Geofferson

I often long for an office. A room where I can close the door and work in complete silence. However, this is not the case as I work in an open environment - cubicles.

There are a few things that those around me do that drive me crazy. Here's my laundry list:

• I am surrounded by two guys who repeatedly crack their knuckles. Damn, this is annoying.
• I guy on the other side of the wall has a bad lisp.
• One guy laughs like Krusty the clown from The Simpsons.
• One guy sounds like Kermit the Frog.
• Another guy - who apparently has a cold 12 months out of the year - is always sniffling.

Damn I hate cubicles!

heimerSWT

I have an office, but usually keep the door open because it gets warm sometimes.

A woman two offices down does that annoying laugh, where she'll say something, funny or not, and laugh at her own sentence every time. And it is a VERY annoying laugh. They started her out in an open cubicle area, but my boss got her an office because he couldn't stand the sound of her laugh, and her cubicle was right by his office door.

PJAceto

People playing music really pisses me off. You can't escape the noise. How would they feel if I farted outside their cubes?

taa455

Corporate Accounts Payable, Brenda speaking. Just a moment...

(Can't remember if "Brenda" is correct.)

I used to work in a cubicle environment. Not anymore, thank God. The main thing that would always bug me is people who would not only talk LOUD on the phone, but they would also used the handsfree on full volume. Then they would check their freaking voicemail with handsfree too. My only suggestion is that you get some headphones and listen to music.

j123vt_99

that is the 1st one that comes to mind

Geofferson

Yes - that is my only solace. Well, that and the smell of the perfume this pretty gal wears who doesn't sit too far away.

VinVega

Would that be considered your own personal "sweet music?"

Maxwell Smart

Man...I feel sorry for those of you that work in cubes.

garolo

Boredom drives me crazy at work.

Geofferson

That's why there's DVDTalk.

tywebb1976

1) My boss in the cubible next to me (10 feet away) calling constantly. Even to a point hanging up with her, than 2 seconds calling back. Especially annoying since she does this on speaker phone, so I can hear myself talking on her phone. Get up and walk. She also checks her voicemail so loud, that now that I moved offices, I can still hear it.
2) The gossip about reality television every morning. I keep hoping that it will go off the air, but when I hear this conversation, I realize its here for awhile.
3) People that inquire about your weekend non-stop, but won't divulge any information about themselves.
4) At my old job, I worked next to a girl that smoked so much (upwards of 4-6 packs a day), that you could smell her from 20-30 feet away. It made everyone on the team sick. She would leave immediately at 11:30 for her lunch break, where she would smoke more, so we would have to put up with the smell for the rest of the afternoon.
5) People who are sick, that still come to work. Stay at home, and stop from getting me sick. Its okay to not come into work, we can survive without you.

I'm sure there are more, I just can't think of any.

PJAceto

On those rare occasions when i want to listen to music I wear headphones. When I've suggested to others that they do the same, they look at me like I have two heads. And no, I'm not Zaphod Beeblebrox.

Th0r S1mpson

I can't imagine working in a cube with a bunch of other people around. To those who do it, I salute you. The only time I work around other people is at Starbucks or the airport and that's very rare. I spent a day at a business full of cubicles that I was contracting with. I worked 4-5 hours there crunching some code with a team. I got to be in one of the offices with a nice view of Puget Sound and the mountains, but looking at the people in the next room of cubicles, I couldn't believe people spend that much time in those conditions. Even being in the office with a few people, I was trying to get out of there the whole time... I don't mind it for a meeting, that's productive. But trying to quietly work with all that other stuff going on... no, not for me. Plus, there's the confining pants, no Tivo at lunchtime and relatively limited access to food and fresh air.

Any way, what drives me crazy at work? This forum. Talk about a productivity killer.

latenight

1) the boss yells from his office to the employee he wants in their cubicle.
2) the woman that has been here 20 years is deaf and plays her music to loud. (I turned mine up and of all people she was the one to complain, when I was told to turn it down I refused until she turned hers down. now everytime she cranks hers up I crank mine up {Priest over R Charles} until she turns hers down)

Green Jello

I hate the constant temperature fight.

