'It triggers her into speaking tongues': 25+ Distracting Habits Coworkers Annoy Others With

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Feb 18, 2025 12:00 PM EST

Working in an office is a… particular thing. There's a whole acclaimed comedy series about it. Actually, there are a few. There are a lot of idiosyncrasies of working at a desk alongside other people who work at desks. It's like having a roommate. You get to know all of your coworkers' quirks and habits. It's just a matter of time spent. You spend more time with your coworkers than you do with most other people in your life, so you're bound to get annoyed by them every now and again. 

It's not hard to be a good office mate. Mind your germs, respect the space of others, and don't microwave fish in a communal microwave. You know what? Maybe don't ever microwave fish, even if it's in your own personal microwave. You are never going to get the smell out and you'll end up regretting it. But some people just lack self-awareness in a major way that doesn't go unnoticed by others.

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  • 01
    303 Scream cackling at 8 am
    via Resume Genius

  • The examples in this list, though, are egregious. If I worked with any of these characters I would seriously reconsider my place of employment. But the schadenfreude of reading through them is too good to deny. Scroll on for some outrageously annoying things that coworkers have done. 

  • 02

    Office Workers - What's the most distracting thing a coworker does?

    I have a coworker that listens to gospel music with her earbuds and it triggers her into speaking tongues. It's a whimper/whisper version of the usual yell that you may hear in certain churches. At first I thought she was in pain and crying due to being pregnant but I realized she's just speaking in tongues. She does this a couple times a day for 5 minutes at a time. It's only me and
    via u/talkingtimmy3
  • 03
    her that work in the open concept office with privacy dividers for now (space for 30) so I'm the only one that overhears it. I'm not bothered or complaining but it's so random sometimes it makes me giggle.
    via u/talkingtimmy3
  • 04

    The examples kept rolling in...

