Maybe work relationships haven’t changed much

A few weeks ago I wrote about how the recession may be improving relations in the workplace, but now I’m not so sure.

Check the results of last week’s Yahoo! HotJobs poll, which are essentially unchanged from last year:

Poll Results

Q Of the coworkers you deal with daily, how many do you find really annoying? None 13% One 23% Two 22% Three 10% More than three 32% 4876 Votes to date

When the exact same question was asked a year ago, the biggest difference was that 28% said “more than three” coworkers were really annoying. This year more people can’t stand multiple coworkers!

The difference between this poll and the Robert Half International (RHI) research — besides being more scientific and thorough — could be the time comparison. RHI checked 2009 results against those from 2005.

If Yahoo! HotJobs had asked its poll question in 2005, maybe the number of respondents irked by multiple coworkers would be much higher. That would again support the notion that the recession could be improving ties in the workplace.