11 Annoying Work Habits Smart People Quietly Tolerate Until They Quit
Smart people know not to leave a job until they have something else lined up, but that doesn't mean they have to take bad behavior lying down.
Freeman Studio / Shutterstock Some people choose to quietly quit, or slowly do less and less work until they are only doing what is absolutely mandatory. Others don’t like this idea, so they put up with whatever annoying things are happening in their workplace. But, the whole time, they’re secretly planning their escape. They tolerate those annoying habits until another door opens and they’re able to quit, or, until they simply can’t take it anymore and quit, with or without a backup plan.
According to psychologist Ronald Riggio, a lot of workplace annoyances are caused by toxic bosses, but we still tend to follow those bosses. One of the reasons for this is what he calls “cognitive laziness.” He explained, “We get lazy and kind of accept things the way they are.” This could be used to describe a lot of toxic or annoying work habits. Instead of working towards change, we just accept what exists. Smart people have a plan to get out when things get bad, though.
Here are 11 annoying work habits smart people quietly tolerate until they quit
1. Being expected to do other people’s work
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One annoying work habit that smart people will quietly tolerate until they don’t have to anymore is being expected to do other people’s work. This can look like many different things. Maybe it means that your co-workers aren’t getting all of their work done, and you have to pick up the slack. Maybe people are constantly calling out, and you have to cover for them. Whatever the situation may be, doing work that’s not your own is not only no fun but also unfair.
Inc. columnist Alison Green addressed this issue in a response to a reader who wrote in to the publication about their own problems being expected to do a co-worker’s job in addition to their own. Green recommended redirecting anyone who came to this person about their co-worker’s job to their actual co-worker. If their manager asked questions, they could express their concern that the work isn’t being done, but say they don’t have the authority to address it with their co-worker.
Of course, if it’s the manager themselves who expect you to do other people’s work, that doesn’t help much. In that case, it really is best to quietly tolerate the deluge of extra work while looking for a way out. There’s really not much else you can do, and smart people understand that. Sometimes you just have to grin and bear it.
2. A messy office
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This is a tricky one because you do have some control over the environment you work in. You can choose to keep your own desk neat and tidy, even if the rest of the office is in a state of disarray. Of course, if the office is a pigsty, that’s bound to be distracting, even if you keep your corner of it as orderly as possible. Smart people will keep maintaining order at their own desks and try to ignore the chaos around them.
Adrian Harvie from The Abbey Cleaning Service had some suggestions for keeping a workplace tidier. Harvie recommended taking 10 minutes out of one day each week to give employees a chance to clean up after themselves. Workers can also try to care for plants, which will require a cleaner environment. Additionally, Harvie said it’s a good idea to make cleaning as easy as possible and to give the least neat employee an extra task or two as motivation.
This is helpful advice if an employer is willing to make changes to their office environment, but sometimes, they are a part of the problem. If the boss doesn’t attempt to keep the workplace clean, then there’s little reason for anyone else to put forth an effort. This is something that smart people will simply force themselves to deal with until they leave the workplace altogether.
3. Co-workers gossiping
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If you’re the kind of person who likes to mind their own business and keep to themselves, having co-workers who frequently gossip can be really annoying. Even if they’re not spreading rumors about you, just dealing with the act of gossiping is tough, as it can be distracting and bother you if you’re a private person. What’s even worse is knowing that they’re gossiping about you, or suspecting they are behind your back.
Nancy Kurland and Lisa Hope Pelled wrote an article that was published in The Academy of Management Review. They said that co-workers who gossip can cause a major problem, especially if one (or more) of those co-workers is in a position of power. It wastes time, destroys trust, and truly hurts people. It can lead good workers to search out opportunities elsewhere and even create division as everyone inevitably takes sides.
As harmful as having gossipy co-workers can be, smart employees don’t let it get to them. Instead, they tolerate the consequences of these gossips in silence while they figure out how to make their next move. They have no intention of staying at a company where the culture is so toxic, but they have to put up with it for the time being.
