Noisy person in open plan office - how best to tackle

[reeko]

I work in an open plan office. Right behind me there is a team that deals with our account enquiries, they are essentially a help desk, so they are on the phone alot and cannot be as quiet as other teams.

However, there is one VERY VERY LOUD lady, with a voice like Pauline Fowler turned up to 11. She appears to be very resistant to leave her seat and seems to think it is OK to have long work and non-work related conversations across the office.

I spoke to her manager about this soon after they moved in at the end of last year, but she is just getting louder and louder. I have a banging headache as all I can hear is her all day every day.

What is the best way to tackle this? I don't trust myself to be tactful when I just want to stuff a rag in her gob.

[steveo]

The rag sounds good

[El Pibe]

Headphones always works for me if you're in that kind of job

[KidKruger]

speak to her manager again.

[Louisa]

Are you suggesting because she has a working class London accent she is irritating?

Louisa.

[Otta]

I think the "turned up to 11" is the problem Louisa.

[StraferJack]

Pauline Fowler does have a very irritating voice tho

Other people with irritating voices in an office situation (not all volume related)

Tony Blair

Brian Blessed

The guy from Chelsea who works 5 desks down from me

The woman from NY who works 2 desks down from me

I?m not sure class has any relevance to the annoyance.

[El Pibe]

Actually Brian Sewell's irritatingness is at least partly directly class related!!

[Voyageur]

I LOVE Bian Blessed's voice!

Speak to the manager again.

[Chillaxed]

Yell 'shut the fuck up!' at her until she does.

Have a fake, parallel phone conversation to hers in your loudest voice until she gets the message.

Actively engage in her conversation as if she's speaking to you i.e. answer each of her questions or agree vociferously with what she's saying.

But I'm a wimp so I go with EP's headphones myself.

[reeko]

Jesus Louisa, you do look for a class war in every thread. Does it not get a bit tiring? Maybe go and take the whippet out for a walk.

I can't do the headphones thing as I tend to sing along to music which would visit even more disruption upon my already suffering colleagues.

Ummm I could approach her manager again - thing is her team seem to be some how immune to the noise - or perhaps now just a bit deaf due to prolonged exposure and proximity.

I must now resign myself to taking over as chief executive as only then will I get my own office.

[UncleBen]

Man up, OP

[Jah Lush]

I feel your pain Reeko. I worked for many years with a girl who constantly yapped away in a Bianca Jackson type voice at ear splitting volume at anyone or anything within earshot, she'd even give a running commentary whilst flicking through the pages of Hello magazine EG: "Oooh, she's put on a lot of weight, she's had a lot of work done," etc etc ad infinitum. It drove us all fecking mad. DO have another word with your manager and have a word with her yourself. Tell her you find it difficult to concentrate on your work whilst she's constantly blabbering away and she might make an effort to pipe down a bit. I'm not saying it'll work as some people just can't help themselves but it's worth a try.

[bon3yard]

What jah said.

[*Bob*]

Flamethrower.

Those pearly jackets are highly combustible.

[Annette Curtain]

Louisa Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Are you suggesting because she has a working class

> London accent she is irritating?

>

> Louisa.

That and turned up to 11 (love the spinal tap reference here btw) is annoying.

[Louisa]

Excuse me reeko, but the whippet is a northern working class reference, I will have you know that I have never owned a whippet in all the years I have lived. But come on, did you really have to bring a fictional working class heroine such as Pauline Fowler, an EastEnders legend, into a debate about an annoying co-worker? I'm sure you could have handled the analogy with a little less class based stereotypes.

Louisa.

[uncleglen]

This is serious- depending on the work you do. If your work requires concentration and you are in an open plan office with people who do not have to concentrate and they make noise then you are going to be less productive, likely to get stressed and therefore be of less use to your company. Some managers are useless at dealing with this sort of thing and you may need to go to above his/her head or to your own superior or HR

[Voyageur]

Reeko - look on the bright side :) Just be glad you haven't got Louisa's voice in your lughole at work day in day out....

[Louisa]

Ooooo the sauce! :)

Louisa.

[Annette Curtain]

>did you really have to bring a fictional working class heroine such as Pauline Fowler, an EastEnders legend, into a debate about an annoying co-worker?<

Perfect description IMHO

Makes it all the more vivid for us

(the middle class guardian reading pinkos that is)

[uncleglen]

(The only reason the working class London accent ie cockney accent, is irritating is because it has been sanitised out of TV except for screeching and hysterics in East Enders and gangster thug types in Danny Dyer and Vinny Jones films. Everyone has been conditioned to think BBC English=good, regional accents= dubious characters (when in fact the opposite is probably true)

[Louisa]

uncleglen Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> (The only reason the working class London accent

> ie cockney accent, is irritating is because it has

> been sanitised out of TV except for screeching and

> hysterics in East Enders and gangster thug types

> in Danny Dyer and Vinny Jones films. Everyone has

> been conditioned to think BBC English=good,

> regional accents= dubious characters (when in fact

> the opposite is probably true)

Hallelujah, not a truer word spoken.

Louisa.

[*Bob*]

Louisa Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> ... with a little less class based stereotypes.

For all your pot, kettle and black requirements

[reeko]

Oooh I think this is the first time I have started an even vaguely good thread.

Firstly apologies Louisa for my wayward stereotyping. Can you PLEASE invest more time in sourcing decent jellied eels instead of carping on here about the downtrodden Southern masses - hows that?

FYI I name checked Pauline Fowler as the lady in question sounds just like her, but substantially louder. I have been pondering if it is her accent or the volume that grates the most. I think both aspects contribute. However, I would prefer her cheese-grater of a gob to, say, TalkSports Quinnie (Liverpudlian and loud), or Boris Johnston (posh, smug and loud). I think you will find I am an equal opportunities moaner.

I shall tackle her manager tomorrow, but he seems to spend more time on the sun-bed and having his teeth bleached than actually doing his job.

Here's hoping I have found my diplomatic pants by tomorrow, or there could be fireworks.