How To Deal With Noisy Eaters at Work?

aggypanthus

Make a Crunchers Corner lol

Retrogamer

scooby088 wrote: »

Thats the problem with eating at your desk, are you silent OP when eating?

Silent? No....but there's a world difference between eating quietly with your mouth closed and eating so loud it's not possible to be any louder

scooby088 wrote: »

I am sure you have a qwerk that annoys the hell out of fellow workers, im afraid if I was a manager I'd make everyone eat away from their desks but thats me.

Maybe, but nothing springs to mind.
THe manager is quite happy to let us do it because it increases productivity.

janeleonard wrote: »

You cannot do anything unless you can find a better place to eat solely. This can be much embarrassing and the best thing to do is to adjust with them.

It wouldn't matter if i ate away from them, we all work different shifts and have breaks / lunches at different times. It's usually when i'm working away the lip smacking slurpfest goes on

mattcanary

Just put up with it.


It is hardly the worst thing in the world. You have probably got habits that annoy your colleague too.

Coxy11

I sympathise OP.

I once worked with a guy who ate a yoghurt every day and used to scrape the hell out of the pot - scraaaaaaape, scraaaaaape, scrape, scrape, scrape........scraaaape etc. used to drive me nuts.

Not as bad however as the guy I sat opposite who used to "grolly up" really loudly several times a day, all year round. Absolutely gross

KevInChester

mattcanary wrote: »

How the hell can someone slurping while they are drinking put you off from working??!!




It's hardly crime of the century.

I really like your posts Matt, you come across as a good person. However for me and many others like me that sort of thing is like torture. I do realise it is me with the issue and so try my best to lessen my exposure. Things like pen clicking and gum popping are also massive triggers. The noises aren't louder, but they do create anxiety and aren't able to be tuned out. It's an auditory processing disorder of sorts. A strange quirk in the brain that associates certain sounds with a fear response.

I agree it's not the crime of the century, nor is clicking a pen or popping gum. I wish I didn't have adverse reactions, have got coping strategies nowadays and have worked hard to lessen how I feel. 'Manning up' is not really an option, the response has nothing to do with how masculine somebody is, like telling somebody with depression to 'just feel happy'.

ps. I have every sympathy for your issues such as employment and benefit issues - been there and done that. I do not wish it upon anybody.

mumcoll

I worked with someone who, not only slurped etc. but ate with her mouth open - she sounded like Darth Vader. Yuk.

silvergirl

Someone once said to me 'Blimey it's like Dobbin in the orchard'. Made me laugh, and stopped me crunching noisily. I'm not hypersensitive and can take criticism - it's being grown-up.
Eating noisily is poor manners and is attention seeking, like lashing ketchup or pepper over everything (Look at me/Listen to me. I'm EATING!!!!) And don't even start me on speaking with mouth full. I'd rather watch a cow chew the cud.

DaveTheMus

You could just say to them that they are making too much noise eating...

LameWolf

RuthnJasper wrote: »

I used to work in an office with a woman who brought her own pilchard sandwiches in most days. Dear God; the smell...

The hum coming off them, especially in a hot summer, haunts me to this day...

Oh gods, that reminds me of when I had to sit opposite a woman who ordered bacon butties from the canteen and ate them at her desk every single day. I'm a vegetarian, and the smell of meat makes me want to throw up._pale_

purpleweasel

Coxy11 wrote: »

I sympathise OP.

I once worked with a guy who ate a yoghurt every day and used to scrape the hell out of the pot - scraaaaaaape, scraaaaaape, scrape, scrape, scrape........scraaaape etc. used to drive me nuts.

Not as bad however as the guy I sat opposite who used to "grolly up" really loudly several times a day, all year round. Absolutely gross

I was going to ask what "grolly up" was but have decided i don't want to know...

I have worked with someone like this, in a very quiet office where even small sounds can stand out it can be very distressing. It bothers me more sometimes than others so sometimes i could grit my teeth, try to ignore it and repeat to myself that i probably did annoying things at times; if it got too much i "went out for a walk" at lunchtime (luckily they were creature of habit and ate around the same time every day)

It may not be "crime of the century" but we've all heard about the last straw that broke the camel's back!