Noisy Coworkers: How To De-stress Yourself
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.
Office noise can be one of the most stressful things in the work environment. This includes things like squeaking chairs, ringing phones, noisy ventilation systems, hallway traffic, copier machine noise, and neighborly chit chat. It is important for all us to have a private space where we can work without distractions and if we could all achieve this ideal the office would operate more smoothly and efficiently. Unfortunately the ideal is very hard to achieve in reality.
Annoying coworkers come in a variety of types. Some drive you crazy and don't even realize they are doing so. Usually, you can just communicate your distress politely and they will stop. Others actually delight in provoking you. Here, the thing to do is to ignore them if you can till they have finished ranting. If that approach doesn't work, trying speaking nicely to them. Occasionally, you will be able to negotiate a truce.
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.
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
