Ten reasons to sneak off from your desk
Despite your best intentions, it isn't always possible to stay at your desk. Here are 10 desk transgressions that will repel you from your work every time.
Despite your best intentions, it isn't always possible to stay at your desk. Here are 10 desk transgressions that will repel you from your work every time.
1. Loud phone conversations
Colleagues who talk loudly on personal calls can be infuriating. It can be nearly impossible to stay at your desk when they launch into one of those long-winded private conversations with their beloved about dinner tonight followed by their summer holiday plans.
2. Repulsive smells
Just as you unwrap your takeaway and look forward to a moment of peace, someone nearby inevitably slips off their shoes despite clearly suffering from smelly feet. Run for it, and take your food with you.
3. The chip muncher
That familiar rustle of the chip packet and then the loud crunching of your colleague can be one of the most distracting sounds known to any office worker.
4. Germ spreaders
The growing pile of dirty tissues just inches from your desk and boxes of tablets leaves no doubt that your colleague is sick, and that you're about to get sick, too.
5. Fire alarm tests
The perfect excuse to go out and grab a coffee at your nearest and dearest cafe.
6. Paper jam
If you're the last one to send a document to the printer and it's jammed the machine, it's hard to get any work done until it has been fixed - a perfect excuse for a wander around the office.
7. The roaming boss
Most bosses like to venture out to the office floor from time to time, making most of us extremely nervous. If you were collared for a chat last time, consider whether you could escape the pep talk by diving into the nearest office for a "bit of advice" from a colleague.
8. A mountain of emails
Email overload has only one solution: walk away.
9. Celebrations in the tea room
You might have a deadline looming, but you just spotted a magnificent cake being carried into the tea room for a colleague's birthday. Resistance is futile.
10. The sound of music
Your colleague might like a little music while they're working, but that doesn't mean you do.
1. Loud phone conversations
Colleagues who talk loudly on personal calls can be infuriating. It can be nearly impossible to stay at your desk when they launch into one of those long-winded private conversations with their beloved about dinner tonight followed by their summer holiday plans.
2. Repulsive smells
Just as you unwrap your takeaway and look forward to a moment of peace, someone nearby inevitably slips off their shoes despite clearly suffering from smelly feet. Run for it, and take your food with you.
3. The chip muncher
That familiar rustle of the chip packet and then the loud crunching of your colleague can be one of the most distracting sounds known to any office worker.
4. Germ spreaders
The growing pile of dirty tissues just inches from your desk and boxes of tablets leaves no doubt that your colleague is sick, and that you're about to get sick, too.
5. Fire alarm tests
The perfect excuse to go out and grab a coffee at your nearest and dearest cafe.
6. Paper jam
If you're the last one to send a document to the printer and it's jammed the machine, it's hard to get any work done until it has been fixed - a perfect excuse for a wander around the office.
7. The roaming boss
Most bosses like to venture out to the office floor from time to time, making most of us extremely nervous. If you were collared for a chat last time, consider whether you could escape the pep talk by diving into the nearest office for a "bit of advice" from a colleague.
8. A mountain of emails
Email overload has only one solution: walk away.
9. Celebrations in the tea room
You might have a deadline looming, but you just spotted a magnificent cake being carried into the tea room for a colleague's birthday. Resistance is futile.
10. The sound of music
Your colleague might like a little music while they're working, but that doesn't mean you do.
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