Work commentator

skywalker

How would you deal with someone in a work environment who insists on passing comment on everything everyone around him does?

I work in a room with 3 other people, one guy consistently earwigs on conversations or telephone calls & always has a comment to make. Like if theres 2 people in the room talking about something (work related or not) he will stop what hes doing, lean over, & stare at them, making no effort to hide it.

We recently changed our office setup & Im right beside this person. Its really grating on me. Im considering asking to be moved, but at the same time it seems like a really childish thing to bring up officially.

Overheal

Get coy about it?

Get a Jar and keep it on the desk. Explain nothing...

every time he makes one of these comments, place One(1) Jelly Bean, into the jar.

HAnd it to him at the end of the day, then explaining the significance.

Wagon

Next time he insists to pissing you of, just don't respond. Let him ramble on all he wants and make no comment. He'll eventually get the message.

In the short term, if he's distracting you from your work then you can ask for a transfer to a different location. Either you'll be moved to a new desk or he'll be spoken to by the manager. The nice thing here is that if you're manager is intelligent (which is unlikely but fingers crossed), he'll realise that while he's interfering with everyone else and he ain't doing his job properly.

watna

I've been in this situation, it was horrible. I worked in an office with one other girl. Whenever I was on a phone call she would listen and then tell me everything I said and did wrong afterwards. I found out afterwards that she actually had mental health issues that meant she tried to control everyone and everything around her, as she had panic attacks when she couldn't control things. Do you think this guy is like that?

The way I solved it was to get short with her every time she made a comment,(it got to the stage where I was telling her to do things herself) or I pretended not to listen. Once i paid no heed to it she didn't do it as much. It was really unpleasant. Even now, a few years later i wait until nobody is about to make phone calls because I hate the thought of anyone listening to what I'm saying and criticising me for it.

I'd say try and ignore it. If it seems novody is even listening to his input I'd say he'll get tired of it soon enough.

If he doesn't you could talk to someone in HR about it, maybe say you fell slightly harassed at his comments (if you realy do feel that strongly about it) or talk to him directly and say you are uncomfortable with it, he might not know he's doing it (see above issue with girl with control problems!).

As a last resort ask to be moved.

star-pants

Overheal wrote: »

Get coy about it?

Get a Jar and keep it on the desk. Explain nothing...

every time he makes one of these comments, place One(1) Jelly Bean, into the jar.

HAnd it to him at the end of the day, then explaining the significance.

I'm sorry but lol that's a brilliant and probably effective idea Overheal.

OT though, if you're having a conversation with someone beside you and he leans over listening, just say 'Oh I'm sorry - are we disturbing? we'll take it outside' and leave for a few mins with the other person.
Or if he comments on something you said in a phone call just look at him blankly for a few seconds and go back to work. On the other hand you could just ignore what he said and start a new topic of conversation with him. Just something random.
I assume you can't just turn around and go 'if you don't mind, it's none of your business'? I know it's probably quite awkward as you have to work with them.

Captain Slow IRL

"Mind your own f*cking business"

Or return the favour to him, nitpick at everything he does.

skywalker

As much as I love overheals suggestion, its not really very practical. & hes been doing this since hes started so its not a question that hes suddenly going to stop of his own accord. It clearly pisses everyone else off, but so far no ones made an issue out of it.

Thing is, in general hes a pretty alright guy, this coupled with a couple other habits make me think he just doesnt seem to understand how to act in a business environment.

Overheal

Would he often be seen turning the volume down on the football match to give his own commentary or is that only for special occassions?

You always run the risk of running into some socially defunct people I'm afraid. There's a lad in our course that suffers from Asperger's and after a while you realise all you can do is do what you can to pretend he isn't even there (sounds harsh but.. hey). If that feels to uncomfortable for you though I can only suggest speaking with a manager about it... and jelly beans.