Annoying Co-worker

Why don't you talk with her and let her know how you feel? Explain that you like her and don't want to cause any animosity, but her loud phone calls are distracting. Could she please quiet her voice a bit on the phone, because you'd appreciate it so very much.

Just a thought. Maybe print out an anonymous note and place it on her desk when no one is around? It can be worded nicely and still get the point across?

Have some fun with it.

Play Bingo. Make up a list of different things she talks about on the phone every day and pass out to your other co-workers. Everyone gets to check off things on their list as the day progresses. First one who completes their list gets the pot - $, gets taken out for lunch that day, etc etc.

OR

Start talking on the phone really loud too. If your boss starts complaining, well then, you have a great excuse to bring the loudtalker up.

She may not be aware of how loud she really is. If she talks about anything that might be considered "personal" in nature/private-ish, perhaps doing one of those "I'm looking out for you" approaches and saying: "oh, co-worker, I don't know if you realize it, but sound really carries in these cubicles; If you're trying to talk with hubby privately, about any personal stuff, be aware because of that." or something.

Like you're "protecting" her personal business with volume control...

If her boss doesn't care, not much you can do on that end.

I'd get the headphones to use with music, and let your boss know that she can interrupt you anytime, but that they help you concentrate and be more productive.

IMO, bosses don't like to hear people complain about each other, it gets tiresome. But they DO like when employees come to them with ideas to increase productivity, so I don't see anything wrong with this if you frame it in a positive way.

Put your headphones on and if your boss comments on it, be truthful and say that you are finding that other people's personal conversations broadcast at a high volume are distracting and that you can tune out the noise and concentrate more on your work with your headphones on. Hopefully your boss will get the hint and tell the other one to pipe down.

Holy cow. Are you me writing under another name??!!

I have the same problem!! Last week it got so bad that I did say something. There are three members of another team (I sit in cube land) that are SO loud and literally talk ALL DAY LONG about nothing work related. I've mentioned to my boss that they are too loud, I've had customers/coworkers on the phone that can't hear me because they are so loud, and one of my coworkers leaves early on a regular basis because she can't get her work done.

So last week they were smelling all of the samples to a candle magazine and going on for hours about how they smelled like dirty gym clothes, stinky arm pits, etc...gross. Othe conversations have included things such as strip bars, what the boss eats every day for lunch, and other stupid things. The conversations (and one extremely annoying laugh) go on from 7-330. I work from 630-330, but they don't start rolling in until 7.

The main trouble maker rolled her eyes at me and turned around, the other two apologized. I had to work late that day and they started getting loud again around 4, but I'm normally gone by then. The rude girl left and told the annoying laugher to "be on her best behavior" and I laughed so loud they knew I was still here.

I am all for having fun at work, but not to the point that it makes it hard for others to get their job done. And that is how these ladies act. They are "new" as of March and sometime late spring because we had a big contract switch and all of our really good people left...sucks big time.

So the one girl who was rude will probably be nasty to me until she leaves (which I hope is sooner rather than later, but I doubt it). The other two are fine...I'm glad I said something though, because it needed to come out.

S.,

You have several options.

1. TALK WITH HER...tell her your concerns. If there are a ton of people where you work and she's going on about private information? She might not want people to know when they'll be gone - ripe for robbery!! Or how much they'll be spending on a trip - great for getting a card if she gives out her credit card information...

2. Get headphones or ear buds and use that to listen to music.

3. Go to her boss and tell her that her conversations are making you uncomfortable and see what happens.

4. Turn your radio up when she talks on the phone. IF she complains about it? Tell her - sorry - trying NOT to listen to your personal conversation.

Good luck!!

You have to talk to her directly. Anything else will make things worse than a direct approach. Don't say why the conversations itself bother you, simply address the volume. Also, don't put all the blame on her, but rather make it your problem that she can help solve. Say something like this:

"Jennifer, do you have a minute? I know this is kind of an awkward request, but would you mind trying to talk a little softer when you're on the phone? I'm one of those people who gets distracted easily, so it's tough for me to be in such a big, open area and have to try to tune out three other people while I'm working."

It will not be easy, it will be awkward, but hopefully it will make things better. Afterwards, try to go about things as you usually would so she can see that you still like her and aren't upset. Go to lunch, gossip about your weekend, etc.

I would use headphones. That would probably send a message and you can listen to your music through the headphones.

If boss mentions why you are wearing headphones, say it is so you can better concentrate on your job.

While you're on the phone say to her, excuse me Jessica, I'm on a call, could you...and then put a finger to your lips, you know, sshhh... Do this EVERY time she gets too loud. Maybe you can train her to lower her voice..
or...
ask your boss if it would be okay to wear your headphones and explain why.

If her boss is happy with her work and doesn't want to curtail her personal talk time during business hours there's not much you can do.
Maybe you can speak to your boss about distracting noises in the area and he can speak to her boss and then he can deal with it.

