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Is Workplace Safety an Annoyance?
London-based Opinium Research recently released the results of its survey of 1,836 people on the things that annoy them about work. Turns out that lots of things bug lots of people. But what shocked me was that workplace safety was considered an annoyance. In fact, it made the top 10 list!
Top 10 Office Annoyances
The survey found the top 10 office annoyances were (in reverse order):
10. Too cold/cold air conditioning (15%)
9. People not tidying up after themselves in the kitchen (15%)
8. People not turning up for meetings on time or at all (16%)
7. Poor toilet etiquette (16%)
6. Too much health and safety in the workplace (16%)
5. People speaking loudly on the phone (18%)
4. The use of office jargon or management-speak (18%)
3. Small talk/gossip in the office (19%)
2. Slow computers (36%)
1. Grumpy or moody colleagues (37%)
Although some of these annoyances may seem trivial or minor, they can impact people’s lives. For example, nearly two-thirds of the people surveyed said their stress levels had been increased by office irritations—and one in 10 had left a job because of these annoyances.
But can someone explain to me how there can be too much health and work? Am I the only one surprised by these results?
Most Annoying Jargon
The survey followed up on the use of office jargon annoyance by asking what the most annoying management-speak phrases were. The top 10 results (in reverse order):
10. Get all your ducks in a row (11%)
9. Bring your A-game (be ready to do something to best of ability) (11%)
8. Push the envelope (12%)
7. I’ve got that on my radar (13%)
6. Let’s not throw pies in the dark (we need a plan rather than
a haphazard approach) (15%)
5. Drill down to a more granular level (look into something in more detail) (15%)
4. Blamestorming (sitting down and working out whose fault something is) (16%)
3. Blue sky thinking (19%)
2. Let’s touch base (20%)
1. Thinking outside the box (21%)
Now this list I totally get! Anyone have suggestions for additions to the list? For example, my colleague Catherine Jones said she hates the phrase “going forward…..” As opposed to what – going backwards or sideways?
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The one that irks me the most is "At the end of the day..."
"we must be more transparent"
"having said that"
"if you need help,"I will parachute in"
Annoyances:
Playing voicemail on the already annoying speaker phone.
Impromptu meetings held by a group gathered by the Admin Assistant's counter while she/he is trying to work. This can also happen at anyone else's desk/cube.
Leaving the conference room door opend during loud meetings.
Jargon:
Proactive - just an annoyingly overused word
24/7 - I have gone to using 8760 (the number of hours in a year)
I am sure there are hundreds of other topics the readers will send in.
Let's do it from the Get-GO!
So, what is a Get and where did it go?
Robin:
Of course it is annoying! As it is always annoying whenever you ask or require people to break out of their "comfort zone", "think outside the box", "work smarter, not harder" or interfere with "they way we have always done it".
The culture, whatever it may be, was there before us and for better or worse, is what people depend on or expect when they arrive for work. People become anxious, even agitated, if their routine is broken without a warning or "heads up". Why is the change necessary? Who really benefits? What's in it for me?
From my experience there is too often a lack of understanding of the current culture or insufficient thought given to what will "win the hearts and minds" of the people we are trying to protect. Abrupt change without planning leads to "push back".
The amount of effort needed to overcome push back is better spent "enlightening" the masses as to the intent and expected outcomes. I believe involvment is better than confrontation.
"6. Too much health and safety in the workplace (16%)"
When someone else imposes an act, a process/procedure, equipment/apparel, and especially rigid rules on annother; expect resentment. Even if well intended. Too many Managers & Safety pros wisk in with a magical solution, and disappear leaving workers encumbered, inconvienienced, and still expect the same productivity from them. No wonder peoople are annoyed. We too often fail to "close the loop". Before a solution is decided, there must be review and input from all parties. Don't be suprised when you ask if the worker has anything to add and get a no. People often have too much at stake to "rock the boat". Make every effort to entice them into a non-thratening debate and find out what they really think. They often hold the key to the best solution.
When every meeting must start with a safety moment, but there is no real passion behind the talk and safety issues being over-looked or ignored - then yes a resentment builds.
Let's be safe, but also work 10-12hrs aday!
Is saving lives annoying? If it's done well, it's seamless.
http://www.mastleyperformancegroup.com
@MastleyThink
"brainstorming" "a-ha moments". Both of these terms irritate me beyond measure. I attended a speech by a well known safety practitioner and the table next to me started taking bets after lunch to see how many times they were peppered through the presentation. The final count for brainstorming use in 2 hours was 35, I believe.
Re-calibrate or "I need to get my head wrapped around this".
Employees become annoyed at safety meetings becasue companies fall into the trap of believing that more is better. There is a point of diminishing return in everything where you are doing more, and getting less value from it.
Instead of giving more safety meeting companies should give less and make sure they are more effective (presumably effectiveness is the reason they're being given in the first place).
When companies have an accident, many times their answer is to give more safety meetings. Unless the environment is extremely dangerous weekly, daily meetings take employees out of production too much and cause them to tune out to the safety meetings they are already having. I can see them rolling their eyes at another meeting they have to attend.
This high volume of safety meeetings allows the company to ask in their next law suit "what more can we do judge, we're giving safety meetings every day already?"
In many cases, less is more. Give less meetings and choose people who are going to give them with some passion, creativity, enthusiasm and humor so the employees are compelled to pay attention and incorporate what they learn into safe behavior.
That's my opinion anyway.
Acronyms!!! The use of acronyms is an ever increasing form of short-cutting the speeches, talks and meetings. Whenever one uses an acronym, they should preface it with the actual meaning.
TMFA . . .Too Many Freakin' Acronyms
How about "team player" and let's be more "team oriented"...the Team thing hit in the 90's and is resurfacing....It drives me crazy
- "You gotta watch your back."
- Ending a seemingly successful meeting where all feel supported and appreciated with "don't forget, blah, blah, blah, can be grounds for dismissal"
- Having the rules and by-laws quoted to you even if you're asking a simple question, like, "How would you recommend I do this?
- "We must work to creat a respectful workplace." That one really baffles me because how can you create a rule for a feeling that results when a person has earned the respect of others?
Taking on other people's garbage is a real pain. If many of the annoying habits people practice were directed at me, I'd begin to wonder if that person had a personal beef against me so I'd ask nicely if I did anything to offend that person and let them know it was not intentional and ask if it can be worked out.
So many people, in stressed out situations, lash out in ways that make a mountain out of mole hill to the point where a person is afraid to laugh, talk, smile or act in ways that show how you are working on destressing - could be interpreted as unserious, blase, too nonchalant... By the time we get to go home, we don't even know who we are anymore because we have to watch ourselves in case someone gets offended if we self-express even in the nicest ways. I have even been told that I made this one person nervouc because I smiled too much. I was smiling because I was happy - I was happy to be alive, I was happy to have a job, I was happy with the people I worked with, I was happy to make a difference.......... And sometimes people get offended because they think I talk too much, so on that note, till we meet again.