We work in a very small office space. In the middle is a cupboard filled with various odds and ends. Noise from this part of the office tends to travel throughout the rest of the office.
A colleague periodically makes a huge ruckus in the cupboard โ doors are slammed, items are dropped, tools are used and there are sometimes shouts of exasperation. At first, I thought this was someone having a rough day at the office. But it constantly happens and itโs clearly attention seeking.
I have had a quiet word to this person, asking whether I can help. I have mentioned that Iโm asking because the noise is obvious. They insist I canโt help but they donโt take the hint that this constant racket is distracting and needs to stop. What else could I try?
The solution might not be simple or obvious, and if a reprimand is required, there may be unpleasant conversations.Credit: John Shakespeare
Surely when someone is frequently causing a disturbance at work, a leaderโs job is to intervene โ whether to help them, to guide them towards a different way of operating or to discipline them. I canโt believe how often it falls on people at the same or lower level as the person causing the problem to find an answer or make a stand.
With no such intervention forthcoming, I think you did the right thing by subtly bringing up the noise and offering to help. Asking whether you can ease some of the burden seems like a sensible step to me. I can see how you would be a little bit frustrated that your polite enquiry led to no change in this activity.
If you really feel youโre the only person willing to do anything, perhaps a gentle step up from this approach would be to ask a similar question as the cacophony is in full swing.
You might even begin by telling the person that you could hear their noise from a long way away. If you donโt want to be quite so blunt, you could say the noise was so loud it startled you, and you wanted to check if they were all right.
This may also be an opportunity to ask precisely what theyโre doing โ not in an accusatory way, but just to get an idea of the problem theyโre trying to solve. Is this a task that inherently needs to be done at regular intervals?
Is it a fault or failure that keeps coming back? If itโs neither of these things, the question Iโd want to get to the bottom of is why this banging, smashing and yelling is happening so often.
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