4. Doing more work than others
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Something that can be really frustrating at work is coming to the realization that you’re doing more work than others. This may not be something that’s immediately apparent because you may not really have a good handle on what other people’s responsibilities are, or how yours compare. But, with time, if you’re in this situation, you’ll come to see that you’re putting in more work than everyone else, which is completely unfair.
Writing for non-profit Empower Work, Mackenzie Waldron called being given more responsibilities without a raise or promotion “quiet hiring.” This can lead to employee burnout and frustration. Waldron said that one remedy can be talking to your manager and trying to work out a more equitable plan. However, she also pointed out that this may be a sign you should look for work elsewhere.
That’s what a smart person would do. They would put up with these new responsibilities while looking for another option. Smart people don’t rock the boat. Or, if they do, they approach their manager and ask for help once. They know if the help doesn’t come after that conversation, it’s not likely to come at all, so it’s time to move on.
5. Unclear directions
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Another annoying work habit is dealing with unclear directions from your supervisors. Maybe they don’t tell you what to do at all and expect you to figure it out on your own, or they give you some vague instructions on how to complete a project that don’t really make any sense. Whatever the case, being left with unclear directions at work can leave you feeling a lack of confidence and unsure of how to go about your job.
Writing for The Muse, Kat Boogaard suggested coming up with a basic outline of what you think needs to be done and asking your supervisor if it sounds like a good idea to them. “If your boss provides you with sweeping generalities and incredibly vague directions, that’s usually an indication that he has no clue where to get started himself, which is why the task is being shifted onto your plate,” she said.
If this happened a handful of times, it’s possible that you could deal with it. However, experiencing this on a regular basis is a sign that a job, and a boss, may not be a good fit. It means that you’re pretty much expected to come up with your own ideas for tasks that should be assigned to you. A smart person would take that as a sign to bide their time until they could leave.
6. Working long hours
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For some people, working long hours isn’t a problem. They don’t mind working overtime and getting paid for it. The real problem occurs when you’re working long hours and not being properly compensated, or being forced to work those long hours, or both. This is a big red flag. You should always be paid for the work you do, and you should have a say in whether or not you work longer hours. If a company doesn’t give them either, a smart person will know they’re not valued there.
Nina Semczuk shared her own story of working 16-hour days with The Muse. She said it was imperative for her to eat when she needed to, so she didn’t become “hangry.” She also prioritized her health by considering working out “a mandatory part of [her] job.” Perhaps most importantly, she got everything she would need in the morning ready the night before, even when she was exhausted.
Smart people will see right through working long hours without proper compensation as being taken advantage of. And, even if they are paid, they may not want to work those long hours. In that case, they’ll look for somewhere else where they can make an impact, all while quietly tolerating conditions at their current workplace. They’ll know that eventually they’ll land somewhere better.
7. Co-workers bullying you
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A step up from co-workers merely gossiping and spreading rumors is co-workers actively bullying you. It’s likely to look subtle, as you aren’t exactly all on the playground anymore. Maybe they make passive-aggressive comments, laugh at you behind your back, or make fun of the way you do something. Whatever it is, it is bound to be hurtful and make you wish you could leave as quickly as possible.
Writing for Career Contessa, Erin Strybis noted that the Workplace Bullying Institute said that being bullied at work is actually four times more common than sexual harassment. As she said, it can be hard to identify a workplace bully for what they are, “especially given our cultural norms.” In our society, being aggressive and type A at work is a good thing. Because this is typical, it can easily mask bullying and make you think it’s something else.
Smart people certainly won’t just accept workplace bullying and put up with it. No one should. Instead, they’ll look for a way out while they appear to quietly tolerate the behavior. Of course, they’re secretly doing no such thing. They’re actually seeking out a workplace where they’ll be valued and the environment is welcoming.
8. A micromanaging boss
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One of the worst things to have to deal with at work is a boss who is a micromanager. You just want to get your work done and do your job. Basically, you want to get in and get out so you can still live your life. Micromanagers make that impossible. They need to have control over every little thing you do, and don’t let you have the independence you deserve. This is extremely annoying.
