Report by Irma Heger YOU pack your bag, take your umbrella and put on your coat to go to the office every morning.

But what do most people leave at home? Their MANNERS!

A new study by Office Angels, one of the leading secretarial recruitment consultancies, has just revealed that we are all fed up with our colleagues' irritating habits.

The research shows that renowned British manners simply crumble the moment people walk through their office doors.

Colleagues who don't bother saying "good morning", for instance, leave 60 per cent of us annoyed. And these small "niggles" build up all day until it's time to say "see you tomorrow" - or scuttle off back home without a word, of course.

After road rage and air rage, is office rage only just around the corner?

It could happen in Bolton, a BEN survey showed.

Office workers work increasingly long hours in stressful jobs - often ending up getting on the nerves of others without even realising it.

Jon Hitchin, stockbroker at Hargreave Hale and Co, had a few unusual gripes to report from his office.

Colleagues who decide to take their shoes off can cause problems, he said, as do people eating at their desks, "leaving crumbs everywhere".

Another annoyance is fellow-workers using the phone to conduct private conversations about trivial matters.

He also has his doubts about people who purposely work too hard, doing exceedingly long hours - "creeps", he laughed.

But at the administration office at Sharples School, it's a different story.

Wendy Morris, who works there with a small team, said her colleagues don't get on her nerves, generally speaking.

The only source of simmering discontent is the photocopier and printer - "you get to it and it's always empty," she confessed.

Pam Jones, Supplier Accounts Advisor, works with over 30 colleagues at a department of Bolton and Bury Chamber. A quick survey at her office revealed people encounter the following problems there.

For one, there are those colleagues who shout across the office floor - thereby getting on people's nerves.

Similarly, colleague's negligence can be annoying - failing to answer the phone because it's not their own, not asking others if they want a coffee when they put the kettle on and having windows open when some people are cold.

Attitudes are also a bone of contention. People who don't listen to their colleagues, aren't helpful or moan about others all cause a lot of upset.

And then there's the photocopier/printer issue - people leaving differently coloured or letterheaded paper in the machines are often to blame for a lot of frustration.

A Bolton office worker from a large organisation in the town centre - who wants to remain anonymous - said people using the last form on the shelf always creates problems.

Using computers also has its own drawbacks - for instance when people don't log out when they finish working on a machine.

Then, there are those colleagues who leave their dirty cups in the kitchen sink...

So, why do people behave differently in the office than they might in their own homes?

Judi James, author of The Office Jungle, said: "In the office, people's characters change.

"Stress levels are high, which in turn lowers levels of tolerance, which leads to office rage.

"Small irritations become crucial. Status and territory are killers. It's not our own space, as it is at home, and so we are forced to fight even the most minor invasions.

"Flashpoints can include drinks machines, desk space, photocopiers, stolen pens, and even the choice of biscuits." TOP TEN MOST ANNOYING OFFICE HABITS 1, People who purposely don't turn off their mobile phones in meetings.

2, People don't load the photocopier/fax/printer when it's clearly empty, or jam it and leave it for the next person to fix.

3, People who spend their day gossiping or spreading rumours.

4, Colleagues talking loudly in the office, usually about their private lives.

5, People "pinching" stationary from their desk and not returning it.

6, People's petty selfishness - most often cited is making coffee for themselves without offering colleagues sitting nearby.

7, Colleagues' untidiness in the kitchen and rancid milk left out of the fridge.

8, People who loiter by their desk when they are on the telephone.

9, Colleagues' increasing lack of personal interaction when it comes to discussing work matters.

10, Colleagues "looking depressed the whole time".

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.