To be hugely irritated by my colleague?

[ShyBaby]

The new girl. I mean she's really friendly and lovely and I was looking forward to some company as I was in an office on my own.

But she never stops making noise! If she's not chatting to me, she's clicking her tongue, sighing, making "hmm" noises at the screen, reading documents out loud. She talks to herself while she's working. She regularly checks the news on the internet (every hour or so) and reads "humerous" stories out to me before embarking on a lengthy discussion of them. Every half hour or so she checks her facebook and tells me what all her friends are up to. I also now know more about her life than my own probably.

Just when I think "ahhh silence" there will suddenly be a raucous outburst at some new email she's received or article she's read.

I need some quiet to get my work done else I can't think straight, especially when im invoicing etc. Im getting really behind with my work because I dont want to be ignorant! How can I let her know nicely that I need to concentrate for a while? She is a nice enough girl.

yabvu
Have you ever seen the programme Grumpy Old Women?
I'd recommend it

ear plugs

I must say, that would bug me if it was going on all day.
No idea what you could do about it, other than hope she contracts laryngitis.

Sounds like she something out of the Catherine Tate sketch

And NBU if it's affecting your ability to perform your job

Im not grumpy Ronald, I dont mind a natter every now and then but this is going on all day! I dont dislike her, but we are extremely busy at work and I do need to concentrate at times. However, if the general vote is that im being unreasonable then i'll just have to get on with it!

she'll settle down

I used to work with an older secretary who talked constantly and I felt I had to listen to be polite but it was irritating and I hardly got any work done - I didn't know how to handle the situation at all as I didn't want to be rude - in the end it was taken out of my hands as I upset her trying to be helpful and she never spoke to me again!! Made working conditions difficult but she was fired in the end!. Don't know what to suggest unless there is someone higher up you can talk to about the problem. She can't be doing that much work herself if she's constantly checking news/facebook etc. Why do some people insist on viewing work as just an extension of their social life?????

YANBU, but she probably doesn't realise what a pain she's being, and even if you tell her a lot of her noise might be subconsious so she might not be able to stop herself.

Can you place a big pot plant on the desk so that it blocks eye contact? Then get yourself some headphones and log on to a white noise website like this one, or some music so that you can't hear the minor noises. If she calls you then pretend not to hear, if she persists then drag your eyes very reluctantly from your screen. If you feel brave enough, say something about it being very interesting but you have a deadline so could she make sure you're undisturbed for an hour or so, otherwise let your eyes wander back to the screen while she's talking. She'll probably get fed up with trying to distract you if she has to go through all of that every time.

Oh im sure she doesn't mean to be a pain and she is doing the work she's been given, but at the moment because she's in training she doesn't have a huge pile of things to do (enough to have a comfortably filled day).

I like that last suggestion - say you need to complete 'x' so could you have undisturbed time for an hour; then say it again just after lunch..and bit by bit the habit might start to form.

Oh my, you're not being unreasonable at all.

I used to work with chatterboxes, and one guy in particular would make his phone calls from the desk next to mine and go on and on about bloody fishing while I was trying to work. I got earplugs and hid them under headphones.

headphones - music.
When she starts wait five minutes then make a big show of removing them and going "hmmm, sorry, what, I was deep in thought". After a few times she should get the message.

YANBU Memoo I can sympathise with your situation, before I went on mat leave at my old office we used to have a lady working with us like that. She was quite new and TBH I think a lot of it came to nerves. But she was so distracting it was hard enough to do enough work there anyway as we were soooooo busy but to have someone talking and chatting all day long was awful.

She was a really nice person though, so I just put up with it knowing that I would soon be on mat leave.

I work with a lady who shouts 'yes' every time she gets an email. If she gets stuck with doing a task, she gets really angry, then when she works it out, she stands up and shouts 'yes'.
The office was quiet before she started, now it's like being at a footie match. Sometimes I go home with a bad headache, but she is a really nice person, so no one knows what to do. Her personal life isn't too good (she told us everything on the first day she started), so I think she sees her job as a social activity.

Are you my boss? she has been sounding off about her temp pa today! So much that I haven't done any work either.

Yes. I am your boss and you are in big trouble now.

Friday wasn't too bad. She seems to be getting the message after I rudely ignored her ramble about college, trampolines and vodka...I forget the rest,

We'll see how it goes!

I wonder whether she's on some other forum somewhere, or in the pub with her friends, sounding off about the person she sits next to who never speaks?
I'd go with headphones, and finding excuses to move away from your desk every so often so she can't lock on to you.

Quite possibly

She doesn't seem to withold any information about anyone..to anyone.

Oh I really dont want to go to work tomorrow!

OH GOD .. This person is SO me!!!

Just started in a new department and the woman I work with is so dull I find myself yabbering on about all sorts of rubbish.

I find myself discussing all sorts of crap about my life, including my husbands new addiction to facebook and all the boring jobs I've ever had

Even as I'm speaking I'm thinking 'Why am I sayng this??'
But I'm sure if she would chat a little and have a bit of a laugh I would be less annoying

Oh I probably am dull I admit. Maybe old and bitter too . But im there to do a full time job in much less hours so im normally rushed and stressed and grumpy with the kids when I get back.

I dont have time for niceties like staring at her facebook profile all day.

Do job, and get the hell outta there! Work is work, a means to earn money...its not supposed to be fun!

I would struggle to work with you I think.

You are right that you work to earn money and you are right that you should be able to concentrate but work takes up so much of our lives that I would go crazy if I couldn't have a little bit of fun whilst I was there.

Sometimes having a laugh occasionally is the only thing that gets me through!

Why would you struggle to work with me?

I'm friendly, Im polite, I have a laugh. Im helpful. But I have a job to do, I have deadlines to meet or head office will crucify me.

I bring in the wage here. My job is not a joke, or something I do to pass the time. I work to provide for my kids because no other bugger is going to do it. I take it seriously because I have to. I would love to chatter all day (really ) but I cant!