'He doesn't have a clue what he's doing': 20+ Employees whose coworkers are driving them crazy

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jul 26, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

There are those special people in your life who can instantly brighten your day just by walking in the room… and these coworkers are exactly the opposite of that. 

No matter what profession you're in, you'll probably come across people who you just don't vibe with. That's not always a bad thing — it's very helpful to have people with different backgrounds working together to get fresh perspectives the various problems your company faces on a day-to-day basis. 

However. However. There are some people whose behaviors seem inexplicably annoying. For example, one person shared that they really adore everything about their coworker except the way that he drinks extremely loudly. Another person's colleague continually brought smelly lunches into the office (to eat at his desk!) until finally management had to make a rule to put a stop to it. And those aren't even the craziest stories, as you can read all about below. 

Next up, read about some mildly infuriating experiences people had while staying as guests, as well as some people who were upset while hosting: "Hotel guest's dog chewed up the remote control." 

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  • 01
    [deleted] Bill is the man. All-around, just a great dude. He's been around for a while, and is super-patient when teaching those of us who are younger about anything under the sun. He took us shooting once, out of the goodness of his heart. He gave me great pointers when I went golfing with him the one time. We shoot the sh about women, politics, finances, you name
    via u/[deleted]
  • 02
    it. Again, just a great dude. But you can hear him drink coffee from the other side of the building. He sips from his mug like he's a starving African child at the straw of a nearly-dried-out Big Gulp. Speaking of big gulps, you might not know this, but the act of swallowing actually does not require you make
    via u/[deleted]
  • 03
    as much noise as possible with your pharynx. And the exhale - my don't warrant a breathing effort half as forceful as his; and it is only compounded by the fact all of this air is being filtered through a mustache so bushy it requires regular watering. Bill, you're the man, but I'm gettin real tired of your sip.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 04
    Tublet Oh those who put a conference call on loudspeaker IN AN OPEN PLAN OFFICE, you !!!!
    via u/Tublet
  • 05
    soomuchcoffee Oh dear god, the personal calls. "Oh. my god. Really? Get out of here. Get out of here. Get out of here. That. Is. Awful. Awful. Oh, it's awful. So awful. What's she going to do? Ya. Ya. Ya. Ya. Awful. Ugh, I know. Ya. Awful!"
    via u/soomuchcoffee
  • 06
    All the while this grown a woman, probably in her 40s, shows up whenever she wants, does low quality work at an easy job (same job as me) and then leaves whenever she wants. My boss thinks shes the best.
    via u/soomuchcoffee
  • 07
    I deal with it by sitting here like a zero and slowly turning my irritation and career frustration into cancer. But hey! Only 40 years or so until retirement!
    via u/soomuchcoffee
  • 08
    [deleted] People who sit down and start talking to me while I'm working my a off. ;
    via u/[deleted]
  • 09
    CaptainPlummet I work in the engineering office of a machine shop. It's usually quiet as we're mostly focused on what we're doing. A bunch of times we've had someone from the floor come into the
    via u/CaptainPlummet
  • 10
    office followed by them going "MAN IT SURE IS QUIET IN HERE!" Well no sh it's quiet. It's an office. I just ignore them in the hopes that they get the hint and quit using that old, tired comment.
    via u/CaptainPlummet
  • 11
    erikha There are so many things but I will distill them: -It's frusterating that I am given work that is already completed by corporate repeatedly so that I am kept busy. I am an intern and I get work done well and usually weeks ahead of schedule, i am totally underutilized in a company that promotes "performance culture" - which is a total crock. I bring
    via u/erikha
  • 12
    it up to my manager all the time and I just keep having to ask for odd jobs. I work for one of Americas largest payroll providers btw... -I hear every embarassing detail of my co-workers lives. I work in a cube and people apparently have no qualms about yelling at their spouse, children, or sharing
