My coworker uses his speakerphone for every single personal call he takes in the office.
By @niakindof · Work
We work in an open floor plan, so I get a running commentary of his life, from arguments with his girlfriend to scheduling a dentist appointment. He seems completely oblivious to the fact that ten other people are listening.
The full story
It's incessant. Today I learned all about the plumbing issues in his new apartment and listened to a 20-minute call with his mother about what to bring to a family barbecue. It's not like he's a loud person, but the background noise of his life is now the soundtrack to my workday. I've tried putting on noise-cancelling headphones, but you can only do that for so long. I feel like it's unbelievably unprofessional and rude, but he's a senior member of the team and I'm relatively new here. Am I supposed to just accept this?
How people voted
- Totally Cooked — 28% (13 votes)
- It’s Complicated — 46% (21 votes)
- You’re Fine — 26% (12 votes)
Readers say “It’s Complicated” (46%) — 46 votes and 4 comments so far.
What people are saying
@samelol — Have you or anyone else tried just asking him to use headphones?
@tom — I'm sure it's annoying, but 'unbelievably unprofessional' feels a bit strong if he's otherwise good at his job.
@jules — start talking back to his mom through the phone see what happens
@codysorta — Sounds like he has extreme main character energy and thinks you're all just NPCs.
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