‘Space Invaders’ reduce office productivity

Who you work with can greatly influence how you work. Attitude and energy can have a huge effect on your output, but sometimes you can’t avoid working with colleagues that might be hindering your productivity. Cloud-based work management company Workfront has released a study detailing the most common types of colleague likely to sap your energy and reduce your efficiency in the workplace.

Often appearing just as you get into a rhythm or when you’re in overdrive to meet your end of the day deadline, Workfront has detailed its top five ‘Space Invaders’.

1. The Oversharer
Often found telling the office in detail about their unusual medical conditions or relationship habits, the distraction could last hours as you try to shake the images from your mind. Instead of just smiling and feigning interest, try changing the subject, bringing the conversation round to something more appropriate for the workplace.

2. The Inbox Inundator
Filling up your inbox with overly wordy emails through the day, or unnecessarily hitting reply all to an office email rather than just dealing with the relevant recipients can be overwhelming when you’re trying to sift through your emails to find the important data. Setting up filters to automatically send emails from certain people to specific folders can help reduce the flow of messages, giving you the opportunity to read through their emails separately.

3. The New Best Friend
You may not have much of a choice, but someone at work may have taken a shine to you, and you may even get messages out of the office. Like a personal Oversharer, your New Best Friend may fancy talking to you at inappropriate times. Keeping things polite and explaining how you like to keep your work and personal lives separate may be the solution to your problems.

4. The Note Stalker
You may go days without any physical interaction with this employee, but that doesn’t stop them from leaving cryptic, vague, or blunt emails and sticky notes on your desktop. The easiest solution is to avoid confusion and talk face-to-face, either through an informal or formal meeting, and try to open up more channels of communication.

5. The Cubicle Crusher
The opposite to the Note Stalker, this colleague wants to spend too much time at your desk instead of their own, feeling the need to constantly talk face-to-face. Either for a friendly chat or a work catch-up, the Cubicle Crusher prefers speaking to the written word. If you prefer some peace in the mornings, try encouraging more email conversations where possible.

You can view the whole graphic here. What are the worst traits in your co-workers and how do you tackle them? Let us know @PALifeMag