Rudeness spilling into the office
Are you guilty of any of these 10 offenses?
Rudeness is running rampant in the office these days.
While loud talkers and food stealers used to be the main culprits – and they still make the cut – these days, rudeness is taking on a distinctly 21st-century vibe.
Did you hear about the new trend of quitting via text? Or about ghosting, done by new hires who, having apparently found a better gig before their start date, don’t even bother to show up for the job? No word, no notice, nada, nothing.
Not even a text.
Whether it is a toxic political culture that seems to not just tolerate but celebrate rudeness, or a generation perhaps not taught a lot of manners, it’s difficult to deny that we are in a regrettable era of increased rudeness that is spilling over into the office.
Who are the worst workplace culprits?
The Phone Abuser: Do you have coworkers whose necks must hurt from all of the time they spend trying to steal glances at their phone during a meeting? Or worse, the ones who text during the meeting? Or worst, she who texts during a conversation.
Loudmouth: You know Loudmouth, right? Loudmouth doesn’t know their inside voice. Loudmouth apparently
thinks you are really interested in his private phone calls. Loudmouth cares not if he interferes with your concentration. Food Stealer: You know who you are, Food Stealer, and we want our lunches back.
Scene Stealer: Not to be outdone, Scene Stealer thinks nothing of taking credit for someone else’s work. The only thing worse than a scene-stealing coworker is a scene-stealing boss.
The Interrupter: The Interrupter loves the sound of his own voice. He thinks every idea he has is so good, so important, that it necessitates that he replace your thought with his.
Headphone: Hey, don’t bother me, can’t you see I have my headphones on?
Ms. Double Pneumonia: Double pneumonia goes like this:
You: “I’ve been so sick lately. In fact, my doc thinks I have pneumonia.”
Co-worker: “You have pneumonia? Wow, sorry to hear that, but did you know that last month I had double pneumonia?!”
It’s rampant, right? You went to Hawaii? Well, guess what? I went to Bali! You had to work late last night? Too bad. I had to work all weekend!
Clueless: Clueless doesn’t realize that he put on too much cologne. Or that she needs to wear deodorant. Or that you are having a bad day.
The Slob: Apparently the Slob thinks that there is a maid service that will clean up after him, or wash her dishes, or throw out his rotten food or wipe up after her spilled coffee.
Tardy Tom: Tom was an old co-worker of mine who was always late and thought nothing of holding up Every. Single. Meeting. That is, of course, until he was canned.
And let’s just say, it wasn’t by text.
Steve Strauss, @Steve Strauss on Twitter, is a lawyer specializing in small business and entrepreneurship who has been writing for USATODAY. com for 20 years. Email: sstrauss@mrallbiz.com. You can learn more about Steve at MrAllBiz.com.
The views and opinions expressed in this column are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect those of USA TODAY.