Now that we are well on the way to getting things off our chest, I am going to mouth off on some annoying habits of my coworkers. I am sure lot of you would have encountered similar habits.

First up are people who are always not prepared. People who cannot come prepared to a long arranged business meeting should not be there, or in any workplace, in my opinion.

Another group of coworkers who should not work in a modern office are people who cannot work in a team. What can be more annoying than people who only care about their particular limited area, when everyone else is working their hearts off for the team?

Then there are people who expect others to fix, complete, and help out, with the work, not once, mind you, but every time.

A person who cannot give a firm handshake always sends wrong signals. If a person cannot look one in the eye and has a hand that feels like a fish, that makes the whole atmosphere unpleasant

We also cannot help getting annoyed at people with, shall we say, less than perfect hygiene. Smell, body generated or through smoking or alcohol consumption, really turns me off for sure. People, who use too much fragrance, as a habit or to cover-up other smells, also annoy me. Office is not a place for strong smells. Period

Bad phone etiquette especially mobile phone etiquette is a big no-no. This is a so common an annoyance that I hardly need to explain it.

Is there anything more annoying than mobile phones ringing on season and off? They certainly annoy me! That is why I am mouthing off here.

Yes I know they are essential to modern lifestyle. And I know that we should make considerable allowances for everyone’s desire to be in touch in this ultra connected world. However there must be limits somewhere

So where are the limits?

That is a work in progress. As with all new technology new limits and new rules of etiquette will have to evolve. For instance, nowadays it is bad form to write emails in ALL CAPS because that is considered shouting. Unfortunately mobile phone etiquette seems to change from place to place. For example some restaurants ban mobiles altogether, while others are full of patrons talking on the phone while their lunch companions are kicking their heels.

To me basic rule should be simple; respect the other person. In most social contexts person right in front of you should deserve the priority. After all we do not cut in on normal conversation but await our turn, but we think nothing about cutting in through a phone.

Going by that simple rule we should not answer phones while focusing on anything on a social context whether it is a person or a play. We must have a way to shut off the phone when we enter in to such situation automatically. Unfortunately mobile manufacturers so quick to cater to our every need have not been prompt with this.

I know all this is perhaps too much, but then those damn phones are so annoying.

Talking of things that irritates me, top of the line are people who do not take the trouble to spell words correctly. Don’t take me wrong, I can stand and excuse people new to the language or children, who make mistakes while spelling. They are after all just learning.

What I cannot stand are people who should know better.

Forget about others, number of college educated native English speakers who cannot write one sentence without making at least one mistake is simply mind bogglingly high. I know that from personal experience. For the life of me I cannot make out why they should be making mistakes. They have seen and read those words all their life.

When I see such writing I just want to scream my head off sometimes. I mean, even if they cannot spell, can’t they use spell checkers that are standard issue for word processors these days? Why do they not take the trouble of making few more clicks?

In fact such mistakes indicate that these people simply do not care how they treat others and how they themselves want to be treated. It is simply bad manners. They simply do not care and are sloppy, in the same way that people who litter or wipe their hands on upholstery, do not care about all the unpleasantness they are creating.

To an extent we are all responsible for this devil may care attitude in that we do not remind and caution people about their sloppiness when we observe it.