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Noise

Here are the questions filed under this category. To read Ken's advice on any item, click on the link "Read Ken's Answer."


During my performance review today, my manager told me that I don't have much "cubicle etiquette." I told her I had never heard that expression before. She said something about my being too noisy and distracting employees in the cubicles around me. I don't think I'm that noisy. I don't know what to do with what she said. Any ideas?
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We just had a business lunch meeting at a very noisy restaurant. I think I heard about half of what was being said, and now I've got to track people down to find out what I am supposed to be doing. This is not the first time we have met at this restaurant, and it's a waste. I should say the food is great. What's the point of these meetings?
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I am fairly new in this company, and they page people on a loudspeaker system that is wired into every office. These interruptions are loud, and they make it hard for me to concentrate, talk on the phone, and contribute in meetings. The people who have been here for a while seem to ignore it, but it goes right through me. Do you have any suggestions?
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There is a person in our office who is always talking out loud about the chores she is completing, whether she is filing papers, entering data on the computer, or rearranging her desk. It is a little distracting, and a little strange, and we are not sure if we should say something. What do you think?
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I work in a professional office where the work groups are separated by five-foot high partitions. Recently a co-worker was transferred to the group next to mine, and she is extremely loud and boisterous, to the point of disrupting the work of everyone around her. I asked my supervisor, who is also her supervisor, to speak to her, but he said I should do it myself. I think this is his responsibility, and I am afraid of causing tension if I talk to her. What should I do?
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We have a break room, and every time I take a break, there is a group of five employees from another department who always sit at the same table and they are so loud that I can hardly hear my friends who sit with me. One of the employees in the other group is a supervisor, and I politely asked him to talk a little quieter. He said he is on a break and can be as loud as he likes. What should I do?
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