A survey has found who office workers believe is the most annoying of co-workers.

'The Complainer' - the colleague who cannot keep their thoughts to themselves - has come out on top as the most annoying office personality type.

This was followed by the slacker, the chatterbox and the workaholic.

The survey by office suppliers Viking also asked Irish workers to identify the most annoying trait in a colleague, which highlighted poor personal hygiene, speaking too loudly on the phone, foul language, people who do not listen, gossipers, lateness and noisy eaters.

For those working in an open plan office, bad language came out on top.

While those who worked in a private office space saw colleagues who do not listen as their biggest grievance.

When asked how they would deal with an annoying colleague, the majority of those surveyed choose to take the higher ground and get on with their work.

Whereas 17% of workers, mainly female, sort to find some common ground to get to know the colleague better with the hope that the annoying habit would fade away.

This is compared to 15% of male workers, who decided to ignore the problem completely.

Commenting on the survey, director of Viking in Ireland Michael Walby said: "It's important to have a balance of personality types in the work place to create a good working environment but when colleague's personalities and traits become irritating it can have a negative effect and particularly on productivity levels.

"When employees clash it’s important that any grievances are identified and dealt with efficiently. Team building activities can help greatly in building a positive rapport amongst colleagues."