please help! etiquette in open plan office - would this be really mean?

[bossykate]

i am sitting next to a sniffer. at least twice a minute all day long. that's 840 sniffs per day. i am almost homicidal after nearly 4 weeks of this. would it be really mean to say something to him? or buy him a box of tissues?

Mention the problem to others in the office-can they help.

I would be too embarrassed to ssay something to him.

things like that make be glad to be an SAHM.

tell him before you go potty

Good idea to buy a box of tissues - he may not realise how much he is sniffing.

i would be too embarrassed as well. I think mentioning it to others in the area or HR

I'd say:

'Can you please stop sniffing cause it's really getting on my tits. Thank you'

And bang a box of kleenex on his desk.

Give him a tissue and say "Don't sniff, blow, or it will sit on your chest"

Northeneryou I'd love to be able to say something like that but I'm such a scaredy car.

*northener

could it be a nervous tic rather than a runny nose? I work with a compulsive throat clearer who harrumphs several times a minute.

If it's a runny nose it will clear without you having to do anything.
If it's a tic then saying something proabably wont have any effect because the poor guy doesn't even know he's going to do it.

earplugs?

Acutally your right shimmy21 I taught someone who couldn't stop sniffing. They did it all the time even during tests which pi**ed the other kids off no end.

Ask him if he's suffering from hayfever, and recommend a brand of anti histamene. It might make him realise what he's doing, cos as shimmy21 says, he might not have a clue how annoying he is.

i don't care if he suffers from hayfever - it is treatable!

thanks for these replies

God, poor you BK. Everynow & then I stand next to a sniffer/throat clearer/cougher on the tube & feel murderous and that is just a 40 minute journey. After 4 weeks, he'd probably wondering what the stinging sensation in his back was from multiple staple wounds!!!!
Sounds like he is either a coke snorter or he has just developed a sniff habit. You HAVE to say something. I'd definitely go for something along the lines of "goodness, you are so unlucky to have this cold for so long - or is it hayfever? I really feel for you sniffing like that all the time, must drive you nuts....."

I used to work alongside a constant nose flairer - drove me bananas

HR should be able to deal with this problem. We once had a guy who picked his nose and HR dealt with it.

I would just mirror him for a day..... when he sniffes, you sniff. See how long it takes him to catch on.

pmsl at "picked his nose and HR dealt with it." What did they do - hover next to his desk, tissue at the ready for him to wipe his bogies on.

my dad used to do the 'he sniffs when I sniff' thing when I was a kid, really did make me realise that I was sniffing and I went and used a tissue. try it, it'll be funny even if it doesn't stop the problem

batters !!!

thank you everyone. i will get the tissues tomorrow.