Office environment 'ruined by colleagues'

Office design news from Morgan Lovell

Published on 20-09-2011

A new survey shows that office workers have quite a list of grievances which ensure they have a miserable time at work.

They are said to get most annoyed by colleagues never making the tea when it is their turn, overly loud phone conversations and people bringing pungent food into work with them.

But it is not just people who annoy; badly working computers are also a key element of the bad office environment.

Samsung Electronics surveyed 1,500 office staff to find that workplace misery can also be caused by slow computer systems, jammed printers and pointless emails. Unusual mobile phone ringtones also cause grief.

Samsung UK’s Dion Smith said: "It’s really interesting to see this can’t-live-with-it, can’t-live-without-it approach to technological developments from office workers in the UK.

"It appears that all the fantastic benefits technology can bring to an office environment are being counteracted by its misuse."

Oases of calm may appear once the automatic paper jam fixer is invented or if toner cartridges could fill themselves, the survey suggests.

Copyright Press Association 2011