Forbes’ Expert Panel wrote, “As a leadership style, micromanagement is typically not only ineffective, but also detrimental to the performance of the manager’s team. While being more involved might make bosses feel more in charge, sooner or later, their direct reports will start to feel untrusted, undermined, and resentful. When productivity and morale begin to suffer under the strain of micromanagement, cycles of frustration and distrust can hinder good work on both sides of the manager-employee relationship.”
Smart people will be able to swiftly identify their boss’s micromanaging habits as exactly what they are and recognize that it’s not a good fit for them (or anyone, really). They’ll quietly tolerate and go along with whatever their boss asks of them while they plan to quit. Not all bosses are micromanagers, and they’ll know that they can find a better one who will actually trust them to do their work somewhere else.
9. Being singled out
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Another annoying work habit is being singled out. Obviously, you can be singled out in a good way when your supervisor praises your work in front of your co-workers. But there’s also a bad side to it all. Maybe a project that didn’t perform well was a team effort, but your manager only blames you for the failure. Or, maybe you’re still learning how to do the job, but your boss repeatedly calls you out for making little mistakes. Whatever’s happening, being singled out may not be a good thing, like you think it could be.
Newsweek reporter Leonie Helm said this can actually be your boss’s way of “managing you out.” It basically means that your boss is trying to force you to quit while keeping their own hands clean. Jayne Sinclair, from Julian Taylor HR Solicitors, told Newsweek, “The term refers to when a manager makes an employee’s life so unpleasant, they decide to resign. A manager might create a hostile environment such that an employee feels they have no option but to leave.”
Being singled out could certainly be considered a form of being managed out. It would certainly make one’s work life miserable. Smart people will take it on the chin and hold out on quitting until they have a solid plan in place. Quitting is exactly what their boss wants them to do, so they’ll do it in a way that will be the least satisfying to them. They’ll have to watch their former employee move on to another company where they’ll thrive.
10. Too many meetings
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Have you ever been in a meeting and thought that whatever was being discussed did not require a meeting at all? Have you had the ever-popular phrase “this meeting could have been an email” cross your mind? If so, you probably think your workplace has too many meetings. While this isn’t the worst thing in the world, it can certainly be annoying, especially if you prefer working alone or didn’t know how many meetings you were signing on for when you took the job.
Microsoft performed a study to determine how much time employees really had to focus. Of the 31,000 participants, 68% said they felt like they didn’t have enough uninterrupted time during the day to actually get their work tasks done. Meetings were, unsurprisingly, found to be the top thing distracting employees from productivity. 55% of participants said it’s even difficult to know what the next steps to take are after a meeting.
Having too many meetings isn’t the end of the world, and may not even be bad enough for some people to leave their jobs. But smart people will struggle with this. They want to get their work done and do what they have to without distractions. So, while too many meetings might sound like a minor inconvenience, they’ll still be looking for something better.
11. Being expected to be available at all hours
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One of the most dreaded things any workplace or manager can expect is for their employees to be available 24/7. Whether it’s after hours or they have the day off, some managers still think their workers should answer the phone, reply to emails, and respond on Slack or Teams. Obviously, this is unreasonable. When you leave work, it should be done for the day (or weekend, or vacation, or whatever time). But, for some managers who see work as their life, they expect everyone else to feel the same.
Writing for The Muse, Melody J. Wilding said that some bosses are workaholics, which leads to nothing but burnout for them and for you. As difficult and intimidating as it may be to have a conversation about boundaries and work-life balance, Wilding said that’s exactly what you need to do. “Aim for open and productive communication, and don’t assume your manager is out to get you,” she stated. She pointed out that your manager’s workaholic tendencies may be learned behavior that comes from the pressure their own boss puts on them.
Nevertheless, if talking to your manager proves fruitless, you can’t stay somewhere if you’re expected to be available all the time. Smart people know this and will be quietly tolerating the behavior until they quit. They know there will be a better place for them to apply their talents and skills where their wishes about work-life balance will be honored.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
