Survey Finds Lots of Workplace 'Monkeys'

A new CareerBuilder.com survey of 2,500 workers found that 53% of workers feel their colleagues are a bunch of monkeys and 20% think their immediate supervisor is little more than a chimp.

“Of those who said their co-workers act like monkeys, 47% plan to change jobs in the next two years,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of Human Resources, CareerBuilder.com, in the news release. “If your boss acts like Tarzan and your workplace is a zoo, it may be time to join these workers in moving on to a better job opportunity.”

When asked to identify examples of what co-workers did that drove them ape, respondents offered the following:

10. The manager who tried to get employees in another department fired for eating bagels that were reserved for an event the next day.

9. The co-worker who constantly e-mails the person who is sitting right next to her.

8. The co-worker who sits in a crowded cubicle area and insists on putting every conversation on speaker phone, including the exploits of the night before.

7. The boss who cut his fingernails while standing in his employee’s cube.

6. The co-worker who steals other people’s food from the lunch room refrigerator and then acts baffled when asked about it.

5. The co-worker who changed his job title to look more important without approval from his boss.

4. The boss who swears at the top of his lungs and occasionally throws his chair or phone down the hall.

3. The co-worker who walks up and randomly scratches other people’s backs.

2. The co-worker who was caught sleeping on the job more than once and would insist he was praying.

1. The co-worker who every morning would greet her fellow employees (before they had any caffeine) with, “Are you ready for another fun and EXCITING day?”