Patronising colleagues, who are never wrong, don’t listen and always talk over people, is the biggest bugbear of most workers.

A new survey reveals that when it comes to work we’re easily irritated. Workers who are noisy eaters or have smelly food at their desks grate on the nerves of their colleagues. And being forced to endure loud talkers who spend the day chatting about everything, except work, also make people’s blood boil, the survey shows. As British workers put in more and more hours, responding to insecurity in the job market, they have also become intolerant of workmates who come in late or leave early, or those who take too much time-off sick for minor ailments, according to the study. At the same time, they complain about feeling monitored by their bosses.

Stealing food from the fridge

Working in buildings with no natural light or places that are either too hot or too cold are also on the list of annoyances, along with being forced to sit through pointless meetings full of jargon such as ”blue sky thinking”. And when workers escape to the kitchen, they are often irritated to find that no-one has replaced the teabags and sugar, or even worse, that their milk or food is missing from the fridge.

However, it’s not all so negative when it comes to the workplace. British workers admit that trustworthy workmates save the day with their honesty and dependability. Ian Williams, spokesperson for thinkmoney, says: “Everyone knows what it’s like to spend a day listening to others chatting about their holiday or their dog, or having to put up with a patronising colleague who doesn’t listen to your view. All of these things can make a day in the office feel like it’s going on forever. “While banter at work is good for team spirits, too much chat, overly hot rooms or long, pointless meetings can damage your motivation and performance.”

No pay rise and no appreciation

The research also shows that it’s not just bad colleagues who cause us to feel frustrated at work. An overwhelming two-thirds of workers say they feel unhappy in their jobs. Workers complain about feeling under-appreciated, have too much work to do, and believe they should be paid more, the figures show.They also feel frustrated by unrealistic deadlines, no chance of promotion, a lack of training opportunities and not feeling challenged. They also feel annoyed at being asked to fill-in timesheets and having an unreasonable boss. This is followed by bad Internet connections or slow computers. “For so many people to feel they are being unchallenged and not appreciated by their employers is extremely worrying, especially considering how many hours the average person spends at work every day. Job satisfaction has a huge role to play in how valued and happy a person feels in their day-to-day lives,” Williams adds.

*OnePoll questioned a nationally representative sample of 2,000 adults aged 18 and over between 11th – 23rd February 2015, of whom 635 were Scottish residents.