Sisters Hilary Duff and Haylie Duff recently finished filming their first movie together, titled Material Girls. The film is sure to be a hit among the pre-teen set, but it leaves those of us who are accustomed to working with all sorts of people wondering if the sisters were annoyed by each other like so many of us have been with our coworkers. In fact, coworkers can be so irritating that NBC ran a news report devoted entirely to the habits that bug our coworkers.
The report described the many ways people are bothered by those they share a workspace with. Now, some of those habits might be a bit troublesome, but have little affect on our own ability to complete tasks. Those little troubles might be things like a messy desk, disorganization, or spending time surfing the net when they should be working. Other habits could actually be so disturbing that they make it difficult for people in the surrounding area to concentrate on the work at hand. Those habits could include tapping a pen, humming, whistling, or talking. Then there are those habits that are just outright disgusting! Among those habits included in the NBC report were these gross-outs:
1. A man who chews off his fingernails and stores them on the edge of his desk for chewing during the day.
2. Someone who wipes her nose across her arm, then uses the other hand to massage in the mucus like hand lotion.
3. A person who walks by his coworkers' desks and passes gas.
These awful habits might seem a bit extreme, but it seems they're not rare. In fact, reporter Wendy Rieger stated, "Some people said the most annoying people in the world are their coworkers." Unfortunately, such bad habits can actually lead to arguments in the office. And, according to NBC, Ford Myers, a consultant whose job it is to study worker dissatisfaction said, "Coworkers need to get along because it's all about productivity."
What's an employer to do to prevent such bickering and lack of productivity? Well, there are a couple of options that jump immediately to mind. One is to address the situation as soon as it's brought to your attention. To be sure you're always on top of potential problems, keep an open-door policy and encourage your employees to come to you with any issues they may have.
In addition to addressing the situation, you might also consider using motivational boosters around the office, like flowers. Studies have shown that when flowers are present in the workplace, employees exhibit better problem-solving skills and are able to more creatively address situations.
So, with two young ladies on the same movie set with the sibling factor added in, as it was with Hilary Duff and Haylie Duff, some flowers might have been a real benefit to everyone involved. Placing flowers in the dressing rooms of the actresses would not only have made the space a more pleasant and relaxing one, it could also have kept relationships running smoothly on the set. Since the actresses and sisters are still seen together and photographed smiling arm in arm, I think flowers probably played an important role in the whole movie-making process.
Wesley Berry is member of the American Academy of Floriculture (AAF) and President of Wesley Berry Flowers, a successful multi-million dollar floral business that was established in 1946. He is also the developer of Localnewsdelivery.com a website that delivers local news to over 40,000 communities across the country. Recently he also launched a website providing information about various places of worship throughout the United States. Visit Wesley Berry Flowers on the web at www.800wesleys.com.