Workplace bugbears – management jargon tops the list

Office staff are most irritated by management catchphrases and jargon like “let’s touch base” and “thinking outside the box”, according to a new poll on office bugbears.

Research by the Institute of Leadership and Management shows employees also get wound up by colleagues sending them emails when they are close enough to talk to them directly, as well those who eat lunch at their desk and then leave dirty, smelly plates lying around.

More than 2,000 managers were quizzed about what their biggest bugbears were in the workplace. They revealed that their nightmare employee would be someone who is often late, regularly leaves the office to smoke and comes into the office spreading germs when they are unwell.

Lack of discretion winds up colleagues

Other things likely to make staff unpopular with colleagues were gossiping, discussing confidential work matters and bringing children into the workplace. 

Almost two out of three managers said colleagues being late was the thing that annoyed them the most, while 56% said they were irritated by workers who email instead of talking.

Charles Elvin, Chief Executive of the Institute of Leadership & Management (ILM), said: “When office-based teams work in close proximity for long periods of time, we see that seemingly trivial issues can grow disproportionately, if left unchecked. They can begin to cause upset and resentment.”

One way to try and reduce tension among your workforce is to make sure you have the right kind of work space in a convenient location. Bizspace offers flexible and affordable business space in more than 100 locations nationwide, with everything from offices and studios to industrial units  and virtual offices. We’re sure to have something that will offer the ideal work environment for both you and your staff, giving them one less thing to get wound up about.

Improve communication

The report from the ILM recommends interacting less by email to get on better with colleagues, claiming that face-to-face conversations and speaking over the phone are often more effective ways of communicating.

Professor Cary Cooper, from Lancaster University Management School, blamed the high tension levels in the office on the fact many people spend most of their time in the office.

He said: “The office is our first home, and then we have a place that we go to sleep and wake up to have breakfast with the kids for 20 minutes in the morning. Millions of workers spend more of their waking hours at work than they do at home.”

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