People that talk like this

[HelloHappyCampers]

AIBU there is a lady in our office and she speaks so so quietly almost like a breathy whisper if that makes sense.

We've had complaints when on teams calls and when she's on the phone with customers that people can't hear her And she wont speak up.

We've worked with her confidence to speak up but she says she is (and does seem) very confident and this is just how she speaks and she won't be changing.

It's unfortunately got to the point where we've had to start the process of managing her out of the business because a huge part of the role is speaking with customers and she definitely wasn't as quiet as this when she interviewed and first started.

I feel terrible about it but AIBU?

She is a Low Talker.

Be careful, or you might end up wearing a puffy shirt on national television…

Have you had your thyroid checked? One of the symptoms of my thyroid slowly giving up the ghost was my voice becoming more raspy.

Has the issue been fully investigated by a an actual doctor? Not just occy health? There are conditions that can cause this that she might not realise she has- she might find it discomforting to speak loudly and choose not to, but not realise there is a medical reason for the discomfort-

Ehlors-Danlos springs to mind- a lot of people don’t know they have it for one thing, and a lot of doctors don’t know all the ins and outs so people who do have a diagnosis often don’t know all the ways it’s affecting them-

but it can affect the voice and make talking tiring/uncomfortable/difficult in non obvious ways (so not a sore throat, Pronunciation issues type stuff).

It just seems very odd for someone who is desperate for their job to choose to sabotage it for no reason.

Yes she was referred to a consultant and all sorts. She has no health conditions that have been identified, she did also (begrudgingly) before this point go and see her GP who did a thorough investigation including blood tests and all sorts. (She is open and told me all this)

she thinks she used to put on a bit of a fake office/phone voice and be louder than normal which we all thought was her normal voice and now she's reverted to her actual normal voice and can't seem to/doesn't want to change back even when on the phone. It's so odd I didn't even know where to begin with it at first. She is desperate to keep her job, she actively looks down on those on benefits so I know she's not looking to do that.

She has also been spoken to about a sideways move into a less customer focused role but didn't want to consider that either. She actually said this week 'this is my hill to die on' which makes it seem like she's just being stubborn really. Great advice so far thank you all, I will have another chat with tech support to see if there is literally anything else we can do for the phone calls side of things.

So she's desperate to keep her job but not enough to just talk louder? How odd. Does she recognise it's a problem - for her as much as anyone else? Would she be open to speech therapy if the company paid?

Given that she isn't prepared to change roles and her 'hill to die on' statement it does sound as if she's angling for a compromise agreement though.

We've tried to compromise at first by keeping her off the phones and trying to fill her time with other work however she spent a lot of time twiddling her thumbs and other staff members were getting annoyed about it. She then also started to get upset and missed doing the main part of her role so we had to put her back on it and try and find a tech solution but nothing seemed to do enough to bring the volume up (without distorting the sound too) and it didn't always seem to relay to customers phones and they still struggled to hear. Our calls are recorded too for compliance reasons and this was also having issues with her calls. We've spent time and money trying to rectify it but to no avail really. We don't have unlimited resources to look into any further tech really either but I will have another chat with them and the MD to see if we're missing any options.

Well, that’s just bizarre.

I mean, there must be something wrong with her thinking capabilities if she wants the job but won’t actually do the job.

Still, that isn’t your problem. Surely she will fail the PIP and be into a disciplinary if you have exhausted all the avenues of support available.

What are her suggestions? When you say “you aren’t doing your job because you aren’t managing phone calls properly” what does she say?

Strangest thing I’ve heard so far this week.

This poster nailed it on page 1.

It’s a stupid power and control thing that she will have read on LinkedIn. She thinks she’s so important that everyone should listen closely to her.

As someone who relies on lipreading a lot, if I was in a virtual meeting with her I’d just say “Sharon I can’t hear you. Sharon, I still can’t hear you,” then eventually “Sharon, no one can hear you, so I’m going to mute you now so others can speak.”

Sounds like you’re all being too tolerant.

I know, I had to name change because this Is quite outing but I assure you it's real and is extremely bizarre.

