch break, head, you're not important enough for me to give that up.

My rant is lazy colleagues. I'm known as an expert in a particular area of the system, so people ask me questions about it a lot. I don't mind the odd query, but a lot of the time it slows me down. Rather than complain about it to my boss, I thought I'd turn it into a 'positive' (of sorts) by volunteering to write a detailed procedure note for it. That way I'm doing something extra and sharing my knowledge, but also it should help colleagues who are struggling.

However, so many of them still come to me. I even go back to them and say: "read page X of the procedure note I've explained it in there" (and helpfully attach another copy as they've probably lost or deleted the original) as a not-very-subtle hint, but they still ask me anyway.

If people send me useful guides or procedures, the first thing I do is save it somewhere safe and think it's great I won't have to bug someone about it next time. If only others behaved the same way!

Oh some people spin that tale all their lives! Pretend not to know something when if they were put under pressure to do it, they would be well able. It's just much easier to keep pretending, I worked with (well probably more than) one of them.

I was away on a secondment for a while and when I got back I had to get myself back into the swing of things, learn new stuff and so on. I didn't always have an immediate answer or a reference for where to look it up, anymore for the lazy one, as it was new to me too. I realised then why they do it .

It makes their lives much easier. Their colleagues - not so much.

 

[Ensay]

Oh some people spin that tale all their lives! Pretend not to know something when if they were put under pressure to do it, they would be well able. It's just much easier to keep pretending, I worked with (well probably more than) one of them.

I was away on a secondment for a while and when I got back I had to get myself back into the swing of things, learn new stuff and so on. I didn't always have an immediate answer or a reference for where to look it up, anymore for the lazy one, as it was new to me too. I realised then why they do it .

It makes their lives much easier. Their colleagues - not so much.

Yeah exactly!

And, as if by magic, a colleague of mine has put in an 'urgent' meeting this afternoon to discuss a query he's got about the system. I wish I'd had the foresight to block out my calendar as I sometimes do a Friday afternoon for development work. It feels like no one thinks for themselves, they just come across a problem and think "oh Ensay will tell me exactly what to do".

I'll have to 'respectfully' tell him what part of the procedure note he can find his answer in! Plus I'm sure it could wait till next week. Or maybe not, as he's probably sat on the query all week and has then been nudged for a reply by the end of the week, hence the 'urgent' meeting.

 

[Sibz]

Got a work meal tomorrow night for someone who's leaving... I can already predict what will be happening, several will be absolutely trashed (including me, its all paid for by management, why not? ), someone will get emotional by 10pm and say what a great team we are and how much they love everyone, two people who have given up smoking will be smoking outside with a drink, the drunkest will be up drunk dancing (also me), we'll all be half asleep in the ride home by 1pm

 

[Rxt156]

Got a work meal tomorrow night for someone who's leaving... I can already predict what will be happening, several will be absolutely trashed (including me, its all paid for by management, why not? ), someone will get emotional by 10pm and say what a great team we are and how much they love everyone, two people who have given up smoking will be smoking outside with a drink, the drunkest will be up drunk dancing (also me), we'll all be half asleep in the ride home by 1pm

Oh god yes!! work events are so annoying. there’s always people that get too pissed and talk too much/embarrass themselves. Can’t stand it lol

 

[TheGlossy]

One of my co-workers has had the following pattern for the last 6 months:

• Off sick for two three weeks
• Back for one or two weeks
• Off on annual leave for a week
• Back for a week or two
• Off sick again for three / four weeks

Rinse and repeat since March. They have now been off on supposed sick leave since June and I've had the displeasure of being assigned all their work including their very first project. This also means I can't take any holidays until end of September, when I'm physically sick myself due to the stress of work and my dad's passing a few months. This selfish person is so sick that they managed to change their IG profile picture with a new one of them at the beach. Smh. If I were a manager, I'd seriously investigate this and have them see the company's doctor or they get the boot. We're short-staffed, so if one of us is off, one of us gets the burn of it all.

People have real life problems and still manage to get to work even if they hate the job (me), so someone going off on sick leave when they're not sick doesn't sit well with me at all. I too want to go on sick leave because I've had intense chest pains and migraines for weeks, but if I do, no one will do the work because this person is off and the other team member is useless. I'm physically struggling every day while some selfish people are using sick leave as a ploy to get more vacation days. Not right.

