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Survey reveals Britain’s ultimate pet peeves!

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Joanne Swann
man in white and blue crew neck t-shirt

Researchers have revealed the biggest pet peeves in daily life, according to the nation, with bad manners topping the list, with a resounding, 47 percent.

People with body odour taking the seat next to you on the bus also scored high (42 percent), while 38 percent voted for stubbing your toe – and 36 percent said bad customer service gets on their wick. Lateness (34 percent), sales calls (32 percent), slow walkers (32 percent) and people who chew loudly (36 percent) also made the list of major gripes, according to the 2,000 polled. One in ten loathe washing up a scrambled egg pan, while 18 percent see red when their film buffers right in the middle of playing.

Overall, a resounding 86 percent agree that small annoying moments have the power to ruin your day, with the average Brit feeling peeved on average five times a day, according to the survey by from plant-based food makers, Oddlygood. The most annoying day of the week is unsurprisingly Monday, with 41 percent agreeing life seems to be getting more annoying each week.

When it comes to who winds us up the most, work colleagues came top with 23 percent, followed by family 19 percent and friends (18 percent). Despite this, we have more happy moments than sad, with Brits claiming to feel joy seven times a day on average. The happiest day of the week is Friday (41 percent), while a happy go lucky 51 percent of those polled insisting, they are in a good mood most of the time.

A spokesperson for Oddlygood who commissioned the survey commented,

The list of bugbears that will get under the skin of Brits is endless, and we don’t blame them, there’s a lot of annoying things out there. Despite the obvious annoyances, it’s great to see that Brits have more happy moments than sad, so not all hope is lost.

THE 25 BIGGEST DAILY PET PEEVES…

Bad manners – 47 percent

Someone with BO taking the seat next to you on the bus – 42 percent

Stubbing your toe – 38 percent

Bad customer service – 36 percent

People who chew loudly – 36 percent

Lateness – 34 percent

Slow walkers – 32 percent

Sales calls – 28 percent

People talking loudly on their phone in public – 26 percent

People who leave dirty dishes in the sink – 21 percent

Smashing your phone screen – 20 percent

Being splashed by a passing car – 20 percent

Your film “buffering” halfway through a movie – 18 percent

People who talk when you’re trying to concentrate – 17 percent

Not being able to find your car keys – 17 percent

Someone with an annoying laugh – 16 percent

Mould on the last piece of bread – 16 percent

Running for the bus and just missing it – 14 percent

When your Deliveroo order is wrong – 12 percent

Burning your toast – 11 percent

A bad hair day – 11 percent

Washing up your scrambled egg pan – 10 percent

Forgetting your cup of tea and it going cold – 10 percent

Having an annoying song stuck in your head – 9 percent

When you’ve lost weight and no-one notices – 8 percent

Joanne Swann, Content Manager, WorkWellPro
Editor at Workplace Wellbeing Professional | Website |  + posts

Joanne is the editor for Workplace Wellbeing Professional and has a keen interest in promoting the safety and wellbeing of the global workforce. After earning a bachelor's degree in English literature and media studies, she taught English in China and Vietnam for two years. Before joining Work Well Pro, Joanne worked as a marketing coordinator for luxury property, where her responsibilities included blog writing, photography, and video creation.

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