Why everyone seems to be 'losing their minds' in the office

Whether you believe it's Mercury in retrograde or just a hangover from the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a noticeable decline in the way people are behaving in the office.

But while a bit of chaos in the workplace is nothing new, Future of Work expert, Kim Seeling-Smith said there is a reason your co-workers appear to be losing their minds.

She told Today Extra people had become used to working from home during lockdown, now that relaxed behaviour from home has seeped into the professional space.

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"It is the hangover from COVID-19 because the work-life balance has blended," she said.

"We got used to working from home, now we are working from both home and the office and it all feels kind of the same, so we are taking our home behaviours into the office and they can be pretty bad sometimes."

Whether it's being rude or confrontational to co-workers, or simply not giving a stuff about how your attitude is perceived by others, Kim said it's a flow-on effect from the past four years and the challenges we are still facing today.

"Everybody is so tired and frustrated from what we've been through and are still going through, there's so much uncertainty in the world and when people get stressed in a high pressure environment, whether it be work or home, people act out and I think that's a lot of what we're seeing," she said.

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Unfortunately, people are forgetting their office is still a professional space and won't realise the consequences of their actions until its too late.

But Kim said there are some things you can do to ensure you keep your cool when things get tense.

"Take a beat, recognise how your behaviours are going to be perceived by others and get support," she said.

"Communicate with people and just slow down, take a breath and focus on the why, why are you in this job? Why are you in this career? And make sure that anything that you do doesn't inhibit you getting your goals later on."

Have you noticed any of this behaviour in your own workplace? Let us know