According to FlexJobs’® Workplace Culture Report, nearly two-thirds of workers said that teammates who take credit for someone else’s work give them the biggest “workplace ick,” or a feeling of disgust and loss of interest on the job. 

The survey of over 2,100 U.S. respondents explored the state of remote and hybrid workplace culture in 2026, including how professional and personal boundaries have shifted as digital collaboration remains the norm and where workers are drawing the line between authenticity and oversharing on camera. 

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Biggest Coworker Icks: Stealing Credit, Micromanaging, & Gossipping

In addition to taking undeserved credit, coworker and manager behaviors that gave respondents the biggest ick on the job included micromanaging (57%), gossiping (54%), and playing favorites (49%). The trend points to a common thread: workers are most turned off by habits they perceive as controlling, biased, or unfair. Other top offenders included:

  • Talking over people in meetings – 41%
  • Scheduling meetings that could have been an email – 34%
  • Acting differently around senior leadership – 33%
  • Coming to work sick – 30%
  • Using “we’re a family” to describe the workplace – 29%
  • Oversharing about their personal life – 28%
  • Taking a long time to respond, then expecting an immediate reply – 28%
  • Messaging about non-urgent things outside work hours – 27%
  • Being consistently late to meetings – 26%
  • Not muting themselves on video calls – 21%
  • Using too much corporate jargon – 17%
  • Requiring cameras to be on during video calls – 17%

“We usually associate the dreaded ‘ick’ with dating, but it can show up in any relationship, including the ones we have at work,” said Toni Frana, Career Expert Manager at FlexJobs. “While getting the ick on the job isn’t always avoidable, it’s often a sign that leadership needs to pay closer attention to the small, daily interactions between coworkers across all career levels to ensure they’re fostering a healthy, supportive environment that benefits everyone.” 

Most Workers Notice (and Some Judge) What They See on Video Calls

Video calls have increasingly become a window into coworkers’ personal lives, and FlexJobs’ report found that what shows up in the background is noticed––and may not always be forgotten. 

The survey reported that for workers who participate in video calls, the majority (76%) said seeing something in a coworker’s background never changed their opinion of that person. However, nearly one-quarter (24%) said it changed their opinion either more negatively (16%) or positively (8%). 

Additionally, among workers who noticed something specific in a background that influenced their opinion, the most common distractions were:

  • Pet(s) barking or making noise – 28%
  • Messy or cluttered space – 25%
  • Children or other household noise – 25%
  • Using a virtual background – 23%
  • Someone walking through or interrupting the call – 20%
  • An unusual location, such as a car or public place – 19%
  • Home decor or personal belongings – 15%

Majority of Workers Prefer to Keep Their Personal Life Close to the Vest

For years, “bring your whole self to work” has been a rallying cry in hiring and company culture, as employers champion greater authenticity and personal openness as a way to build trust and belonging among teams. 

But FlexJobs’ survey suggests most workers are not fully buying in, as only 10% said they share “quite a bit” or “almost everything” about their personal lives at work. Instead, the majority are more selective, basing what they share by coworker or steering clear of personal topics entirely. 

Respondents said they are comfortable sharing:

  • Some things, depending on the coworker – 42%
  • Very little – 21%
  • Only basic personal details – 17%
  • Nothing outside of work – 10%
  • Quite a bit – 7%
  • Almost everything – 3%

When asked which personal topic they think colleagues overshare about most, relationships and dating topped the list (34%), suggesting that romantic details are where workers feel the line gets crossed most often, ahead of politics or family matters. The top answers were:

  • Relationships or dating – 34%
  • Politics – 15%
  • Family matters – 8%
  • Relationship with their boss or other coworkers – 7%
  • Money or finances – 4%
  • Health or wellness – 3%