My chomping colleague

[Glowbuggy]

I work in a small office, only a few of us and EVERY SINGLE DAY, my colleague brings a bag of carrots to chomp on. I can’t even describe how loud her chomping is, and it makes me murderous with every single bite! How do I stop this without being an arsehole? I’ve tried hints about loud eaters, my misophonia and eating etiquettes. Hints don’t work! This is actually stressing me out and affecting my work 😢

Most people don"t even know they are being annoying.
It's like nail biting. I bite mine and have no idea I've done it really....yet people around me say " stop biting your nails" Yet I so notice other people doing it and, yes ,it's really watching distracted chewers.

Always say something. It makes you feel better even if they don't really change.

Isn't she a bit.. orange?

I sympathise, it would drive me absolutely bonkers. I worked with a woman who, despite an office rule of no meals at your desk, made her way through either a bucket of Maltesers, tub of marks flapjack or a party size bag of mini chocolates
Apparently she needed to maintain her sugar levels.

just saying, I have an eating disorder and for a while carrots were the only food I'd eat. if somebody asked me to stop eating carrots because the noise was bothering them I'd stop eating entirely :/

Lulu you'd think she could have had a drink or a bag of something not loud like haribo..

Well, it's all moot. OP posted this on Thursday and hasn't been back since.

Totally understand and sympathise with this. I can’t cope with people eating carrots, apples, crisps or lychees (dh makes the most awful splurping noise with them).

I think you either have to try and have a word with her and explain how you feel or get fantastic headphones. Or change job.

Sometimes things aren't perfect. Despite your misoohonia you are going to have to force yourself to becom accustomed to it, with luck eventually you'll not notice it.

Thorsday Nobody is saying the muncher cannot eat carrots, just that she should not be eating them at her desk.

Jux that really isn't how misophonia works. OP shouldn't have to force herself to become accustomed to it. People really should be eating on their breaks. The majority of us manage it.

Legally your break should be taken away from your work station. Eat all the carrots you like then, munchers

I have Misphonia and it makes my life a misery at times.

I have a colleague who eats crisps all the way through our 12hr shifts. We work in a small room and sit at a different desk every day so moving away is not an option.

Most of my team know and very considerately don't tend to eat crisps etc when I'm in the room. (I only realised this when I went back into the room during my break and everyone was eating crisps)

I work in a communications centre so can't use headphones or just leave the room. I tend to put my headset on and jam my finger in my other ear until the noise stops.

My FIL used to do hypnotherapy and I've genuinely considered asking if he can do something to help.

This would also drive me bonkers.

Why is she munching all day though?

Get some noise cancelling head phones or buy her some worming tablets and start calling her Mr Ed.

You can't do anything about it. I sometimes burst out with things in the midst of the rage (not angrily, just like arghhh!) and people laugh at me. No one takes it seriously and have no idea that really I am trying really hard to mask intense anger. It's so weird how a noise can make you feel like that!

.

Nobody is saying the muncher cannot eat carrots, just that she should not be eating them at her desk.

That’s a pretty big assumption about the policies of the company.

Cough It wasn't intended as a comment about company policies. It's a general comment about people eating on their breaks and not at their desks, because eating at your desk is fairly rank.

Legally all breaks have to be taken away from work stations.

Just wear headphones as many other posters have advised. I have a constant throat clearer to my right at work and someone who seems to have a year round cold to my left. I have to listen to music or podcasts for my sanity. Although this doesn't seem to drown out the obnoxious sniffing/ throat clearing so i play a white noise app in the background too. It's a joy 😣

Just wear headphones. Block out the noise if it bothers you.

We all eat at our desks and I wouldn't see carrots are particularly offensive - they don't smell, they're not messy. I snack throughout the day because I feel better consuming my food slowly rather than in a meal break. We have to eat our lunch at our desk anyway cause we don't have any other space. I wouldn't appreciate anyone trying to tell me not to eat a carrot because it annoyed them.

My question is if she is chomping with her mouth open? People eating with their mouths open IS loud (and bad manners) and completely fixable. Therefore you could say “look I know you love your carrots but please eat with your mouth closed, otherwise it is very loud”. If she’s eating with her mouth closed then to be frank there’s nothing you can do. Eating at the desk IS very irritating and it is inconsiderate but you don’t have the right to stop her, and misophonia is not something you can use to say she has to stop.

It's a general comment about people eating on their breaks and not at their desks, because eating at your desk is fairly rank.

To you it might be 'rank', to others it makes work easier as you can get on with your work rather than taking an enforced break you do not want.

Legally all breaks have to be taken away from work stations.

You know other people realise when you're talking unmitigated bollocks, don't you?

You have my utmost sympathy.
I have a colleague who sits right next to me chomping her daily dose if carrots and hiccups for at least one hour afterwards.
I talked and laughed about her hiccuping, but couldn't get anywhere, she acknowledges it makes her very hiccupy and carries on regardless.
Other people are annoyed too but since she doesn't care about hints, nothing changes.
I am now putting on my earphones as soon as carrots come out. Passive aggressive maybe, but it is manageable now. And the point is, I only put on earphones when carrots come out so it's obvious.
My colleague is a good colleague otherwise and I don't want to alienate her or make the working environment unpleasant in any way. So I don't want to confront her more directly and definitely don't want to put an official complain about it either. And that's been my solution.

pigeon

I suggest you educate yourself before writing things like that.

worksmart.org.uk/health-advice/illnesses-and-injuries/work-illnesses/rsi/do-i-have-right-take-break

@happypoobum do you honestly read that as 'legally breaks have to be taken away from the work station'? Is that something you believe is the case?

@pigeondujour

Here is the ACAS guidance if TUC guidelines and Working Time Directive isn't plain enough for you. www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4282

You obviously are all set for some kind of bunfight here, and it isn't even your thread which says a lot about you.

I will let you get on with it and hide the thread and ignore you. You will have to find someone else to make ridiculous comments to

OP - I do hope you get a resolution. It's so selfish of people to eat at their desks like this.