    via u/erikha
  • 13
    embarassing medical details very loudly at work. Never understood why this is a thing am i the only weirdo - who goes outside on my cell phone for private matters?
    via u/erikha
  • 14
    [... Talking while I'm trying to concentrate on something important. Usually I sit there like a little b and don't say anything, but one of these days I'll them in their place. put Sometimes I dream about it.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 15
    Sweetmilk_ Socialising outside work as a full group. They even have a facebook group page called "[company name] family." It's a support group, not a social circle. I didn't spend 26 years carefully cultivating a complete lack of community spirit to spend £20 attending your "[work] family barbeque", Laureline.
    via u/Sweetmilk_
  • 16
    hvyrms Yelling questions to co- workers over the cubicle walls or down the hall. And not just a "Hey Bruce?" to see if the person's at their desks. Legitimately having a conversation about what they want him to do work wise. Get the f out of your chair and walk the 6 feet to talk to the person face to face.
    via u/hvyrms
  • 17
    Exacerbated by the fact that we're trying to use an internal IM system more often.
    via u/hvyrms
  • 18
    phailcakez They stand around and talk. I bust my a all day. My job is the ONLY one in the store that is literally timed. If it's not done by 4pm, I'm f ed. The best part is "those people" can, by a few button presses, make my job much harder at any given point in the day and increase my workload without
    via u/phailcakez
  • 19
    meaning to or knowing that they did. Ther are lots of them and one of me. I'm like a wolf protecting my kill when it comes to my workload. They just stand around and giggle about whatever the f ...ah. I feel better.
    via u/phailcakez
  • 20
    [deleted] One f used to eat lunch at his desk every day. We have a wonderful fully- stocked break room that looks like a real kitchen. I don't care about eating at your desk, but it's a small office and this guy would often bring foods with strong odors: tuna sandwiches with extra onions, egg salad, pasta /w tomato sauce and cheese...
    via u/[deleted]
  • 21
    It's distracting as h I when the entire office smells like asparagus dipped in baby farts. We have a stinky food policy now.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 22
    PvP_Noob I have a coworker who clips his nails at his desk at least 3 times a week. I have no idea what kind of medical freak he must be due to the fact he apparently needs to clip his nails that often.
    via u/PvP_Noob
  • 23
    To deal with it, I created an anonymous gmail account and email him links to articles about bad cowokers and their workplace hygiene habits. One of these days | am going to glue his clippers to his desk in such a way they will be impossible to use. near
    via u/PvP_Noob
  • 24
    deadbeatbaby Gossip. About everything and anything. Literally anything. ALL DAY LONG. "Did you see that? Betty already opened up a new box of kleenex!" WHY DOES THIS MATTER? WHY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT IT? WHY?
    via u/deadbeatbaby
  • 25
    azonicstix IT Guy here; my pet peeve is when folks notice a small problem, but fail to report it for weeks. E.G. - "The reporting engine stopped working a few days ago, but the records still showed up, but today the reporting engine doesn't work at all and I can't tell if our recurring donations have
    via u/azonicstix
  • 26
    posted or not." This always seems to happen when we (IT) are buried in projects. Lovely. I usually deal with it by changing their password to something incredibly difficult to remember.
    via u/azonicstix
  • 27
    zach2992 I'm a cashier and there's this one guy who will use the same joke on customers over and over. "Your total is $148. It's a $100 cashier fee. Hahahaha."
    via u/zach2992
  • 28
    He always has jokes along those lines. And he says them to every customer. He's a nice guy, I just can't stand being next to him.
    via u/zach2992
  • 29
    Fourhand Giggle at every thing ever. I press all my emotions into a ball and swallow it to deal with it.
    via u/Fourhand
  • 30
