Is Your Office Infected? How to Handle 3 Types of Annoying Co Workers

From keyboard warriors to over-sharers, every workplace has a few “infectious personalities” that can test your patience—and your productivity. But what if the problem isn’t just annoying habits, but something more systemic? Enter the satirical “office diseases”: workplace behaviours that sabotage teamwork, communication, and morale.

Whether you’re dealing with an energy-draining chatterbox or a lone wolf hoarding project info, understanding these office “conditions” can help you manage them with humour and strategy.

Here are three of the most common workplace personas—and how to handle them.

🗣️ 1. Verbal Temporal-Spatiality Displacement Disorder (a.k.a. The Chatterbox)

These social butterflies love to talk—at all times, about all things. From casual check-ins to detailed stories about their weekend, they believe every conversation is work-related if it happens at work. And they tend to appear when you’re at your most focused.

Symptoms:

• Roaming from cubicle to cubicle to “check in”
• Interrupting without checking if it’s a good time
• Assuming silence means something is wrong
• Continuing to talk even while others are clearly busy

Prevention Tips:

• Set social boundaries—organise casual team events like Friday coffees or lunch-and-learns
• Politely ask, “Is now a good time?” before initiating non-urgent chats
• Look for social cues—if someone is wearing headphones or avoiding eye contact, take the hint

How to Cure Your Co-Worker:

• Remove extra seating near your desk to discourage impromptu hangouts
• Redirect chats with a “Let’s catch up later” and offer a time
• Be proactive in social spaces like the kitchen or elevator so conversations happen on your terms

📩 2. Passive-Aggressive Keyboard Warrior Syndrome

These workers avoid direct communication like the plague. Instead, they hide behind carefully worded emails, lengthy message threads, and CC-heavy correspondence. When conflict arises, it often plays out via email instead of face-to-face.

Symptoms:

• Avoids meetings, preferring everything to be in writing
• Engages in email debates instead of verbal conversations
• Insists their way is the only way—without discussion
• Believes email is more efficient than human interaction

Prevention Tips:

• Talk before you type—clear up misunderstandings quickly in person or over the phone
• Attend meetings with an open mind—even if you think you’ve already decided
• If you send a contentious email, follow up with a verbal check-in to provide context

How to Cure Your Co-Worker:

• Respond politely and suggest a quick meeting to clarify tone and intent
• Encourage face-to-face chats or video calls to complement written communication
• Stay calm and open to feedback—even if the email thread gets tense

🐺 3. Lone Wolf Syndrome

The lone wolf doesn’t trust collaboration, avoids delegation, and believes deadlines are more like guidelines. They work in silos, hold onto information tightly, and often surprise the team with last-minute deliverables.

Symptoms:

• Keeps work and progress details to themselves
• Misses check-ins and avoids group accountability
• Delivers projects at the last minute—without input
• Declines help, even when they clearly need it

Prevention Tips:

• Build trust by being consistent and communicative—it encourages transparency in return
• Make collaboration feel safe by recognising effort, not just results
• Encourage delegation as a strength, not a weakness

How to Cure Your Co-Worker:

• Set expectations early with shared deadlines and check-in points
• Use shared docs and “reply all” emails to foster open collaboration
• Highlight your team’s knowledge base to make them feel supported, not judged

How to Keep Your Office “Infection-Free”

Workplaces thrive when communication, respect, and emotional intelligence are the norm. While we all have quirks, unchecked behaviours can derail productivity and morale. Don’t let awkward interactions fester—address them early, kindly, and with a sense of humour where appropriate.

Want to boost your workplace communication skills or lead more effectively? Explore online courses in:

• Leadership and communication
• Human resources
• Workplace psychology and wellbeing