Gum chewing

LauraMax

LauraMax

Cathlete
OK, I have a temp working about 30 feet from my office. She's a doll. She's a great worker. She's dependable. She's one of the nicest people I've ever met.

But she chews gum ALL DAY LONG & I can hear it from my office. I have to shut my door, it's so distracting. What can I do? I don't want to say anything to her & hurt her feelings--I don't think there's any tactful way to say "stop chewing your gum so loudly." Obviously I can't outlaw gum in the office. :p Am I stuck working w/my door closed forever? Do you think she'll eventually get the hint that I shut my door every time she puts gum in her mouth? x(
 
Laura,
I can relate with you about how irritating this is. I used to work with a girl who also constantly chewed AND snapped gum. You could hear it throughout the whole office. I don't really know how to tactfully to tell a person how bothersome this is, but you could tell her something like: "I notice you always chewing gum. I won't because a couple people have told me they developed TMJ (jaw) problems doing it all day."

It won't be a lie, cuz I'm a dental hygienist who HAS heard it from a few patients that they exasperate their condition when they chew gum AT ALL.

Just a thought, but I do sympathize with you!

Doreen
 
Nope. She'll never get the hint. I think you're doomed to either work with your office door shut for the remainder of her time temping there or invest in some ear plugs.

I'm with ya though. NOTHING annoys me more than people chewing their gum like cow.

Allison
 
I would just politely say something. I actually had a coworker like this once and it drove me to the point of not being polite. I just turned around and said "enough with the gum already!!"
He got the point and it stopped. If she is young, I would pull her into the office and mention it - particularly because it will hurt her career going forward if she keeps that up. Until someone tells her, she's not going to know it's a problem. (it's a major pet peeve of mine, though, so......)
 
Yeah, I'd talk to her. Tell her that her gum chewing is loud and it's distracting. I had a coworker that hummed constantly. And I don't have a door to close - we work in cubicles! She wasn't just softly humming amazing grace or anything either. She hummed like she was attempting to break the windows with the vibrations. I did EVERYTHING to distract myself but I could even hear her over my headphones with the radio on! Finally I pulled my chair up to her and said "do you have time to talk to me?" I went over some other issues that I felt she was doing to undermind me, but in the end I said "One last thing is - you have GOT to stop humming. And I don't mean hum more softly - I mean, don't do it at all. I cannot get my work done or concentrate at all when you're humming." She tried to suggest it was an unconscious thing, but after I said this to her she stopped. Completely. It was awful though - she'd just hum like one note of a song...not a lyric or anything. You couldn't even follow along in your mind...she'd just hit one note and hold it. I was ready to gnaw my left arm off.

Sympathies to you dear x(
 
Laura,

You said she was a temp.. Do you know how much longer she will be temp at your office? If it is not much longer, you can probably hang on. If it is going to be long, then maybe you should pull her into your office and politely speak to her about it.

Debbie
 
I totally agree with above poster.

if you say nothing but bottle it all up, sooner or later it will all come spewing out as anger and resentment at this girl. Tell her how distracting it is sooner rather than later to ease office relations.

Clare
 
This would drive me purely insane, because I hate oral noises, so I totally sympathize with you.

If she is nice as you say, I'd just tactfully tell her what's on your mind.....I think you'd really be doing her a favor in the long run, because it doesn't seem very professional to be snapping and chewing loudly all day long.

I hope you are able to resolve this.

Maggie:)
 
I'm not sure how you can politely tell her she's chewing too loudly without tension building. Might be true, but how embarrassing. If it were me, I'd probably lean toward the passive agressive route (typically, not my fave choice, but...), and try something like:

"Hey, I bet you have some gum...I can hear you popping bubbles! Can I have some?" ...you could go on to say... "Thanks, I'll save it for later...I don't like to chew it at work but definitely for my ride home."

If she has any tact, she'll know she was chewing too loudly, offer you some gum and tone down the smacking. If she doesn't get it, she probably never will anyway.

(here's a good excuse for iTunes and earphones!)

Good luck!

:+
 
I would just be straightforward and tell you "you may want to reconsider chewing gum while at work. It's unprofessional and a bit irritating"
 
Egad, I'd chew my left arm off as well. That is SO annoying!! Like others have stated, if she's only a temp, let it go. If she's there to stay, I'd have to say something but would try to just be open and honest. Say two really good things first, then throw in the gum chewing as a side note :)

I had to laugh - this subject sounds like something that would be on Curb Your Enthusiam driving Larry David nuts...I love that show!

Heidi
 
I would just close the door.

