15+ Employees whose coworkers are driving them up the wall: 'He doesn't get my social cues of when I want to end a conversation'

Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor

Jan 18, 2026 3:00 PM EST

We all have that one coworker whose very presence shifts the vibe in the whole office.

Much like how you can't choose your family, you can't really choose your coworkers, either. I mean, you can quit if you want to, but most of us don't quit because our coworkers are irritating. If the pay is good and you enjoy working with your boss, you'll usually tolerate an annoying coworker or 2. But that doesn't mean you're having a great time, either. Even the smallest of irritants can balloon into major headaches when you're spending 40 hours per week with someone. It's similar to a single grain of sand irritating an oyster into producing a pearl… but instead, your coworker is the sand, and you're the oyster, and the pearl is the office gossip about said person which only gets better with time. The pearl is all of the very funny stories you'll tell to your BF or GF, since they're invested in the day-to-day happenings of this crazy person. It might be super annoying in the moment, but those are the times that you use a coping tactic. You can easily pretend to be Jim from "The Office" give a knowing look towards the nearest wall, pretending it's a camera capturing your exasperation.

Every workspace has its own etiquette, and it takes newcomers time to adjust. For example, a lot of email jobs now take place in big open offices. There might be a conference room or 2, but basically all conversations happen out in the open. When a new person steps in, they might have a bunch of full-volume, super loud chats with their new coworkers, never realizing how disruptive they're being. A similar kind of thing happens with strong-smelling foods. There's nothing technically wrong with bringing in leftover seafood soups or big bowls of sausage and onions and nuking it in the office microwave. However! Everyone is going to have to smell your food. If it smells delicious, you're going to make everyone hungry, and it if it reeks, there's no escape from that odor of your leftovers.

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Not to mention the verbal tics that people have — when you're spending all your working hours with a person, you quickly realize that they repeat words or have annoying catchphrases. However, the worst thing you can do in any office is bring your B.O. with you to work. Just smelling good will get you so far in the world. Brush and floss, wear your deodorant, and wear fresh clothes every day. But don't take it too far — your perfume and cologne have no place in the office, no matter how great you think you smell.
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'That annoying coworker - what does he/she keep doing?'

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