    walrus Coworkers: Take their job too seriously and make terrible policy calls. Sucking up to the boss also. I work a university job that is staffed by students with two managers. I'm a shift supervisor, and we are paid to do "customer service" - not impress the boss, not walk away from our service desk. A recently promoted --
    via u/_______walrus
  • 31
    coworker makes terrible policy calls, cannot handle responsibility, and was only bumped up because he brown nosed our bosses. Management: So disorganized, waste of resources, and staffed by pushovers. Policy's there for a reason, so just enforce it.
    via u/_______walrus
  • 32
    Jukka_Sarasti Walks around the office(cube farm) loudly making and taking client calls on his wireless headset, seemingly oblivious to the hateful stares from the rest of us. Inside voice, Can you speak with it???? !
    via u/Jukka_Sarasti
  • 33
    nom_yourmom The complete and utter bastardization of verbs. "Diligence this." "Pro forma these numbers." Arggggghhh it makes me want to rip my hair out. I don't correct anyone in the
    via u/nom_yourmom
  • 34
    moment, I just always use the correct part of speech. when I'm talking. Just keep on fighting the good fight, hoping I can get everyone to change their terrible ways.
    via u/nom_yourmom
  • 35
    basecom Don't come to me and ask for help without having at least looked into the issue or tried. "Hey, what was the procedure for that thing?"
    via u/basec0m
  • 36
    "You mean that email I sent you yesterday? Go look at the email!" I deal by not helping and just asking a million questions until they walk away.
    via u/basec0m
  • 37
    Chick3n115 Not exist. I mean, I like being by myself, but when you are going on hour 7 of only talking to chickens while working in a hot barn my coworker's non-existence kinda starts to get on my nerves. I mean, it would be one thing for them to just not show up to work, then I could complain about and berate them. But when they just decide to not exist at all,
    via u/Chick3n115
  • 38
    I just come across as a lunatic when I complain about them. So I talk to the chickens, or the lab equipment, or myself. Sometimes I read, or curse at the occasional inanimate object that succeeds in landing an attack on me. It's usually a fairly one sided conversation, as I'm not one to talk much.
    via u/Chick3n115
  • 39
    Cheezburger Image 10534694144
    via LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 40
    [deleted] My co-worker who sits right across from me has the same position as me and 3 other engineers. Here is a list of sh this al hole does: 1. Late every single day. Sometimes half hour-1 hour late, sometimes 3 hours. 2. Never is at his desk. Our job requires us to handle incoming
    via u/[deleted]
  • 41
    technical phone calls all day. Which means our job is to be at our desk. 3. Leaves early 4. Calls out at LEAST once a week. 5. Takes 1 hour lunches EVERY day. We are aloud a half hour, 45 minutes on pay day.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 42
    This then, leads me to our boss. He sees this happening, and does NOTHING about it. It is completely unfair to everyone else, but he is too much of a to fire him or do anything about it. I can't job. wait for a new
    via u/[deleted]
  • 43
    TheSheepPrince Impatiently cutting me off mid-sentence to answer something I did not ask. Makes me look like an idiot AND I am forced to repeat myself. I deal with it by going home and crying a bit.
    via u/TheSheepPrince
  • 44
    b... Guy the next cube over is constantly congested. Allergies, apparently - and I have no idea if he takes anything for it. All day, all I hear is shnrff, shnrff, shnrrrfff, and it drives me bonkers. He sounds just like Mr. Mackey from South Park, and also gets incredibly loud and higher-pitched the more indignant he becomes - which is quite a lot, because
    via u/bunscrupulous
  • 45
    he doesn't have a clue what he is doing and thinks most callers are idiots or are asking him for "miracles". I have to put my earbuds in and blast some music while I'm working just so I don't go crazy. There is also another guy who spends half his shift chatting with everyone instead of working (the rest of us end up having to do his work for him because
    via u/bunscrupulous
  • 46
    otherwise we all get reprimanded as a team). He wanders around the office a lot - sometimes I look up and he's at the other end of the room talking to someone who used to be in our department, but switched.
    via u/bunscrupulous
  • 47