I have a heavy step and am a loud walker when I wear heels. I have tried to work on this, but I can't seem to get any quieter. I'm sure there are people in my workplace whom it annoys just as their whistling or constant song-singing works my nerves a little bit.

I try to look at it from the perspective that nobody's perfect. We've all got our quirks, and life's too short to go crazy over our pet peeves.

It could be worse. She could be urinating all over the toilet seat. (ETA: Did you take any action on that, BTW?)

[font face="heather" font color=brick red size=+2]~Cathy [/font face] http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/wavesmile.gif
"Out on the roads there is fitness and self-discovery and the persons we were destined to be." -George Sheehan
 
This seems like a small problem compared to the other work related irritants you're always ranting about! ;-) I would either let it go if she's a short-timer, or say, "Would you mind chewing your gum a little less loudly, please?" Or, mention it to the temp agency and have them tell her to can the loud gum chewing.
 
Laura, I would gladly address the gum chewing issue. When I was a supervisor I had to tell a very nice person and a good worker that she have severe body odor. I could not let it go because her co-workers were suffering terribly. I also had the pleasure of having to address another lady who would eat the wrong things for lunch, then spend the rest of the afternoon passing gas in the office that was silent but deadly!!!
We were all gagging, my office did not spare me from that problem!!!

After those, gum chewing is nothing.

Linda
 
Well, I love the sound of gum chewing and pop. Makes me want to chew on a stick myself. LOL! :7

Just kidding,

Janie

The idea is to die young as late as possible
 
Oh LINDA! How awful for you!!! Did things go well for you? Did they take the news well? How unbelieveable....it amazes me how tactless people can be!
 
OMG Linda, how totally GROSS!

Unfortunately here a temp doesn't necessarily mean temporary. Plus many of those we get from the agency are minorities who we end up hiring permanently, it's turned out to be a great way of promoting diversity w/o involving the unions (meaning if someone doesn't work out we don't have to worry about getting sued for letting them go ;-) ).

Maybe I'll see how it goes & if I have to I'll mention it to her. Such a bummer, she's so sweet & timid, I don't want to make her feel awkward.

Re. the urine on the toilet seat, I printed out the OSHA regs someone had posted (Tracey I think?) in 24 point letters & taped it over the toilet. }( It disappeared a week later (yeah, I saved another copy, I'm no dummy), but the problem seems to have been resolved.

Thanks all! Don't know how I'd survive this place (what I'm starting to call Town He!!) without you! :)
 
Hi Reese,


They were the worse conversations of my life. I waited until the end of the work day to to address the matters and neither one ever returned to work.

The first woman was terribly upset and I believe had no idea of the problem. But the employee whose desk was next to hers would place a stick up under her desk trying to cope (and this employee was a complete sweetheart and would not complain about anything).

The second women was in complete denial. So I just as tactfully as possible stated "Well, maybe you are unaware of the problem, but the other day when you came into my office the smell came with you". (and we were the only two left in the office on that occasion, there was no denying the source) I even tried to give her and out and say maybe it was health related and she should she a doctor???


Linda
 
Laura,

I know you've made a decision on this for now, but I just wanted to add my two cents. My sister and I were NOT allowed to chew gum growing up. My grandmoter is from England and we lived with her and my mother (who they raised in Montreal to be just as proper). We were always told that chewing gum was like a cow chewing its cud. As a result, my sister and I have NO gum-chewing manners as adults. We don't pop our gum, as we never learned to master that skill. But we get a piece of gum and girl, we WORK IT! It's not pretty! When I see my sister driving toward me, I can see her workin' that gum from a half a block away. I've told her that we have no right chewing gum in public. :) And we try not to very often.

I work with a gal who has been in the corporate world for 20 years and now works at the college in which I work. She chews her gum constantly - in meetings in person, on the phone in your ear - you name it. Drives me nuts! And people talk about how unprofessional it is. I think that if there is any way you could tell this gal in a nice way that it is unprofessional (keep it business, not personal), you would really be helping her in the long run.

JMHO

Suz

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." - Anatole France

http://www.picturetrail.com/dogs2birds
 
Suz, your mom sounds like mine! I think that's why it makes me so crazy, she just drove it into our psyches that it was animal-like. And I must admit I'm guilty of it myself--I usually pop a stick in on my way to work b/c there's nothing worse than coffee-breath (except maybe chewing gum like a cow }( ).

In fact, I spent 20 minutes on the phone w/a cable company this morning ordering new service & the saleswoman was chewing gum the entire time. I was constantly on the edge of telling her to spit out her gum or I'd cancel my order, but I'm so desperate for service I bit my tongue.

Which is now a sore, bloody mess. x(
 
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