    OrdinarySubstance491 . 2h ago I have a coworker who listens to political podcasts at full volume without earbuds. Same guy tries to show us funny YouTube videos all the time, and comes in ranting and raving about random things. He does a lot of annoying sh.
    via u/OrdinarySubstance491
  • 05
    Dogmom2013 · 2h ago • The guy in the office next to me hacks loogies (sp?) every 10 minutes and I can hear him pick up his trash can, spit the loogie, and he slams the trashcan into the wall that neighbors mine. Every noise he makes is just obnoxiously loud. Burping, sneezing, constant throat clearing.
    via u/Dogmom2013
  • 06
    DRIVES ME NUTS!!!! The problem- his last name is on our building so there is not really anything I can say. Even with his and my door shut it does not mask the sound.... The walls are too thin.
    via u/Dogmom2013
  • 07
    Crazy-Property4465 • 2h ago Omg when I clicked into this thread I was not expecting that LOL I would absolutely start giggling. For me I think the most distracting thing is when they're sick and they keep coughing. I get paranoid because I don't wanna get sick so I spend the whole day stressed out lol
    via u/Crazy-Property4465
  • 08
    just_so_boring 2h ago I had a coworker who wore big chunky bracelets that would drag on her desk while she typed aggressively.
    via u/just_so_boring
  • 09
    • Joland7000 2h ago I work with people who talk to themselves and one guy who, whenever he notices someone puts on earbuds, he starts talking to them because he thinks it's funny that they have to turn off their music or remove the buds. I've taken to ignoring him
    via u/Joland7000
  • 10
    greenmachine11235 • 2h ago Can't figure out how an inside voice works and is talking, talks about random sh for hours to his cube mates and thinks he's always right while saying things that are complete crp.
    via u/greenmachine11235
  • 11
    properproperp 2h ago I share an office and the guy in there absolutely bashes his keyboard. Bought ANC headphones
    via u/properproperp
  • 12
    Wandering Lights • 1h ago . Scream cackling at 8 am. Seriously nothing is so funny that you have to sound like a hyena for an hour.
    via u/Wandering_Lights
  • 13
    Technical-Dot-9888 2h ago • I knew someone who would.. Flex their muscles every time they got up, they're bench press on the desk as they got up.. Everytime they got up, they'd squat when sitting down.. Every time they sat down, they'd also be touching other people giving them massages, they would also appear in the background of every teams meeting that took place around themselves... Absolutely pain in the they were!
    via u/Technical-Dot-9888
  • 14
    ashleedix . 1h ago Just started a new in-person position and by far the most distracting thing I've encountered are multiple people listening to music/radio talk shows/podcasts out loud with no headphones.
    via u/ashleedix
  • 15
    • Empath_AM ⚫ 1h ago I detest when coworkers are trying to blatantly say hi to me while I'm in a meeting at my cubicle. This happened twice with the same employee. At first I tried to be polite and let him know that what he did was distracting. He never apologized and got offended. The second
    via u/Empath_AM
  • 16
    time it happened he realized I had headphones on. I know it's just a hi but he's one of the employees who's been "annoying" me lately. His whole group of coworkers have been quite entitled so when he tries to say hi without assessing if I'm busy it just comes off as ride.
    via u/Empath_AM
  • 17
    Fickle-Secretary681 . 1h ago A man that loudly eats potato chips one at a time. Agonizingly slow. The crinkle of the bag. The crunching
    via u/Fickle-Secretary681
  • 18
    fisher_man_matt 49m ago The lady in the cubicle next to mine had a few things that annoyed me. She would vape in the office. The vaping itself wasn't the problem. It was the fact that she made a high pitched sucking sound every time she took a hit.
    via u/fisher_man_matt
  • 19
    She also had a habit of clipping her nails. Every single day. She would arrive late and the first thing she would do was clip her nails. I guess it was like sharpening her talons before a fight or something.
    via u/fisher_man_matt
  • 20
    This same coworker constantly cleared her throat. I'm not proud of the fact but one day I decided to write down the time each time she did this. On January 21, 2016, between the time or 1:20 and 2:29 PM, my coworker cleared her throat 45 times. If we take away the time she stepped away from her desk 1:45 to 1:50 and 2:12 to 2:25 (69-5-13-51 minutes) she had an average rate of clearing her throat once every 68 seconds.
    via u/fisher_man_matt
  • 21
    PeaceOut70 • 28m ago We had a gal who would floss her teeth at the break-table after eating her lunch. One day she flicked some crud and it actually hit a guy sitting nearby. He freaked out at her and she finally quit doing it. Man some people just have no friggin social manners or self- awareness!
    via u/PeaceOut70
  • 22
    • catjuggler 1h ago Scrape the bottom of a yogurt cup for 5 minutes after it's empty, leave laptop volume on (and loud). without headphones so everyone in the open office hears the pings and outlook sounds. This is all in the past and why I don't want to give up being remote lol
    via u/catjuggler
  • 23
    Not_HavingAGood Time . 1h ago There was a temp in my office with real bad energy...he would constantly drink very strong coffee and mumble under his breath while walking the hallway. The worst offense was brushing his teeth with an electric toothbrush in the shared break room and while rushing down the hall. He's gone now, thankfully!
    via u/Not_HavingAGood
  • 24
    Criticalfluffs 1h ago • For some, wearing egregious amounts of perfume or cologne. Burning popcorn in the communal microwave. Microwaving a very fishy dish in the communal microwave.
    via u/Criticalfluffs
  • 25
    Spitting their dip into clear vessel. If you've ever been a server, dumping out what you thought was a half empty soda, this is extremely nasty. I did ask nicely if they could at least cover it with opaque tape.
    via u/Criticalfluffs
  • 26
    A coworker coming into the office sick, making a big show of them being sick and subsequently getting the whole office sick. (I know they have such leave so they're just crappy and inconsiderate). Constantly interrupting me to show me YT videos I don't care about. These aren't all the same person.
    via u/Criticalfluffs
  • 27
    TheDollarstore Doctor • 40m ago In every office I've worked at, there's always been the singer.
    via u/TheDollarstoreDoctor
  • 28
    • typhoidmarry 36m ago Cracking their gum, not muting all their alarms and smelly lunches
    via u/typhoidmarry

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terrible coworkers boss antiwork workplace-stories toxic-workplace job bosses work coworkers working reddit story toxic-boss workplace reddit thread bad bosses Reddit coworker toxic-work-environment
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