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?

So chat while cleaning the loo, not the office.

Oh, so you can’t really hear her when she’s cleaning the loos then? Why did you include that in your time estimate? Let’s be honest, she’s in your mausoleum and adjoining kitchen for 10 minutes of your workday, tops, right? And you cannot tolerate the person who is keeping your loos clean having a chat for that length of time?

It's bc you said she was speaking in a foreign language.

There are some real nutters on here.

NEVER say that anyone is foreign.

Yes, some head the ball answers.

Are you actually here to all a question or just to validate your opinion, that you're right?

How actually not unreasonable in wanting a quiet space. But despite you saying your don't want get fired, you have to admit that there's a risk, even for a consequence.
Much more than if you, for example, followed her when she was leaving and simply told her "could you be les loud please? "

Just like you, I've been both a PhD student, requiring the quiet to concentrate, and a cleaner, enjoying anything that would break the monotony of the day to day.
But your actions might have some consequences that you're quite quick to dismiss, at the expense of someone else. For that, YABU.

If you ever need to start another post complaining about someone, just say that the person is white British.

You are completely in the right btw, as you well know.

The cleaner obviously doesn't realise the problem she is causing and her manager needs to tell her.

"not my job"....jeez.

Just ask her to be a little quieter around your office or ignore it.

If this is the worse thing to happen to you in the workplace or indeed life given the hooha you are making @EmotionalLimbo, then life appears to be very blessed for you.

It’s 20-25 minutes and a bit irritating. You’ve already said you don’t want to empty your own bins so suggest you and your big important thoughts focus on distraction or tolerance techniques rather than puffing your self importance up by trying to make a cleaner’s job that bit duller.

I suspect though, even if the cleaner wasn’t talking, you’d complain if they were listening to music and you could hear it. Or banging things around. Or basically existing in the same space as your important work.

Your hallowed thinking time is really not that important despite your protestations and pithy retorts to anyone not agreeing with you.

The study space I'm in is multicultural. We're not all white or British but we're brassed off with noise.

I get what you mean. You don't want to embarrass her but you need the quiet. I'm the same when working, especially as university spaces can be noisy so the PhD offices become a haven. If it was me, I'd catch her eye, amile at her, and point to the books then maybe smile and do the silence sign or point to my ears. I'd almost laugh. That way she can realise it's a quiet room and no loss of face. She will just not have realised. It would absolutely do my nut if this happened regularly so best to nip in the bud. Or put a sign on the door in lots of languages but you'd need to agree that with everyone else using the office. It's hard to do with no offense but better than letting it drag on as it'd really wind me up. Good luck.

Her manager will not fire her unless she has done this before and been told not to.

There is a shortage of cleaners and if she is any good, then they won't want to lose her and spend time trying to find someone else.

Yes, I am sure that it is, but the nutters on MN won't care about that. All they care about is that you mentioned that she spoke a foreign language.

I'm quite old and I'm astounded that you can't just approach her and politely say, please could you keep the noise down as we are all trying to concentrate. I despair, soon noone will talk to each other at all and we will only communicate by text.

Yes peasants really should know to keep their unnecessary chitchat - in foreign no less - for wiping up the piss and shit of their betters.

You might have academic sense but it seems your social sensibilities are what might politely be called lacking.

Whoever wrote this post is not a pleasant person. “Tackle her”? “Nobody dare say anything “.

Yeah right.

It's not my job because it's someone else's job! Imagine if we emptied the bins. Would you expect us to buy our own bin bags? And what would we do with the emptied rubbish?

And of course that would mean no cleaning staff earning a living, wouldn't it? Would you be happy with that?

It's a bit inconsiderate to come into a room where everyone is studying and just keep blethering loudly. Different if other people were chatting or if the call was an emergency.

Non issue for 20 mins
If it's bothering you that much either ask her politely to tone it down a bit or stop working and go and make a coffee

Just speak to her yourself, grow a pair!

Sorry you come across as very entitled .Such a shame your peace is disturbed while another person does their job. She might be sacked just because a middle class student complained. I would advise go to the canteen and get a drink while she works ,oh no the noise level might be too loud for an entitled person. Get over yourself you sound mollycoddled.

It's bc they don't want to embarrass her.

If she is a good cleaner and hasn't been told not to disturb people before then her manager can just tell her. It won't have any affect on her employment. That is what managers are for.

Cheers. I've no idea why all these replies are assuming that PhD students think they're above everyone else. Nobody thinks that, we're just getting on with it.

Most people haven’t mentioned that at all. In fact, I think you have mentioned the cleaner being foreign more than anybody on this thread.

I work for a cleaning company. We would not tolerate this from our staff whether they're in a quiet area or not. It's a health and safety risk as well, because she might not hear instructions.

I'd probably speak to her first and just say "sorry, this is a specific quiet zone for study, so please could you make sure you're not on the phone when you come to this area".

But, if it didn't change, I would most definitely report it to the manager.

Yes it is. Thanks.