Top 10 Workplace Pet Peeves

In no particular order.

1) LOUD NOISES - My distaste for loud noises is chronicled in a previous post. (see "I Hate the Air Show") At work it can be co-workers eating loudly or talking loudly. Eating is for the break room and I"M RIGHT HERE! There's no need to yell. I'll say it again. I need an office.

2) NOT MY BUSINESS - Speaking of talking loudly, how about the person in the office who talks about personal matters on the phone, at a volume everyone can pick up. All you can do is walk out of the room. Or break out the ear buds. (similar to headphones for older folks like me)

3) BEING PAGED - Everything else on this list is just an annoyance. This one really gets under my skin. I don't like being paged to the set, though it is sometimes necessary. I don't like it when people page and ask me to call them. I anchor four half-hour shows a day and produce a 20-minute show. That means I'm sitting at my desk about 85-percent of my workday. So chances are I will be there if you call my extension. No need to page! Of course, all my co-workers will read this and start paging me all the time. Jerks!

4) MANAGEMENT - Nuff said.

5) DIRTY BATHROOMS/BREAK ROOMS - Just act like you're at home. And if you say you would do the same at home, I'll pray for you.. or your wife.. or your mother, 'cause you may never find a wife if you're living like that.

6) KICKERS ABOUT WORLD RECORDS - Kickers are the light stories we run at the end of newscasts. One of my co-workers can't stand it when we run a story about world record efforts. Girl Scouts setting up the world's longest lemonade stand, Belgian chef making the world's biggest waffle, Rock Island going for world's longest recount, etc. He despises them all. I had another former co-worker who hated stories about panda cubs. Weird people in this business.

7) DOING A STORY FOR SALES - "Hey these guys want us to go out and do a story on blah, blah, blah. They are big advertisers with us. Do you think you could do it?" I always want to say, "Yeah sure, but there's this guy starting a business in town. He's helped us with a few story tips in the past. Do you think you could give him some free ad time?" But that's not my job. If only management would step in and... yeah.

8) TANKING READS - Burns my BLEEP when I see this. Some anchors will, at times, either because of their mood or apathy, will read their stories like they would rather be taking a nap. I'll admit it can be hard to find energy in the last half-hour of your workday. But it is the most important half hour of the day for news anchors. I'm sorry. Just go home early if you don't want to be there. I want to point out this in no way applies to my current co-anchors.

9) THE CONSTANT COMPLAINER (A.K.A. the Mayor of Whinetown) - Some people aren't happy unless they are a little unhappy. I understand this. I just don't want to hear it sometimes. There are times to be complain. But if you are the boy/girl who bitched wolf, no one can tell when to take your complaints seriously.

10) NO WATER COOLER - I've been working at least part-time for nearly 20 years, and only one of my employer's had a water cooler. It was great! The water was clean and ice cold. Plus, it gave me opportunities to get up and stretch my legs. Tap water just doesn't motivate me in the same way.

And a little lagniappe:
THE GUY WITH WEIRD NERVOUS HABITS - This may seem hard to believe, but I once worked with this guy who rubbed his hands together vigorously when he was excited or angry; like he was trying to start a fire or something. He also rubbed the back of his head like a maniac when he was upset, to the point he should have been bald in the back.. hummed songs to himself nearly constantly.. and clicked his heels together when he was standing, like he just couldn't stand still. The strangest part is no one but me seemed to mind.