10 things that really annoy your boss and solutions
Arriving late
Arriving late in the morning as well as for meetings is something that is accepted on occasions for genuine reasons but when it becomes a regular occurrence and excuses are transparent, you will make your boss highly frustrated.
Solution: Work out why you are late and resolve it. If your alarm is not loud enough, change it. If you are going to sleep too late, go to bed earlier. Get a timer on your phone/computer that alerts you 5 minutes before meetings! It is not rocket science but by addressing the issue, you will work towards making your boss a happy one.
You are office gossip
You get involved in social activities that cause a stir and give colleagues something to talk about. You could be outspoken and potentially upset others around you. Whatever it is, your boss ends up hearing about it too.
Solution: Being topic of conversation is not something to be proud of, so take some time to re-evaluate who you are and who you want to be and avoid situations that can bring you to the forefront of gossip. You are at work for another reason.
Answering your mobile
Anytime your phone rings, you answer it and take the call like you are sitting on your sofa. Even though you may still be staring at your computer screen and look like you are working, your mind is on the conversation.
Solution: Even if you are allowed to answer your phone in the office, keep the phone on silent and only answer the calls that are important and urgent. Save the chats for after work and if you need to speak to a friend, tell them you will call them back later. Be respectful of your working environment.
Messing around with colleagues too much
There will always be office banter and silly pranks which makes working life fun, but if you are all turning into clowns and messing around as soon as the boss walks away from their desk, it will become obvious and soon highly annoying. Performance of individuals will be affected longer term and the general atmosphere will start to change.
Solution: Keep the messing around to break and lunch times and remind work colleagues of this. Do not get pulled into regular messing around. Fridays are also a good day to have a bit more fun but be mindful that you are still at work.
You are forgetful
You forget meetings, deadlines, emails to reply to and more. Your boss constantly has to remind you and you find it annoying that they input by reminding all of the time.
Solution: Get a diary, whether it is on or offline and swear by it. Set yourself alerts in your online calendar which pop up when you need to do something important.
Talk too much
You are a chatterbox with colleagues, clients, customers, friends & your boss. You do not listen to others and turn the conservation around to suit what you want to talk about. Your boss finds you incredible annoying to sit around and you become a distraction to everyone.
Solution: Start limiting yourself. Be conscious about your conversations you have on the phone with clients and customers and stay focused on the objective of the call. Keep the small talk conversations with colleagues and your boss to a minimum and outside of working hours; before work, break-time, lunch and after work. Start to be more aware yourself and how much you chat and begin trying to stop yourself when you realise you are being that ‘chatterbox’.
Calling in sick
You start getting a name for yourself with your 8am sick calls. You become the ‘unreliable’ employee and even have been given a warning. It becomes obvious that you are not unwell when it is not just the odd day off but a regular Monday or when the sun is out!
Solution: Set yourself a limit if you are someone who regularly calls in sick and reduce the amount of times you make that call. It is not good for your record or potential reference when you move to your next company. Some companies require you to make your way into work and then if you are unwell, they will send you home. Be careful or this may end up being what is required of you if your boss thinks you are taking him/her for a ride.
Think everything you do is urgent
A regular panic-er and frantic worker who wants everything signing off there and then, every email responded to immediately and gets on everyone’s case without the respect for giving others time to do their job.
Solution: First analyse how ‘urgent’ your matter is before you pursue it as one.
Complain about workload
You regularly mention how much work you have to do, huff and puff at the sight of it and look unhappy.
Solution: Are you really unhappy with the workload and do you feel over-worked? If so, speak to your manager one-to-one and address it directly and seriously. Do not spend your days moaning, stressing, complaining as this will become annoying.
Problems not solutions
You always approach your boss when you have a problem and get quite stressed with it. This problem is presented without a solution so you leave your boss having to consider the issue and come up with solutions alone.
Solution: Before presenting the issue, think about how you would suggest over coming it. Even if you have just one solution, suggest it. Multiple solutions would be great and your boss will be impressed.
Do any of these resemble you and your behaviour? If so, take a step back and find a solution….for you. It is easier to address these issues now before they become a real problem for your boss. You do not want your behaviour to grate on your boss and for you to end up being an annoying employee that they want to try to manage out. Self-awareness is key and remember work is work.