 

[lurkingaround123]

My manager is painfully underqualified and insecure. She has got the job based on length of service not actual skill or management qualities. I know she feels threatened by me as I am a lot younger and have a lot more qualifications/common sense. She is really good at making things out to be a bigger issue than they actually are, and in turn has managed to convince her manager to expand our team. There are 6 of us now including her and enough work for 2 full timers and one part timer. When there occasionally is something to do, she comes and interferes with it, and makes it 'better' by changing everything I do and making it less user friendly, or more complicated. (Eg. she's gone in to an excel sheet only I use and fiddled around with it, in turn knocking out all my formulas)

We have to sit doing nothing all day in the office, she gets visibly annoyed if we go out and tells us if we do we should stay an extra hour at the end, however she leaves the office for hours at a time doing whatever she wants, its one rule for her and another for us. I have lost all motivation to go to work, I don't want to go to bed at night and I get immense dread when I wake up in the morning knowing I have to be there for 8 hours of my day. I don't take any pride in my appearance anymore and my self esteem has hit rock bottom because of it. I have started looking for another job but I am sat here absolutely zombified. I have the worst bore out ever.

 

[If you say so...]

there's a guy in my office who is constantly chewing his nails. I say nails, but it's actually more like the stump of his fingers because there's no nails left. his hands are always in his mouth and when they aren't in his mouth he's sniffing them. his finger ends are all bloody and crusty and it makes me feel sick.

the icing on the cake? He never washes his hands after going to the bathroom. He tells us he's really clean as he sanitizes his hands after every visit to the bathroom. We've put signs up in the bathrooms as a reminder for him to wash his hands but he obviously has taken no notice. It's so gross knowing that he's touched the handle on the way out without washing his hands, and sometimes goes to the canteen and makes a drink! he doesn't sanitisze his hands until he sits back at his desk and even then, it's not like he remembers to do it every time. He desk is also covered in porridge pots, coffee cups from take outs and the canteen. He is vile to work alongside.

 

[shhh1712]

My annoyance currently is someone in my team as soon as my teams status goes to away she’ll call me if she knows I am WFH. I have been there longer than her, I am more senior than her and actually becoming her manager in the very near future. It’s like she is trying to catch me out or see what I’m doing. I’ve began to say I can’t talk now and make her wait to try and discourage her from doing it but tbh not sure it makes any difference. It’s really grating on me though. Anyone have similar?

 

[If you say so...]

My annoyance currently is someone in my team as soon as my teams status goes to away she’ll call me if she knows I am WFH. I have been there longer than her, I am more senior than her and actually becoming her manager in the very near future. It’s like she is trying to catch me out or see what I’m doing. I’ve began to say I can’t talk now and make her wait to try and discourage her from doing it but tbh not sure it makes any difference. It’s really grating on me though. Anyone have similar?

why would you be any less available when WFH? Why make someone you hope to manage wait and discourage them from contacting you?

 

[shhh1712]

I am definitely not less available it will be if I’ve gone to make a drink, pop out over lunch or gone to the toilet. The moment my teams switches to away which takes 3-4 minutes she’ll ask to call about something which is un necessary.

 

[If you say so...]

I am definitely not less available it will be if I’ve gone to make a drink, pop out over lunch or gone to the toilet. The moment my teams switches to away which takes 3-4 minutes she’ll ask to call about something which is un necessary.

So why make them wait or discourage them from calling?

 

[shhh1712]

Removed by request

 

[If you say so...]

So basically we can’t share management advice and tips on here

 

[Ensay]

So basically we can’t share management advice and tips on here

Are you the one calling?

 

[If you say so...]

Are you the one calling?

Damn, my cover has been blown!

 

[Ensay]

Damn, my cover has been blown!

Joking aside, I understood what that poster meant. It’s strange to keep calling someone when they go on away.

And I don’t think it’s bad to tell a colleague if their behaviour is inappropriate - eg if they keep calling you on your lunch break. Boundaries are important and it’s easier for them to blur when working from home.

 

[shhh1712]

Thank you, i perhaps didn’t word it as well as I should have done but you’ve hit the nail on the head

 

[WilmaHun]

Sticking their nose in stuff that is nothing to do with them. All our calls go to a switchboard for the receptionist to pass to the relevant person. Our receptionist is the nosiest woman I have ever met. If a client dares to call me more than once in a day, or if I happen to be on the phone to them for more than 5 minutes I can guarantee as soon as I put my phone down she'll ring me saying "omg that client is a pest aren't they. What were they calling about". It winds me up no end! Keep your nose out, there's a reason you don't have access to cases on the system because you're a nosey witch and it's none of your business, answer the calls, redirect them and stop being snouty!

 

[TheGlossy]

My manager is a big bully.

I did not show up to the office today for specific reasons and decided to work from home (we're hybrid). They did not like it clearly because I tried to ping them all day and I've been met with silence. I tried to set up a meeting and they did not join. Very unprofessional behaviour. They had no issue when I was showing up every single day and no one was there and yet now they have an issue with me not showing up today.

 

[Ensay]

My manager is a big bully.

I did not show up to the office today for specific reasons and decided to work from home (we're hybrid). They did not like it clearly because I tried to ping them all day and I've been met with silence. I tried to set up a meeting and they did not join. Very unprofessional behaviour. They had no issue when I was showing up every single day and no one was there and yet now they have an issue with me not showing up today.

Strange behaviour if working from home hasn't impacted your productivity at all.