    He also periodically comes. over and sits on my desk, trying to initiate a conversation with me while I'm actually trying to get shi done. Additionally, I'm in training so it's even more - imperative for me to avoid distractions (like inane chatter) while I'm trying to learn.
    via u/bunscrupulous
  • 48
    I don't mind chatting here and there, but it's like... when I'm sitting at my desk on a phone call and doing your work for you at the same time, do you mind not being a bigger pain in the a by trying to talk to me?
    via u/bunscrupulous
  • 49
    lolo_likes_muffins He talks to himself. If I respond to an exclamation (ex: "OH MY GOD! ARE YOU KIDDING ME???" with an "is everything OK?") he responds by saying "I wasn't talking to you". However he clearly says these things for my benefit. I have been keeping a Word file called "Things Ben says to himself" documenting everything he says and when he says it. He
    via u/lolo_likes_muffins
  • 50
    also makes noises, also dutifully recorded in the document (ex: YAWN cho cho cho). It has been going on for 3 years now. Every so often I distribute the updates to former colleagues.
    via u/lolo_likes_muffins
  • 51
    I have a friend who has a coworker who curses at technology (ex: "F THIS PRINTER!!!") who goes so far as to Tweet his coworker's exclamations. live.
    via u/lolo_likes_muffins
  • 52
    aerospce When they respond to an email and you can tell they skimmed it and picked out a few words. I have had replies that almost duplicate what I wrote.
    via u/aerospce
  • 53
    Cheezburger Image 10534694400
    via Andrej Lišakov For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 54
    ThisisFKNBS I've mentioned this before in prior posts but one of my coworkers are doing one of the following: • humming loudly talking on the phone loudly (personal calls) • incessant non-stop burping when she's not humming or talking
    via u/ThisisFKNBS
  • 55
    She is one of the major reasons why I'm looking to get the f out of here. How do I deal with it? By looking to get the f out of here. I'll give her and her supervisors a little piece of my mind when I quit.
    via u/ThisisFKNBS
  • 56
    lilburrito Say "Hey, how are you doing" as they walk by quickly before I can say "Good, and you?" I understand not stopping to chit-chat, totally fine, it's just that, "how are you doing" is a question, and I don't know if I should bother saying anything if you're around the corner already.
    via u/lilburrito
  • 57
    el_monstruo People who act dumb and try to get you to do their work for them.
    via u/el_monstruo
  • 58
    gangnam style CC their manager when they want you to do their work for them.
    via u/gangnam_style
  • 59
    whatthefax The person who has to make friends with EVERYONE in the office. I have no idea how to deal with this, it's annoying as sh and no doubt this is the same person who is heralded as the best worker in the office.
    via u/whatthefax
  • 60
    While everyone else wonders how they get ANY work done, being they are always at other people's desk, not actually working. Sh is infuriating and annoying.
    via u/whatthefax
  • 61
    Beboprockss I have worked a lot in restaurants, and although I don't mind helping out team members, It gets annoying when the same person asks for help constantly. I shouldn't be in the weeds because. YOU S k.
    via u/Beboprockss
  • 62
    [deleted] "Okey dokey, Smokey", "what's the plan, Stanley", "mmmmmkay" all in the same sentence. The same lady has long. winded session with someone for no less than an hour a day. Found out recently it's with her sister that she lives with
    via u/[deleted]
  • 63
    [deleted] This one guy is in his late 40's and is that guy who thinks he's seen everything and HSS experienced everything and therefore knows the most about anything. He's nice but he'll interject his opinion anywhere he can. "Oh yeah I've seen this kind of thing before, its pretty easy when you've dealt with it as many
    via u/[deleted]
  • 64
    times as I have". Then he'll just leave and not help. I was talking to my boss about a newy that I started working with and the guy comes up and says "oh yeah he's a hard worker, I've seen some hard workers in my time".
    via u/[deleted]
  • 65
    Rhetorik_Semantik People in my office sending me emails asking me to do something that they could have accomplished in less. time than it took them to write an email asking me to do it.
    via u/Rhetorik_Semantik

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