Stressed? Your colleagues may be to blame

One cause of workplace stress that doesn't get much official attention has been revealed in a new survey. The people we work with may be the source of the problem.

Recruitment specialist Office Angels questioned 1000 staff recently and identified a long list of complaints about co-workers' behaviour. Each may be insignificant on its own, but taken together they tend to upset us more than we might realise.

Topping the list were:

• not turning off mobile phones in meetings
• writing convoluted e-mails when a phone call would have been simpler
• leaving jammed printers or photocopiers for someone else to fix
• loitering by a desk when someone is on the phone
• petty selfishness

"We spend more time at the office during the week than we do with friends and family," noted operations director Lindsey Petrie. "It is inevitable that people's habits or idiosyncrasies may end up annoying colleagues. If we can recognise this and act upon it, stress levels may decline."

Elliott Chase