To report the cleaner

[EmotionalLimbo]

I'm a PhD student and work in a doctoral school office with several other researchers, all doing our own thing. It's a wonderful quiet space and we're very lucky.

Well quiet that is until the bins are emptied every afternoon. I'm not sure if the person who comes in is a cleaner because I've never seen her do any cleaning in this office but she might do in other parts of the building.

She's just so loud. She's talking on the phone using Bluetooth earpieces so it looks like she's talking to herself. It's so distracting and it's not a work conversation because it's a foreign language.

I've contacted the estates people to ask them to tell her to stop as it's annoying everyone but nobody dare say anything. It's not my job to tackle her.

AIBU?

A grown adult needing countless other adults, to tell them how to deal with a very ordinary problem.

You quietly speak to the cleaner and ask them to reduce the noise. It’s really that easy. Don’t go to their manager, it’s completely unnecessary at this stage.

Is the space you work in designated a 'quiet space' with notices to that effect? Or is it a just an office where you have all agreed to keep the noise to a minimum? If it is the latter, the cleaner may not even be aware that she was causing a problem for you, in which case I think you should have spoken to her about it yourself rather than emailing her manager. What you have done is pretty much making an official complaint and could put her job in jeopardy.

@dottiehens , same here.

I understand its annoying and disturbing if you are concetrating on your research. I too easily get distracted by cleaners at work.
The way you talk about it here sounds a bit odd though.

Wow involved her manager instead of asking her direct...you don't sound like you understand the world and consequences..#Team Cleaner

They don't.

If no one has asked her to be quiet then why would she take any steps to be quiet. One of you needs to say excuse me, could you be quiet please, I'm working. Then if later on she was still noisy you would email estates.

You said that better than I was going to.

OP, you sound either very precious about your peace and quiet or maybe you're rather tightly wound.

Is there some stress in your life that you're not addressing in a healthy way? 'Punching down' means selectively picking on people of a perceived lower status, for some reason.

Agree.

No stress.

It's nothing to do with any status. It's about being able to work in peace.

Haven’t read the whole thread, because it was a bit boring… but came on to say… why do phd students start every announcement with “I’m a phd student”

it’s a thing and it makes me laugh

Is this a serious question? Are you happy to put someone else’s job at risk because you can’t be bothered to be a bloody grown up and either a) ask her to keep it down or b) understand that the world doesn’t revolve around you, and you may be ever so slightly inconvenienced some times.

So there are 3 cleaners looking after quite a large area, including a kitchen and toilet area. Is that right? And it take 25 mins, during which time the bin-emptying cleaner is either talking in a language you don't recognise using her Bluetooth headset, or talking to the other cleaners.

When they are not there, the whole floor is entirely quiet. No chat in the kitchen or outside the toilet area, or passing each other coming and going?

I'm in academia and am struggling to picture this.
During my career when there have been times that people have been disruptive, whether they be cleaners clattering around during a conference call, or a manager thinking everyone wants to hear how amazing they are, they've been politely asked to desist, take the conversation elsewhere, or come back later.

Well I agree with you.
However, I'd take the cleaner to one side myself, and ask her to stop disturbing the peace in your part of the building.
I wouldn't go to her manager.

Because I don't work in an office as such. It's all about setting in context.

No it's one person.

You are clearly not 'just getting on with it'.

You are trying to establish conditions of work for the cleaner instead of just 'getting on' with your own.

You have probably wrongly assumed that the use of the 'foreign language' means the cleaner's conversations are not work related - the assumption that her manager and/ or co-workers must speak English is one you need to examine for all its unpleasant assumptions.

A sarcastic phrase from another post of yours - 'you know...research' indicates you're inclined to lose patience quite easily - as does, obviously, the topic of your thread. If you intend to continue to a career in academia, especially as a professional dealing with students, department secretaries, porters, etc., you are going to need to combine the focus on your important work with shrugging at life's little annoyances.

You're saying the environment isn't even her workplace though. That your research is superior to her cleaning. It isn't.

Well said and thank you!

most people supporting OP have been on here assuming the same

Oh right - when you said "three of them" I thought you meant cleaners, but you mean areas.
I think you just need to approach her at some point during the 25 mins, when she on her own and ask her to be quieter as it's a quiet area.
She must be in her own world somewhat not to realise she is disrupting a whole floor of complete silence - like walking into church during prayer.

There is something inherently patronising about not expecting a cleaner to conform to standards of professional behaviour. It is as if her job is so casual and unskilled that it has no expectations or requirements, that she can perform it in any way she sees fit, oblivious to the environment she works that she shares with others who are also working within it.

I am sure that if her manager had a quick word with her, she would take professional pride in doing a good job and not allow herself to be distracted with loud conversation whilst emptying the bins in a quiet environment.

I never said that.

The desire to work without any distraction whatsoever is unreasonable. That's why I asked about stress.

Everybody experiences stress. Some have a higher tolerance for it than others. Some have a lower tolerance.

You have claimed here to be a cleaner on the side, and seem to be using that claim to justify your position that you can have a say in how this cleaner conducts herself while doing a very boring and unstimulating job. Yet you are not really addressing the posts from academics here who are suggesting to you that when you leave the rarified world of PhD research you're going to have to deal with rough and smooth alike in your daily work.

You have no idea whether the cleaning job is a side hustle for the cleaner or whether she's also a student just trying to make ends meet, and finding the work of emptying bins crushingly boring. Maybe set aside some time to have a pleasant conversation with her? Or maybe just take 15-20 minutes per day to do some seated yoga or some mindful breathing, a short meditation tape, listen to classical music, do a little crochet... It's not good for the brain to be so wrapped up in one sort of task all day with little or no left brain engagement.

@EmotionalLimbo are all users of the space very quiet? Why not simply post a sign,
"Shh... quiet study space."🤫

If it goes ignored, just simply, and politely, go up to the person and tell them to please keep disturbance to a minimum as it is a quiet work area. It is your space to be respected. Not theirs.

Crazy responses on this thread!! You have chosen to work in a specific quiet zone area. When I was at Uni you would be immediately removed from the silent working zones if you were being noisy. The rules should be respected by everyone who enters the room. Emptying bins once per day is reasonable but doing so while chatting on the phone loudly is not. It’s completely disrespectful and it wouldn’t kill her to work for 20mins in silence.