{"114421":{"#nid":"114421","#data":{"type":"news","title":"What Does Tech Think: Would You Confront a Noisy Co-Worker?","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Situation: \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA co-worker sitting near you regularly takes personal phone calls at her desk and doesn\u2019t seem to know what an \u201cinside voice\u201d is. The situation is beginning to drive you nuts. What would you do?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe Response: \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI would talk to the individual \u2014 but avoid making it feel like a personal attack,\u201d said Chandra Duncan-Scott, administrative professional in Health Promotions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf the problem continued, Duncan-Scott would make another attempt to speak with the person, reminding the individual that the noise was distracting. The next step would be to speak with the person\u2019s supervisor. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBoth Cathy Dreger, secretary to the vice president for Student Affairs, and Deborah Milliner, development assistant in Electrical and Chemical Engineering, would also approach the co-worker before going to that person\u2019s supervisor. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESandra Duplessis agrees that approaching the person first is necessary, given people are often unaware of how loudly they are speaking. If that didn\u2019t work, she\u2019d go to the person\u2019s supervisor. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cCo-workers should remember that it is essential to extend the same courtesy to an employee as they would expect to be extended to them,\u201d said Duplessis, executive assistant to the vice president for Institute Diversity.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPearl Alexander, senior director of employee relations in the Office of Human Resources, suggests that you approach the co-worker and clearly identify the situation that occurred and describe how it affected you. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cLastly, the two employees should discuss possible resolutions,\u201d she added. \u201cYou might say, \u2018Paul, many times I can overhear your personal conversations. This morning when you were talking with your wife, I felt uncomfortable hearing details of your personal life and was not able to focus on my work. It affects my concentration and productivity. How can we work together so you are able to make calls as needed without it affecting my performance?\u2019\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA co-worker sitting near you regularly takes personal phone calls at her desk and doesn\u2019t seem to know what an \u201cinside voice\u201d is. The situation is beginning to drive you nuts. What would you do?\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A co-worker sitting near you regularly takes personal phone calls at her desk and doesn\u2019t seem to know what an \u201cinside voice\u201d is. The situation is beginning to drive you nuts. What would you do?"}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2012-03-05 16:06:12","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:11:48","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2012-03-05T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2012-03-05T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1259","name":"Whistle"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"26031","name":"noisy co-worker"},{"id":"15077","name":"What Does Tech Think"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}