Everyone has an office horror story — but are you one?
Chances are you’ve internally fumed about a co-worker’s obnoxious habits or maddening mode of communication (or lack thereof), but there’s a high likelihood that one of your fellow office-dwellers is just as annoyed with you — for something that’s never even crossed your mind. (And no, it has nothing to do with the fish you microwaved for lunch last week.)
Do any of these red flags that career experts shared with The Post describe you?
1. You’re a workaholic
Nothing wrong here, right? You’re so busy (like, crazy busy!) that you’re always the last one in the office. And when you’re not in the office, you’re checking and answering emails — all the time. It’s great to be a motivated, hard worker, but therapist and human behavior professor Melody Wilding explained that it might stir up some tension by the coffee machine.
“Co-workers can start to resent [workaholics] because they can seem like they’re brown-nosing,” she said. If you’re always the first to answer a group email or volunteer on a project, it can eventually rub people the wrong way.
It’s even worse when the workaholic whines about how full their plate is.
“Complaining with your co-workers about your workload isn’t going to help you,” said Devin Tomb, deputy editor of career advice website Levo League. “Everyone feels busy.”
2. You give “no feedback” feedback
Your co-worker has spent hours on a project, but before he or she presses Send, they ask for a second pair of eyes. After a quick look-over, you respond, “Looks great!”
You may think it’s short, sweet and encouraging, but Tomb said it may not win points with your co-worker.
“That response has good intentions, but your co-worker put hours of work into a PowerPoint and asked for your feedback. This can come off as curt and kind of a let-down,” she explained.
In this situation, a short, specific comment can go a long way. Pointing out an awesome detail “shows that you acknowledge the person’s thought process and the effort that went into the project,” Tomb said.
The aggravating lack of feedback can be non-verbal as well, especially in stressful situations like while your colleague is giving an important presentation.
“You want to remember that a person at the front of the room probably feels vulnerable or at least a little nervous, so [speaking] in a room full of stone cold faces is just going to amplify those nerves,” Tomb explained. “Even the slightest nod or smile expresses encouragement and could be really validating or comforting,” she added.
3. You shout “no” with your body language
Speaking of non-verbal communication, when a co-worker or boss approaches you, is your whole body turned toward them? It should be.
“The smallest but most effective thing you can do is to make sure your body is facing that person,” Tomb said.
“It signals that you’re open to what they have to say and you’re listening to their ideas,” even before you’ve had your morning coffee.
4. You’re constantly plugged in
While wearing earbuds in the office isn’t unheard of, being plugged in all the time may send the wrong message.
“People that have headphones on all day long or all the time in an open environment kind of get a reputation that they don’t want to be disturbed,” said Paul Wolf, senior vice president of human resources at Indeed.com. He noted the importance of finding your office norm.
Although listening to your favorite focus playlist during certain projects or times of the day is completely normal, he explained that an all-day session can be “a subtle message to people saying, ‘Don’t bother me.’”
5. You’re peeved when your funny IMs go unanswered
For some, Gchat or any form of instant messaging may seem like a safe haven for side chatter and bonding. But do you find yourself tapping your foot when your “Hey, what’s up?” doesn’t get an immediate response? It could be because your co-worker is at work … working.
“Messaging is great for when you need to communicate with a co-worker about something quickly, but don’t Gchat or message like you did with friends in middle school,” said Tomb, who jokingly refers to these non-work-related pings as “random acts of Gchatting.”
While it’s great to build rapport with colleagues, IMing “[may be] off-putting for someone that’s trying to focus.”
“There are so many tools out there these days that it’s hard for anyone to predict what your preferences are,” Tomb said. If you’re an IM-happy person, check in with your office “buddies” to see if they’re cool with your ramblings, or ask if they’d like to save side convos for email (or even face-to-face) to alleviate the pressure of responding ASAP.
6. You’re a negative Nancy
The complainer, the Debby Downer … you’re the office negative Nancy.
“There’s sometimes that one person, that as soon as a new plan is presented, they’re the ones to raise their hands and poke a hole in it,” Wilding said. That person “might look at that as ‘I’m being critical,’ or ‘I’m being realistic,’” but really, the questioning may be bringing the team down.
Try putting a positive spin on your curiosity.
“Asking ‘How do we deal with that?’ is a very different tone and a very different outlook than ‘Here’s why this isn’t going to work and why do you guys think we should do this?’” Wilden said.
Positivity is key when starting and working through each day (bad vibes are not), so make sure to “pay attention to the way you’re showing up,” she said.