Chatting at the office.

[Gnisy]

Rules at the office states that no one should be chatting during office hours or listening to music. I'm new to this workplace and is extremely annoyed at how loud and how annoyingly persistant some of the conversations ( chattering ) can be, even though the work policies are printed out in black and white at the office hallway.

Their endless chats affect my work progress and I succumbed to getting myself an music player to listen to at work. The first day I used it at work, the supervisor was not around. However, I was warned by a fellow colleague that I shouldn't listen to music during working hours as it constitutes to a warning letter IF i get caught.

Heck, I can't concentrate because of the external noise and my only way to fix this problem will get me in trouble if i get caught. What should I do?

[laurence2]

hi gnisy, you can't be serious about the no talking, if true i appreciate your annoyance as it is obviously distracting you, but look on the other side of the coin, to sit their all day everyday abiding by the rules would frustrate the hell out of most.{the term office gossip springs to mind].

maybe your not cut-out to work with others etc, but i'm afraid i think your fighting a losing battle on this one, and through you complaining if managerment enforce it, it won't be long before word gets round amongst the rest of the staff that you are moaning about them talking etc.

i no it dosen't make it right, but i no of no job that abides to the rules religiously, sorry

[WendyS]

The rules seem somewhat draconian to me. After all, it's hardly human not to chat at all. However, if those are the rules that you signed up to, I guess they have to be observed.

Why not stick your headphones into your ears to block out all the external noise but don't attach them into your music player? That way, if somebody challenges you for breaking rules, you can legitmately claim that you are not listening to music (which they can verfiy) but are only using them to block out all the other distracting chattering sounds which are preventing you from concentrating on the job. Then maybe somebody will be forced to take action to ensure that everybody else obeys the rules.

[jay139]

Its lovely to have a chat at work, it makes the day go quicker, and its nice to have a chat with friends. Do your workmates know your feelings on this matter?prehaps if you joined in a bit more you might enjoy yourself.I have worked in an operating theartre where music was played, everyone chatted and it was a pleasure to go to work ( and work was carried out to very high standard). Happy workers are usually productive workers

[shazbang]

Seriously? have you time-travelled here from the dark ages? I bet if there was no policy on talking, there wouldn't be any. You and your colleagues are being treated like naughty schoolchildren and school children often rebel by doing the thing they're told not to do.

I used to work in an open plan office where there was a bit of chat but most people just got on with their work. The office manager sat in the office too but was a real dragon so nobody included her in conversations. Next thing we knew she partitioned everyone off so we couldn't talk at all. I left shortly after this.

[Gnisy]

Perhaps it was my fault and I have not made this clear. There is a difference between chatting on off at intervals and chatting throughout the whole day and not getting anything done. It is none of my concern whether or not the rest of them get anything done. I do however have a problem with focusing on my own stuff if there is too much noise.

I do chat with them, regularly. But I know my limits and I don't mind that they chat all day long. I just mind it if it is stopping my productivity, which is currently happening. Now, I can be a bit*ch about it and tell them to shut it if I want to but I didn't because I felt that tension in the workplace is not helping. They are nice people by the way. Just chatty.

Plus, it is not much of the talking that I am annoyed about. It's the double standards of how the policies are applied. Thank you WendyS for proposing such an idea. I've actually tried it and they took the hint and quieten down about 20% of the time or when I can keep the earphones on.

Happy workers are only productive workers if they did any work at all in the first place.

shazbang,fyi we all have our separate cubicles. They talk loud enough for their voice to go over the cubicles =) If it was a simple thing as normal chitchat that goes on and off for 15 minutes every hour or so, I wouldn't be posting in here for help. I'd be encouraging it.

Thanks everyone for their replies. I guess I gotta bear with it then.

[Top Turkey]

I'm actually a manager (amongst other things) of a team of staff in an open plan office, and we too, have a policy (it's not a regulation as such though) which states that private conversations should kept to a minimum during office time. We do this so that those people who really are not worried about what Betty had for tea last night, can concentrate and get on with their work.

If I were you, I would go and see you line manager and just say that noise in the office is too much for you and you have tried to ignore it but can't. Say that you plan to get a music player that will not affect your work or that of others, and you will have it at a level that will still allow you to hear 'phones and work requests from other colleagues.

Cheers

[laurence2]

Top turkey, How can you advise gnisy to approach managerment and advise her to get a music player that don,t affect her work. Rules at her office state no listening to music {YES RULES}. thats now one rule for gnisy {music allowed} and the rest of them obey the office rules, Now your argue its to counted act the talking by the rest of the office workers, well now we have a situation where we might as well throw the rules out the window and do what you like.

Rules and policies are their to abide by granted, but if their is no flexibility {talking whilst working} it brings an unhappy workforce.

ps, gnisy, i'll be interested to no if 1, Anyone has been disiciplined for talking whilst working. 2, Has the business been affected by these rules, i suggest not.

[Top Turkey]

Laurence2 - notwithstanding your typos that made it not straight forward to understand what you were saying, I was simply saying that she could approach her line manager to state that, in her opinion, the rules are not working because there are "endless chats" - any competent manager would at least listen and review the situation if approached by a well thought out and professionally stated argument, especially if personal productivity was being compromised.

Of course, it may turn out that she is told to go forth and multiply, but asking (not complaining) wouldn't do her any harm in my opinion.

TT

[Gnisy]

Ah, I leave you kids alone for a minute and you start pouncing on each other's backs. tsk tsk tsk.

Anyhoo, i had a bit of a problem understand laurence2 but i appreciate the comments anyways.

No, no one has been disciplined for talking and I was thinking that I would kick up a storm if anyone discipline me for listening to music. Because that would mean that there are two types of rules working here: the majority ( you can do what you like because most of you are doing it ) rule and the minority ( I wanna be the minority - sing it!) rule. I know that life is not fair but good management would ensure a happy workforce AND a team of people who are productive.

Yes, production is greatly affected by endless chatters - and I do mean endless. ( Btw, betty didn't have tea last night cause she was at Greg's, oops, was I thinking out loud? ) I heard about backlogs and laments that they don't have enough time to finish what they have been assigned to and then I start the eye-rolling bit. I mean... sigh.. need I say more?

By the way, I thought I closed this thread down ??

[laurence2]

top turkey, And thats where it will end, your view/myview

Gnisy, I still feel your future lies elsewhere tho, maybe management ?

thanks