to think colleague's behaviour is fucking revolting?

[justbloodywellstop]

Work in big open plan office, about 100-150 on our floor.

All desks are visible all the time, there's no partitions or anything.

A colleague sits and picks their nose constantly throughout the day. Once excavated, nose contents are eaten. I have to try not to look - they are not directly in my eyeline, but it's easy to see them from where I sit - but it makes me gag.

I'm not the only one, several others find it awful too. One lady couldn't eat her lunch the other day because of it.

Nosepicker is fairly senior, apparently their manager has been told about it, and manager has been begged to have a word with nosepicker, but either that discussion hasn't happened or nosepicker has ignored it.

Wtf do we do? This is horrible isn't it? Nosepicker seems to carry on without compunction, I'm starting to wonder if they think this is normal?! I wouldn't allow a 5 year old to do this, why does an adult!

In case it's relevant nosepicker is late 30s/ early 40s. Born and raised in Uk. Degree educated. So old and educated enough to know better, you'd think

Put some tissues on the desk before they come in of a morning?

Leave a note telling them if they really must eat their bogeys to go and do it in the toilet as they're making everyone feel sick.

Or just write, oi you dirty bastard we have had enough of watching you eat the contents of your nose, stop or the secret recording we have of you doing it ends up on youtube.

Sticky "What HR policy has he flouted! If he is his forties he clearly doesn't give a damn and doesn't care who is losing their lunch around him"

There might be something about hygiene, respect for colleagues etc
Mystified by the reference to his age.

Catapult? Every time the hand goes up, he gets a mint imperial to the back of the head?

Reminded me of when I worked in a factory with about 30 in one department. One man ended up with a written warning on account of his farts. He insisted on bringing egg sandwiches every day in his pack up, so not long after lunch he used to clear all 30 out of the area until the smell had gone.

Sorry, nothing to do with this thread, although you could try egg sandwiches I suppose

Next time this person starts picking her nose and eating it, all of you stand up, stick your hands down the back of your trousers [crucially outside your underpants/knickers], pretend to have a vigorous and prolonged scratch of your anus, withdraw the hand and suck the fingers with relish and appreciative noises. I doubt if you will have to do it more than twice. But the whole office has to do it, and without cracking a smile. Either that or buy everyone a farting machine and let if rip as fingers enter hooter.

My uncle is a very senior solicitor and runs his own firm. He is absolutely a nose picker and he eats it too . It's disgusting, I gave this habit up when I was about 7 as I remember being shamed by one of my school friends clearly it just doesn't work on some people.

What a total lack of personal hygiene. It makes you wonder if they wash after going to the toilet, or maybe that adds to the taste!
On serious note, everything this person touches after their foraging is contaminated and risks infecting the entire office. Put that to HR.

I call it digging for gold. I usually talk about it loudly near the person, mentioning that it wasn't any gold I wanted to dig for. The person usually goes very red and stops doing it. If your colleagues start to all discuss the topic, the person may realise it's disgusting and more importantly highly visible and obvious to all of you!

It doesn't matter where HR is located - you could contact them wherever they are. However, you could either - speak to HR, speak to your manager and say this has gone on long enough and to address this unsavoury issue with the pickee :-), OR, leave a note with tissues on pickee's desk - And do the ringing phone whenever digit enters nostril thing! Good luck!

Do they know people can see them? Are they in a cubicle or open desks? Sorry, I know it's disgusting but I'm genuinely intrigued about how someone can think this is okay?!?!

I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with picking your nose (I find it quite satisfying), but it's not something you should do in public.

"Got any gold nuggets up that proboscious of yours?" When you see the nosepicker in action usually stops it.

If eating it just say "Mmm tasty!" In a voice dripping with sarcasm.

Although what's wrong with some people, I worked with a giy who farted, scratched his bum and cut his toenails in the !?

Lots of anonymous notes.

or preferably

get a gang of you together and and all approach him together. If nobody wants to do the actual talking, put a type written note in front of him and watch while he reads it. Surely the embarrassment then would stop it and there is safety in numbers.

You need to organise your colleagues to do this whilst he/she is in the middle of excavation

m.youtube.com/watch?v=vt_farHgMfM

I can't even read the posts on here OP it makes me gag, I don't even know why I clicked on this thread other than to say I would HAVE to write an anonymous note and maybe leave a box of tissues with it. It makes me feel physically sick even thinking about it, it is beyond disgusting.

If I met the most sexy gorgeous amazing man in the world (prior to meeting DH) and they picked their nose and ate it, i could never go near them again.

When the boys go digging, I just casually ask them "hungry?"

Gawd, I could gobble Dominic Wood up!!!

It's one of those compulsive behaviours, he might not even realise he's doing it. I wouldn't shame him into stopping with a crude comment, but go via the manager. It's the manager's job to breach this subject with him and make him stop.
I had a similar problem with my DD's primary school teacher, who was constantly biting her nails in front of the children. I thought this was a discussing habit and was appalled that she did it in front of her class.

Not sure what being old or educated has to do with nose picking

Also, I'm quite surprised at the amount of people saying it's disgusting etc after the 'what's your most disgusting habit' thread where nearly 99% of posters owned up to nose picking.

Deffo anonymous note - prob a disgusting habit they have and doing so without even realising. Yuk.
Maybe google and see if you can get an article about germs ingested by nosepickets and leave that on said desk too. Or if note is not possible without being spotted - internal post?

thequeeniftarts

Wow - would you really say that? I couldn't be that cruel in front of 150 people - s/he probably doesn't now s/he's doing it if it's an ingrained habit - it's disgusting and needs to be dealt with but that's too strong in front of 150 people - it's too unkind.

All of you start whistling 'Colonel Bogey's March' every time he gets his finger up his snout.

This is NOT a job for HR. Its a managers job to manage their staff, we are there to coach them through any difficulties.

What's born and raised in the UK got to do with nose picking?