| December 2004 | Vol. 9 Issue 7 |
The work day is filled with many tasks. You must take phone calls from customers, assist co-workers and meet deadlines. Now, add background noise to the mix and distractions from these duties are inevitable.
The main source of background noise at work is usually co-workers. However, background noise can also come from copiers, hallway noise, radios, sirens and construction. All these have the potential to affect your concentration, performance and productivity.
For example, let's say I am at my desk linking text for stories for the next issue of the Purdue Agriculture Report (PAR) and some co-workers start talking about their weekend plans. Finding their conversation interesting, I join in. Before I know it, we have been talking about movies for 20 minutes. When I return to work, I have forgotten where I was in preparing PAR. Now, I must retrace steps and start from scratch.
Good for us, there are steps to resolve an issue with talkative or interruptive co-worker(s).
First, if you have a door, shut it. If no door is available, post a sign or enforce an "interoffice" symbol that everyone will know stands for "quiet" or "do not disturb."
If the problem persists, go to the source. If you have the opportunity, ask other co-workers if they are affected by the noise, too. If they are, this helps make your point. In a friendly manner, talk with this person and let him or her know that the noise he or she is making is distracting.
Vanessa Puckett, vpuckett@purdue.edu