Accounting Staff Among Those Most Likely to Receive Ire of Colleagues

In the office, there’s a strong likelihood that there’s someone who doesn’t always play by the rules. They might do so because they hate their job, don’t get along with their colleagues or just because they have their own way of doing things. Whatever the reason may be, they always find a way of making things more difficult for everyone else in the office.

A survey conducted amongst office workers throughout the UK found that 18% of those surveyed said people working in HR departments were most likely to be obstructive at work, with accounting and finance workers coming a distant second. HR workers are likely to cause major hold-ups because they handle all the administrative workings of a business, but what makes accounting staff like that?

Accountant
photo credit: Alan Cleaver

Hands to the till

Handing all the money going through the business, accounting staff are under a significant amount of pressure most of the time. Also, there might be a chance that they’re often undervalued or unappreciated by colleagues despite the important work that they do. However, in the case of many a workplace can’t, there are a number of common tics and flaws which make them get in the way.

Delving deeper into the survey results, it was revealed that the profile of the male and female ‘can’t’ share a few things. Both are typically in their mid-40s, while they’re also prone to having a red face, probably through high blood pressure or frustration with their jobs. 65% said that they were argumentative, while 59% said they were confident, something many accounts workers seem to be.

Getting away from the problem

Accounts workers might feel reason to lash out because they’re sometimes overlooked in favour of client-facing colleagues, while they might feel frustrated about a lack of promotion opportunities. However, when it comes to those described as a ‘can’t’, it seems that many workers are tempted to deal with them in a variety of ways.

40% said they would just scream about them in private or silently, while a worrying 36% said that they would even leave their post just to get away from the offending colleague. 22% said they would try to compete with them professionally, possibly trying to outdo them in order to make things worse for their rival!