Major Problems from Noisy Work Colleague

[shyoldguy]

I am dreading an office move happening in 2 weeks. I am going to be in a small office with 2 other people, one of which is a loud bloke with a hay fever problem and he won't taken anything for it or even blow his nose. He sniffs constantly, which is loud enough to hear at the moment from the other end of a large open plan office.

I REALLY cannot stand the noise of people constantly coughing and sniffing.

The last job I was in, I had to sit with a guy who constantly sniffed and coughed all the time. When he got a cold it was UNBEARABLE. I had to try and find excuses to go out of the office. Sometimes I would just have sit in the toilets. Some days I would go home and my muscles would ache with tension and just could n't think or decide anything I was so mentally exhausted.

One day I tried to ask the guy to tone it down a bit, but he starting laughing before I could finish and then loads of other people in the office laughed at me. I got hauled into the manager's office the next day and told it was "unacceptable behaviour."

This coughing and sniffing is the single most important reason why I moved to my present job (after a lot of unsuccessful applications).

Now, because of a reorganisation at my new employer, I'm again going to face sitting with another person who coughs and sniffs all day.

I'm stressed out enough with lots of other stuff (stuff that appears trivial to other people but not to me).

I don't know how I'm going to cope with this.

[SunnyDay]

I work with a lady that has a habit of sucking spit though her teeth when she is thinking, she clearly doesn't know she's doing it and it's an ingrained habit but eugh it makes me feel sick, it sounds as if she's going to dribble or spit at any second.

Anyway, on days when it gets too much I pop my headphone in, BBC iPlayer is my lifesaver! It really takes my mind off it and after a bit of that then I'm not so focused on it.

[blueangel]

I can sympathise with this as I have to share a very small office with a noisy person. Not only does she grunt, talk to herself and drop/leave things all over the office floor (what little of it there is), she shouts down the constantly.

I agree with Sunny Day, a radio with a set of small headphones is a godsend, and if it gets really bad, have a quiet chat with your manager about it.