I regularly have a coworker that sings during work hours really badly.
I work a trade, we wear headphones to block sound/listen to music and sometimes I can still hear her.
She regularly sings full songs completely off key. I don’t think any of my other coworkers have problems with it, but I find it very distracting/annoying to work with. I have a small number of coworkers and also worry about it causing drama in the workplace. But at the same time I dread the days I’m scheduled to work with her.
Info: how often does she sing? A few minutes a day or hours?
Usually multiple songs a day- but at least one full song a day. She also regularly plays music loud out of her phone not through headphones like the rest of us. Depending on what I’m doing sometimes I have to keep my headphones off either for safety of what I’m doing or if I’m working directly with a client and that’s when it’s the hardest to deal with. Certain areas of my job can be really loud so it’s also possible she’s singing even more than I realize.
NTA. if shes singing songs in full, and you can still hear her with headphones in, thats really annoying.
ill sing along a line or two from a song thats currently playing in the speakers at work. but the whole thing is different and would be sooooooo annoying.
That would drive me nuts! I can’t stand people that hum or whistle either. There is no need to constantly be making noise everywhere you go. Do you think you could quietly mention that it is difficult to concentrate with having to hear her singing all the time? Or get a better pair of earphones that completely block her out. Maybe put silicone earplugs in then put your headphones on?
I’m currently looking into new headphones. I have pretty generic noise cancelling ones atm and I’m looking to buy ones made for like construction sites. I have thought though the longer it goes on the more it’ll blindside her if I confront her. We only have like 5 employees so I’m really trying not to rock the boat. But at the same time feel like it’s really making me dislike her in general which is adding some underlying animosity on my end.
It would absolutely make me dislike her. It is rude to polute the air in a work environment when your coworkers cannot get away from your voice. Even if she was an amazing singer with an. Incredible voice, it would bug me. I think making constant noise or wearing strong perfume are things that are rude to force your coworkers to endure.
NTA, but how you say it matters a lot. It’s completely normal to get annoyed when someone is loudly (and badly) singing in a shared workspace, especially when you’re trying to concentrate. Even with headphones, if you can still hear her, that means she’s singing really loud.
NTA. It’s a shared environment and she’s being inconsiderate.
Soft YTA only because you should talk to HR or management first. You could get accused of creating a hostile workforce putting your employment in jeopardy.
Tell HR or management that the the singing is causing a distraction and you are worried it may cause an accident.
There is no HR, 5 employees total. I’ve known the owner for 8+ years and would consider a friend of mine. I’m a “soft” manager- as in Not by title per se but on the days the owner isn’t there I open & manage the workplace. The small work force makes the situation complicated.
ESH
Her for thoughtlessly singing without considering that it may be distracting to others and for not playing her music through head phones so others are forced to hear it. Playing the music without headphones is more problematic in my opinion than the singing.
You suck for making a big deal about…checks notes from comment you made….her singing one maybe two or 3 songs a day??? 😳😳
A song usually is 3 min, so you are upset over minimum 3min max 6 minutes of singing per day?
When I read the post I was expecting that she sings the majority of the time. But I think you should be able to deal with it for a few minutes a day, assuming it isnt life threatening or doesnt impact your performance.
As stated previously playing the music without headphones is more problematic than the singing, imo.
If you decide to bring it up, dont be surprised if management or your coworkers think you are more of the issue for not being able to overlook a few minutes of annoyance per day.
But you also deserve to be able to focus on your work.
It varies day by day so i can accept i may suck for making a big deal of this. Some days it’s like 30 minutes of her singing, or her playing whole playlists for hours without headphones, some days its not as much & only sings one song or its easier to tune out based on how much our work overlaps. There is really only one room with a wall and door separation in the whole building so our workspaces are very very close together (for safety reasons the door between spaces is always open). It’s hard to explain without giving away my job completely, but we work with sharp tools and moving living things. So the distraction aspect is a big part of it. Im not sure i can bring it up without causing drama atp- which is what i dont want. But at the same time i feel like i shouldnt even need to feel this way either? She should just be more considerate of her coworkers. It’s a frustrating situation all around.