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Accountemps Survey: Sloppy Work Named Most Annoying Office Behavior

MENLO PARK, Calif., May 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- It pays to sweat the small stuff. In a recent Accountemps survey, 41 percent of chief financial officers (CFOs) interviewed said lacking attention to detail and presenting sloppy work are the coworker behaviors that annoy them most. Gossiping or engaging in office politics also are pet peeves, cited by 23 percent of respondents.

The survey was developed by Accountemps, the world's first and largest specialized staffing service for temporary accounting, finance and bookkeeping professionals. It was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on interviews with 1,400 CFOs from a stratified random sample of U.S. companies with more than 20 employees.

CFOs were asked, "Which one of the following coworker behaviors annoys you the most?" Their responses:

Lacking attention to detail, sloppy work

41%

 

Gossiping or engaging in office politics

23%

 

Missing deadlines

18%

 

Being perpetually late

12%

 

Presenting other's ideas as one's own

5%

 

Don't know/no answer

1%

 
 

100%

 
   

 

"Having to constantly double-check someone else's work is a sure recipe for tension between coworkers," said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps and author of Human Resources Kit For Dummies®, 2nd Edition (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). "The success of any team depends on everyone carrying his or her weight."

Regarding office politics, Messmer noted that a certain amount of political maneuvering exists in nearly every organization, but it's wise for employees to not get caught up in it. "Office politics can damage your credibility," he said. "The most successful professionals build relationships with colleagues -- they need this level of trust for effective collaboration."

Accountemps has more than 350 offices worldwide and offers online job search services at www.accountemps.com. Follow Accountemps for workplace news at twitter.com/accountemps.

SOURCE Accountemps