It's currently 78 degrees in here and there are still women in the office asking if we can turn up the heat. I'm sitting here sweating!

Giantrobo

When there's nothing good to watch on Dish Network.

Tommy_Harn

It's Nina.

I have a guy next to me who gets beligerent and whines all the time. Its bad enough that I have listen to his piss-poor sales pitch all day, but whenever a potential customer doesn't do what he wants, he bitches and moans about it like a four year old. He's always checking the fax machine and the mail box to see if anything has come for him, and gets super pissed off when there is nothing for him.

Our boss actually had to change the mail policy last week, because he'll open any piece of mail that might be for him. Now, only the front secretary can open and distribute mail. Mail comes at 11AM, and right now, an hour later, I can see that he's antsy to find out if anything has come for him. I'm just waiting for the day that his head explodes.

latenight

During the summer it stays in the mid to upper 90's. I have to go outside a lot and everytime I leave this one woman turns off the a/c. The thermastat actually reads in the mid 80's at times. We eventually put a lock box on the thermostat.

QuiGonJosh

people...

Eplicon

The building I work in has had, in the past, problems with the thermostat settings. Most of the time, the temperature is never just right -- it's either too cool or way too warm. The women always complain about the former ("It's too cold!"), even though it's a highly comfortable room temperature. So the supervisor either turns on the heat or turns off the A/C (even in the summer!). But when he does that, it becomes a very uncomfortable 80 degrees or more, thus making it much harder to work the rest of the day. No one takes into account all the computers are generating heat, that the room has no circulation and windows you can't open, and that people are pumping massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the air. My production level significantly at that point.

Also when projects are coming to an end, some people like to hoard them to prevent others from getting to them, thus sending them home early.

The other big problem is that most guys -- at least where the "FOB" ones are concerned, don't wash their hands in the rest room.

Jazzbutcher

Having to do actual work.

Hiro11

1. Meetings without definitive conclusions or any real productivity. Even worse when you're running the meeting.
2. Unneccessary business travel. having to spend the night in some Embassy Suites off the highway sucks in and of itself...but doing so for no good reason is ridiculous.
3. Having three bosses. Particularly bad if one reporting relationship is the dreaded "dotted line".
4. Direct reports who show up late ALL THE FRIGGEN TIME. Work skills 101, be...on...time. It's not really that hard.

Breakfast with Girls

Having to, like, <i>do</i> stuff.

There are a few things that annoy me... there's another department on the other side, and they all have cell phones. None of them can leave them on vibrate, and they have to leave them on their desks... with loud rings. What's worse is that they'll go somewhere and leave their phones here, so that throughout the day I'll be trying to do some work and then I'll hear, like, the same annoying electronic jingle or misappropriated concerto repeat four times. Plus fully 50% of the time it's a personal call.

The woman across from me (whom I've never seen) sounds identical (like, doppleganger identical) to Leela from Futurama. That's actually more of a sidenote.

I'm not a big fan of flourescent light, so when I get in in the morning (before everyone else) I like to leave most of the lights off and let the natural light gradually enter the building. Other people prefer the indoor lights. I can understand that, so again, not a big deal. But I'd prefer it my way.

Back to things that annoy me, there's this guy who laughs uproariously after everything he says, even if it's not funny and wasn't meant to be funny. Most other people sort of laugh along to be social, but since I'm a dick, I don't laugh unless he says something moderately amusing. Naturally, he hangs around the one who laughs at stuff he says the most.

retihsuhnt

Mind you this is my first time in a cube, but how in the blue hell do people last long in this enviorment?

I have temps next to me that explain to god and the free world their favorite sexual positions or that the dating service they use isnt working because the guys they are being matched with are to 'clingy'. WTF?!

Everyone and their mother wants to know what everyone else is doing. Ive got a wild idea, ITS NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS.

Hell I was approached by a co-worker about my 'reputation' and I didnt even know the person that I supposedly to have had 'relations' with.

chente

The guy who sits in the cubicle next to me sneezes at Mach 4. I'm surprised his eyes don't pop out when he does it. It usually startles the shit out of me.