How to deal with 7 awkward confrontations at work

Working in an office with other people can be pretty rough - especially if you're prone to pet peeves.

The rise of open offices hasn't helped matters, notes international business speaker and author of "The Humor Advantage" Michael Kerr. Instead of hiding in the relative safety of your cubicle every day, you're now more likely to sit out in the open, forced to contend with your colleagues' annoying quirks.

On the other hand, you've also got to deal with your more persnickety coworkers constantly bugging you about your own innocuous habits.

"Working with other live human beings in an open office setting can be challenging - especially when those other human beings behave in ways that drive you batty," Kerr tells Business Insider. "With commonplace office etiquette situations there are several things you can do to be proactive so you don't end up in a situation where you need to have an awkward conversation with a colleague."

In order to avoid confrontation, Kerr recommends getting proactive. Share lists of common office pet peeves (like this one!), go over behaviors to avoid at meetings, and post a few humorous, good-natured signs around your workplace.

Ryan Kahn, a career coach, founder of The Hired Group, star of MTV's "Hired" and author of "How To Get Hired," agrees that it's good to come across as non-judgmental if you're forced to speak with someone about their annoying office habits.

"It's important not to draw attention to this issue in-front of others as you wouldn't want to embarrass them or make it into a bigger issue than it already is," Kahn tells Business Insider. "Pull them aside and tactfully let them know of the issue and present ideas to help resolve the issue moving forward."

And of course, it's important to strategize about how to proceed when you plan to talk to someone about their workplace behavior. Business Insider spoke with several career experts to get their take on how to grapple with seven particularly awkward work situations