There are little things that people do that can cause us to scream in our heads – “Oh My God, Oh My God, Oh My God, will you stop PLEASE!” – but the annoyances are usually so trivial that no one ever really shares their frustration out loud…at least not until it’s too late to sound rational.
Luckily, this blog series compiles a list of remedies to help subside those painful, headache inducing, workplace annoyances.
Today’s installment of Tips to Avoid Workplace Annoyances focuses on diminishing a bout of office laziness and a possible office-wide stalemate.
Rule #2.Did you use the last of something? Great. Now replace it.
My mother, like most, constantly stresses that she is not my maid. And nothing drives my father crazier than when someone uses the last ice cube in the freezer tray and doesn’t refill it.
The same goes for the workplace. Nobody is your maid. If you use the last of the copier paper, or drink the end of the coffee pot, replace it! It’ll only take a minute, and it will save the next person the string of swears they would use if they were to find it empty.
Not only that, but it may also cause a chain reaction among co-workers. “Well Pam never refills the copier, so why should I have to?” And then before you know it, a stalemate is created and everyone is refusing to refill the copier. How will any copying get done?!
Sure there are times when you are in a rush, or you simply don’t even realize that you have used the last of something.
To help, here are a list of things that you should be observant of so that you don’t leave it vacant:
- Copier, Fax Machine, and Printer Paper
- Copier, Fax Machine, and Printer Ink Levels
- Coffee Pot and/or K-Cups
- Water Jug
- Toilet Paper, Paper Towels, Napkins