She just keeps saying 'well I think this is all a bit of a storm in a tea cup' and 'I'm sure it'll sort itself out' and various other things like that. She thinks the customers just need to listen harder basically 🤦‍♀️ she has cried to me that she's worried she'll lose her job but then also seems very defiant/stubborn and acts like it's somehow our fault the rest of the time. It's very difficult to manage, I care about my staff but I've had sleepless nights about this lady. The PIP has 2 months remaining, it is positively worded and not designed to catch her out/be unachievable so we'll have to see what happens basically.

I've not had a colleague do this but I have had colleagues who I assume are bored or lonely and have gone on to create massive workplace dramas for, I don't know, attention? Entertainment? Maybe this is her motivation.

Sounds like discrimination to me. Have you tried with a voice coach?

Have you actually read any of my updates? What part of this seems like discrimination?

I will ask the MD/occ health about this voice coach option but I cant see how this could be taken as discrimination. I'm not sure she'll engage with a voice coach anyway but I'll ask her.

She has quite a 'full' life outside of work, we are quite a social bunch and sometimes she can't join in because of her various hobbies etc so I'm not sure it's this. Maybe I need another chat with her to check if there's anything going on outside of work.

It’s really hard when people’s behaviour is so completely batshit- lazy/late/rude/aggressive/stupid/incorrect is one thing, but just bloody plain weird is much more difficult.

It would only be discrimination if she had something that was stopping her speaking normally.

Also, if she can’t do the job because of a disability, she can’t do it. A blind person can’t drive a bus, someone in a wheelchair can’t be a firefighter. She has been offered a sideways move and refused.

Is she an older lady? I have a colleague who speaks quietly who told me she struggles with projecting her voice without causing strain since getting older. It was never an issue for her when she was younger. Could this be it?

No shes 48 and before anyone says she hasn't been suffering from menopause or peri menopause yet (as far as she tells me) from reading too much mumsnet I did ask her about this as a suggestion really and she said no shes 'blessed to not have hit that yet'

On the face of it it sounds like she's just being stubborn. I can't think of any other reasons, given all you've told us about the investigations and conversations you've had.
Have you explicitly said 'You cannot keep doing this job if your voice is at this volume, because people can't hear you and we're getting customer complaints.'? If so, is her response just along the lines of the 'storm in a tea cup' and 'I'm sure it'll sort itself out' things she says?

Sounds like you've genuinely done your best and followed proper processes, OP, (though I hope the "managing out" was just a reference to the PIP?) but sadly there sometimes simply isn't an answer beyond her not being suitable for the job

It's a shame, but how are you supposed to carry on like this when it's phone work - to say nothing of how anyone with less than perfect hearing can cope?
Even with coaching she'll probably just do that thing where a few louder words rapidly tail off into a whisper, so I guess it might just have to be goodbye

I think you should offer her some personal coaching sessions to include voice/ breathing techniques. If you google there are a number of companies who use actors and voice coaches for this type of thing.

I’m not sure it’s easy to change your voice, I’m very quietly spoken and if I try to speak
loud like you’re requesting it would strain my voice and damage throat?

This is why I said the word discrimination, because it’s not something she can help. Maybe discrimination is the ring word as it’s not one of the protected characteristics but it does seem unfair. Maybe she needs a microphone or something.

Is there anything else about the way she works that you don’t like, because I’m not sure how easy it will be to manage someone out because of their voice volume

If it’s only in the last year or so sounds like a health issue.

I went to school with someone like this. She would whisper-mumble if she was asked a question. I knew her for about eight years, and one day towards the end of secondary school. I heard her at the end of the school day speaking loudly - I remember being really surprised that she had a "real" voice because it sounded nothing like her!! Think she was deliberately putting on the soft voice to avoid being called on.

If someone is physically not capable of doing the job it is that clear cut.

There area lots of cases of this: to be cabin crew you have to 5’2”. Is it fair to people under that height as it isn’t something they can control? Or just acknowledge they can’t do that job?

This lady has been given tech to help, been to see occupational health, offered a sideways move but nothing is changing. It seems inevitable that at the end of her PIP she will be dismissed as she can not do her customer phone calls.