Noisy Coworkers: Rude Or Unprofessional
You can find techniques for staying sane and professional in the office despite the distractions of noisy coworkers. You face sufficient tension anyway even when gratuitous noisiness is not adding to your problems. Sometimes it all becomes too much and you want to scream out loud. Still, this could have disastrous consequences for you rather than for them.
This is exactly why you want to escape the nuisance of "noisy coworkers" as best you can. There are many ways to limit your exposure to these annoying sound polluters. Workplace environments vary, and in some places you are able to tune into your mp3s on headphones, or for ultimate peace and quiet, wear ear plugs.
One good way to de-stress, separate yourself from your noisy co-workers and break up your day is by taking a leisurely walk during your lunch break. The fresh air will be good for you and it will help your frame of mind. If this does not work, it might be a good idea to try bringing up the noise level in conversation.
A big stressor at work can be the simple "office noise" that we don't even notice, like the chairs squeaking, phones ringing, clicking of the keyboard, and having to listen to the person in the cubical next to yours. The biggest thing that we should keep in mind is if we can find our own little happy place while we are at work, and still manage to get the job done in an efficient manner everything would flow together nicely. For some this easier said than done.
There are a number of different levels of the "annoying coworker". There is a coworker who annoys you without knowing they are do it, you can solve this situation with a polite conversation. Then you have the coworker who will purposely go out of their way to intentionally annoy you, it is true we all have these, if dealing with a situation like this you should try your best to avoid the person until their ugly ways come to an end. If it is impossible to avoid this annoying person maybe you should try to talk about the problem, sometimes coming to an agreement will fix the situation.
While it should only be used as a last resort, it is certainly appropriate to get the boss involved in dealing with an annoying coworker. After all, you have taken all appropriate means of dealing with the situation and nothing has worked! And the situation is affecting your job performance. Always keep in mind that it's vital to maintain a professional attitude throughout the situation.
Breaking up the tedium of your day with a long outdoor walk over your lunch break can help to reduce the stress you feel from noisy coworkers. Something that can create a lot of stress at work is the simple "office noise" which we sometimes don't even notice, things like the chair squeaking, phones ringing, clicking keyboards, and having to hear voices of the people who are in the next cubical. If all else fails and you are unable to fix your problem with an "annoying coworker" it is possible you might have to go to the boss to solve the problem.
Published November 10th, 2008
Filed in Career