When I worked in cubical land many years ago our IT department was located next to a small legal department.
One lady in legal would spend all day long calling relative after relative using the speaker phone and telling the same story over and over and over till everyone sitting around her could recite it word for word - some would lip-sync along with it.
Every call ended with 'Ok I love you Bye".
Her boss sat in the one office with actual walls and a door at the end of the row.
He was also fond of using his speaker phone and the man seldom closed his door.
Once we heard a conversation in duplicate between him and her both on their speaker phones to each other - her cubical is only 3 cubicles away from him - and she's complaining how they need to hire more help because she just can't get all her work done.
It was so hard not to burst in on that conversation.
We're thinking 'No kidding she can't finish her work! She spends all day on the phone chatting away with family and not doing her job'.
And WHY couldn't she take a few steps and go talk to him in person instead of broadcasting the conversation over the heads of a least a dozen people working all around her?
Eventually that whole department was fired but her boss just couldn't seem to figure out what the problem was with her and her work load.

Since you work with her, you can't be snarky about it without causing bad will in the office.
I've seen people just blast out all sorts of personal information in public.
They must think they are surrounded by a cone of silence while they are on the phone.
It's funny if a stranger comes up and gets into the conversation.
They get the huffy reply "This is a PRIVATE conversation!".
And the stranger laughs and says "If I can hear it lady, it's not private at all. Oh and by the way, go see a doctor about that vaginal itch.".
That's usually good enough to get a dramatic flounce off.

I'd talk to everyone else that works in the area. Find out how they feel about it. Just in casual conversation. If they feel it's annoying too then try this.

When the co-worker has one of those phone calls everyone in the room start giving their opinion on what she was talking about.

For instance if she talks to her hubby about going to Galveston for vacation when it's lunch time you or another co-worker start telling her about this cool condo that they heard about from someone, maybe she'd like something like that. Then another co-worker start talking about how they were going to Galveston and a hurricane spoiled their trip. You know, stuff that is all about what they were talking about.

If she's talking about dinner start talking about how you stopped feeding your family that kind of stuff, they're so much healthier now. All sorts of stuff like this.

It's a simple way to let her know you hear everything she talks about out loud. It's also very fun to watch someone get embarrassed for making kissy noises...lol.

You're not tattling on her but you're taking part in her conversations. I imagine pretty soon she'll be talking quieter.

Throw on headphones and if your boss says something then reply that your coworker talks on the phone with her hubby 5-8 times a day. She's really loud and it's distracting.

When I worked in an office I found it easier to focus if I wore a headset and listened to music. Nothing worse than hearing half of an annoying conversation.

Wear headphones, if someone asks tell them you are easily distracted by the noise surrounding you and it is hard to concentrate. You are not pointing at anyone but just the general work enviornment.

Omg, if you were in my town, I would swear that I worked in this same place! I was privy to way too much information at this company, and it was so distracting. And annoying. They talked on the phone and with each other and complained that I wasn't being a team player because I would not participate in the all-day chatter. I knew all about one woman's husband's job, what he did all day and what they had going on with the kids. She sat a good 10 yards away from me. I knew about the young twenty-somethings' drunken evenings and who was afraid that she might be pregnant. Sometimes I would even wear headphones to drown them out. This got me called on the carpet. When the boss said that I was acting like I wanted to separate myself from them, I said something like, "Yes, I am, because they are loud and distracting, and I'm not interested in talking about what they talk about."

It sounds like an office environment that you are just not suited for. You might have to leave.

I hear your problem. When I was starting out, there was a girl a two cubes away and she spoke very loudly on the phone with her friends. If she was talking about work, I could tune it out but when she was talking about plans and drinks and parties, it was so distracting. I had to tell her on several occasions to please keep her personal calls at a lower volume. She was never serious about work but I was (am).

So tell this person to keep it down. If she doesn't, go to YOUR boss and complain. Your boss will want you to be able to concentrate on your work.

My co-worker comes I to my office to chat during her break. I welcome that. The problem is she stops in the middle of conversing to return a Facebook message, a text, etc.

The topper is she breaks my concentration when she enters, but then goes into her techhy messaging.

I won't say anything because she's my closest pal at work, but it irks me.

So, do you otherwise like this loud mouth? If so, grin and bear it. Or use that time to go to the water cooler, toilet, make copies, get coffee, make a voodoo doll of her...

After the next phone call, simply approach her and say, "I don't know if you realize that your voice rises when you're on the phone. We can hear every word of your conversations." Depending on your relationship with her, I might even tell her "By the way, the pot roast sounds great. What time is dinner?" With a grin before I walked away.

OK, I have to admit it. I am a loud talker, although I never took more than one quick personal call at work. I would get talking with clients and just not realize how loud I was. There were 3 of us that were that way in a department of about 22. I would tell everyone if I get loud and don't realize it, give me the Shhhhh signal and I will not be offended. So, have a loud conversation in front of her and then say, oh, I am sorry, I didn't realize how loud I was. Next time let me know. Then next time let her know!

Girlfriend - speak up.

Say something. Anything. Every time it bothers you.

This is your work space too, and you have a right to keep the noise to a minimum so that you can concentrate and be productive

You can pick and choose from all the fantastic recommendations below. Practice them all until they are second nature.

Why in the world would you not say something? I'm stumped on women's inability to speak up for what they need. It's such an easy thing to ask for. Some noise reduction.

Do you think her husband is hard of hearing? I suppose I would ask that first before asking her to lower her voice. Maybe she has a legit reason to speak so loudly, which is unprofessional in a work environment.

Please, stop being afraid of others over such simple requests.