To want my partner to have fewer Zoom meetings in the garden?

[Lunificent]

Admittedly, we’ve only had one nice day so far this year so this isn’t yet an issue. However, last summer he was often having back to back work meetings in the garden for large parts of the day.
The reason it bothers me mainly is that I feel it’s not fair to the neighbours. He’s not saying anything confidential but it’s loud enough to be heard and it’s not just chit chat. I wouldn’t want to hear it if I was them. I’ve suggested not that he entirely stops doing this, but that if there are going to be many throughout the day, that he is a little more considerate.
His argument is that he is not breaking the law and it’s up to him what he does in his own garden so he will use the garden for work meetings at any time of the day he chooses (obv. He wouldn’t disturb anyone late at night).
So am I being unreasonable?

If I were your neighbour, and if it bothered me, and only if it bothered me, I would start by chatting over the fence when he is on the calls. I might decide it was a good time yo mow the lawn, use a leaf blower or play the radio.

But then that is because I can be a passive aggressive bitch.

I might also knock on your door and say ‘you might not be aware of this but I heard you speak to client x about y today, and I know your credit card number is 123456678 with a expiry date of June 2024 because you gave it to mail order company. Obviously, I am not going to use that information but you might want to keep it down or have those conversations indoors because other people might’.

But whether I tell you you face to face or by making it too bloody annoying for you to use your garden, I would let you know. Have your neighbours done anything similar? Are you sure they even notice?

Maybe the odd occasion I suppose - for instance if something was going on in the house that meant he had to go outside. But not regularly, it’s so inconsiderate.

People - or maybe men - seem to talk much more loudly and in a more annoying way when it’s a work call. People on trains barking on about their work stuff - so irritating! It’s doubly annoying somehow to hear someone’s conversation when it’s only half comprehensive- with work phrases and acronyms all over the place.

Please tell him to stop!

Gertrude my husband BELLOWS when he's on the phone or on online meetings, it's maddening!

But then, my mum does it too, so not exclusively a man thing

I don't really see how this is selfish unless he is stopping you from using the garden or expecting the neighbours to be quiet. He is just using his own garden, why would he have to be considerate of the neighbours for normal low volume usage? What is the difference between this and the two of you sitting and chatting outside all day as far as the neighbours are concerned?

@QuimReaper

elizabeth I hate people like you. So do all of your immediate neighbours. They call you 'that inconsiderate cunt at number twenty three'.

Yep.

YANBU but your husband definitely IBU! How inconsiderate and unprofessional.

Let me guess, he's not used to wfh and is normally office based? The novelty of being able to take calls in the garden hasn't worn off yet but it's not professional and isn't a good look if you have neighbours nearby.

YANBU at all
Why are people so disrespectful and inconsiderate towards their neighbours?

He is really lucky, the neighbours could start playing the same game, and have a karaoke session or an urgent (loud) gardening need every time he starts his meetings.

@elizabethdraper

I worked in the garden all last summer Couldn't give 2 shites what the neighbours think tbh

you are just ridiculously lucky that neighbours are not like you.

I would start "working" in the garden too if I was them, until the noise brings you back inside

*If you are lucky enough to have a garden you are entitled to use it however you like"

You aren't, actually. And even the stuff you are allowed to do, doesn't mean you should.

There are plenty of selfish assholes who feel like OP's partner "I can do as I like, fuck everyone else"....and everyone hates them. The wanker with the loud music and the weapon with the dog that never stops barking.

Let me just put this down on the list of what we aren't allowed to do in our gardens according to mn. Right up there with children not being allowed on trampolines before 10am on weekends.

My neighbor does this, it doesn’t bother me, people make noise.However the other neighbours have children with a disability and that noise I can’t stand so I put the radio on in my garden when they are out playing so I can’t hear them. They make a wailing noise, obviously not their fault but it sets me off and I physically can’t bear to hear it as it sounds like a child moaning in pain and I have issues with kids getting hurt so I don’t can’t listen to it as I find it upsetting and it sets of my anxiety a little as I just feel ‘danger’!

So you have one guy shouting into a phone, one set of wailing children and you with your loud music?
If I was the fourth neighbour I'd want to blow up the street.

@Overdueanamechange

Let me just put this down on the list of what we aren't allowed to do in our gardens according to mn. Right up there with children not being allowed on trampolines before 10am on weekends.

I feel so sorry with people stuck with neighbours like you, I truly do. As if lockdown wasn't bad enough.

I don't know. It depends to some extent on (a) how loud the conversations are; and (b) whether the meetings involve anything confidential, or that other participants would mind someone overhearing - if so, then it would be unprofessional. Personally, I wouldn't mind having neighbours doing Zoom meetings in the garden, so long as they aren't super-loud about it. But some people are more sensitive about such things.

It’s unprofessional.
I speak to clients or colleagues regularly and what we discuss is rarely confidential but I wouldn’t want to be overheard by anyone

I've come to the conclusion on MN that people are a bit weird about most things noise and about their gardens.

Depending on where you live, you can hear all kinds of different noises if you stand in your garden - building work, traffic, birds, planes, helicopters, car alarms etc. The sound of somebody having a conversation is a pretty normal and inoffensive noise. No different than when you hear people talking on the street, in cafés or pubs, at a meeting, on public transport. Unless you live in the middle of nowhere with no neighbours, why would you expect your garden to be quiet?

I would hate this...could you tell your neighbours to feel free to play loud music outside when they hear him??

@elizabethdraper

I worked in the garden all last summer Couldn't give 2 shites what the neighbours think tbh

This is my exact reaction to this post. Bollocks to the neighbours I’ll do what I want in my own garden within reason, and I think this is within reason!

Being legal and being rude are different things. It is very unfair to neighbours if it is frequent.

This is my exact reaction to this post. Bollocks to the neighbours I’ll do what I want in my own garden within reason, and I think this is within reason!

bet you'll be the first to complain when your neighbours decide to do exactly the same..do what they want "within reason".

@Dashel

I think I would get a phone call from my boss asking wtf was I doing working in the garden if I did this.

why?

its no different from working in the spare bedroom is it?

@quitecontrary123

Wow I'd hate to be neighbours with you lot, how miserable. Throughout lockdown I've loved hearing life in my neighbouring gardens, whether that is people chatting on the phone, music playing, families talking, children playing/shouting. It has reminded me that there is life outside of my own 4 walls. I'm guessing work meetings in the garden isn't going to be a permanent fixture so I really wouldn't be getting worked up about this.

This Why is everyone obsessed with being silent? Life is noisy. Enjoy it!

A few of my neighbours have been working in the garden and it doesn't bother me at all. Id rather hear chitchat than blaring music during the workday. I'd work outside myself for a few hours but our WiFi signal isn't strong enough where our table is. I suspect if anyone was bothered they'd start doing loud things until he gives up. If they haven't, they're probably fine with it.

I did that last year tbh. I was working 12 hour days and I needed the fresh air. There were very few Zoom meetings as everyone was furloughed, but I was on the phone a lot.

I did make an effort to keep my voice low and both us and the neighbours have a decent sized garden and our table is at the opposite end to them. I really hope it didn’t bother them but at the same time the garden was one of the reasons we bought this house so I don’t apologise for making use of it the only way I could during a very difficult period.

DH is converting the shed into an office for me as I'm sick of having my desk in the living room. I don't doubt the neighbours will be able to hear me talking but what am I supposed to do?

@Dashel

I think I would get a phone call from my boss asking wtf was I doing working in the garden if I did this.

What difference does it make? I'd point out I'm not happy working in my living room, they're not happy with me working in the garden so maybe they should let me go back to the office!