With nearly two-thirds of workers now facing mandatory return-to-office policies, disruptive workplace behaviors and office pet peeves are making an unwelcome comeback.

Whether it’s swiping a coworker’s oat milk from the office fridge or interrupting and talking over colleagues, employees are fed up with inconsiderate behavior since returning to the office. New data has found that most workers (75.3%) said bad office etiquette is a “little distracting but manageable”. However, a staggering nearly 1 in 5 (17.5%) admitted office pet peeves seriously disrupt their productivity.

With this in mind, global career expert resume.io surveyed 1,000 full-time U.S. office workers to reveal which office habits and pet peeves have proven the most irritating since returning to in-person working.

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Stealing food revealed as the most annoying office habit

Stealing food from the office fridge is revealed as the most annoying office habit. A staggering 97.2% of respondents said they found this behavior frustrating since returning to in-person work.

Noise-related disruptions follow closely as the second biggest frustrations in the office with 96.4% of workers highlighting loud personal calls as mildly to incredibly irritating. Meanwhile, 95.4% admitted that noisy eating and forgetting to mute while typing or snacking during virtual meetings is driving them crazy.

Rounding off the top three as the most annoying habit, with 95.5% of workers reporting their frustrations, is colleagues constantly talking over others.

Gen-Z tops the list of office offenders, say coworkers

New data reveals Gen-Z workers are seen as the most inconsiderate in the office, topping the list in 17 out of 40 disruptive behaviors. This is unsurprising as 1 in 4 Gen-Z admit that they have never worked in an office before, possibly explaining habits like filming TikToks at their desks, vaping near entrances, and playing music out loud.

Despite differences, loud personal calls and food theft are common annoyances across all generations. The data found Gen-Z’s biggest pet peeve to be vaping near office entrances, with 86% expressing their frustrations. Millennials and Gen-X, on the other hand, are more likely to be bothered by fridge theft and loud phone conversations.

The generation’s biggest pet peeves:

  • Gen-Z: Loud personal calls, being talked over by colleagues, and leaving a mess in shared spaces (break rooms or office kitchens)
  • Millennials: Loud personal calls, food theft from the office refrigerator, and being talked over by colleagues
  • Gen-X and Boomers: Food theft from the office refrigerator, loud personal calls, and being talked over by colleagues

59% of workers want office etiquette lessons since returning to the office

From loud phone calls to poor meeting manners, it’s clear that some people could use a refresher on professional behavior. Nearly 6 in 10 (59%) of respondents said they felt their workplace would benefit from workplace elocution lessons to smooth out day-to-day interactions.

When asked what kind of training would be most useful, Gen Z favors lessons in time management, professional email etiquette, and collaborating with different personality types to avoid conflict. Boomers, meanwhile, were more interested in tackling tech-related challenges to maintain digital decorum at work.

As companies navigate hybrid work and rising RTO mandates, bridging generational gaps could be key to smoother office dynamics.