are all workplaces full of loud, germy, sweaty coworkers?

A reader writes:

I work at a government agency (not in the U.S.) and it’s a good job. It’s a relaxed environment that definitely puts people’s safety and well-being first.

However, and I never thought I’d be saying this, I think it might be too much of a good thing.

People spend all day chewing on their fingernails and then touching everything (we are moving to a hot-desk only workspace).

We’ve got a few people who are constantly coughing or throat-clearing, and typing/clicking so forcefully that the desk shakes.

The person who sits near me arrives late almost everyday, having come from the gym, and simply changes into work clothes without showering, then spends half an hour eating breakfast, before leaving half an hour early.

I even have a coworker who constantly has their hands down their pants and pulling at their crotch. Even while presenting at a meeting, the hands are down the pants. Another coworker is not as bad, but similarly is constantly adjusting their underwear.

If I wear a blazer and jeans to work, I get comments asking if I’m going to court or to a job interview. I work in a typical office, and I don’t care what people wear, but the constant questions and comments on my clothing is starting to irritate me. I don’t want to wear sweatpants and a hoodie to work!

Is this lack of professionalism ridiculous? Or do I just need to buckle up, bring some sanitizing spray, and carry on? Are all workplaces like this?

It’s like a daycare in here. I feel like I’m going to have a panic attack from the non-stop noise and concerns about germs.

No, all workplaces aren’t like this.

But this seems like a mix of some genuinely gross stuff along with much more mundane stuff.

Genuinely gross and not typical: the hands down the pants (?!),  touching everything after having their fingers in their mouths, and coming into the office sweaty and unshowered. (And how has their manager not addressed, at a minimum, the person presenting with their hands down their pants? What kind of presentations are these? But since they haven’t, you have standing to ask their manager to deal with it.)

More mundane: the coughing and throat-clearing, loud typing, and casual dress. The coughing and throat-clearing is just part of working around other humans. It can be annoying and distracting, but it’s pretty par for the course. Same for the loud typing. And the casual dress isn’t remarkable if your office allows it, which it seems like it does. (And there are offices where wearing a blazer, even with jeans, would stand out as dressier than the norm. If you do it regularly, people will probably come to see it as your style and not remark on it, but it’s still possible it could be out of sync with your particular office’s conventions.)

But isn’t the hot-desking a blessing in disguise, in that you can move further away from the sweaty gym-goers, the coughers, and the, uh, self-caressers? Carry a supply of disinfectant wipes, clean off whatever space you’re working from that day, and try to keep maximum distance between yourself and the worst offenders.

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