Noisy Coworkers: A Major Contributor To Stress In The Workplace
There are ways of keeping your sanity and professionalism at work in spite of "noisy coworkers". Work can be stressful enough without the help of extra noise distracting us from our jobs. There are days when all these distractions pile up and we would feel much better if we could just stand up, scream, and pull our hair; however it's not worth the consequences.
For that reason, you should simply tune out your noisy coworkers as much as you possibly can. This can be easy enough if you are lucky enough to have the right kind of employment. You might just put on headphones and drown them out with music or you might treat yourself to a good pair of earplugs.
One of the best ways to de-stress from noisy coworkers and break up your day is to take a leisurely walk on your lunch break; the fresh, clear air will do your sanity some good. If nothing else is working for you, it may be worth trying to slide the noise level into conversation.
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. One of the main things to keep in mind is if we would be able to locate our personal little happy place during the time that we are at work, and still be able to get the job done in a good manner while everything continued to flow smoothly. For a lot of us it is easier said then 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.
If nothing else fixes your issue with an "annoying coworker" then you may have to resolve it by going to your boss, this should only happen after the person has been asked at least once to stop the behavior that is interfering with you doing your job. Remember that no matter what happens keep a high professionalism about the whole situation.
Noisy coworkers can be really annoying! Instead of getting angry about the unwanted office noise, release stress by listening to music or avoid the problem by using ear plugs. Chair squeaking or the voice of an annoying coworker can disrupt work flow, but it is important to productivity to be able to deal with the situation in a professional manner. Coworkers that don't realize the disruptive extent of their behavior are easily dealt with in a short discussion, but coworkers that realize their behavior is disruptive are more difficult Ignoring them is usually the best solution. A last resort solution may be found in a chat with the boss.
Published November 10th, 2008
Filed in Business