Buy him a bag of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans? There really is a booger-flavored one among the assortment (they list it as “Mucous”). Maybe he’ll make the switch. Boogers and sugar have got to taste better than boogers a la carte.
“Alas. Earwax.”
Same here. I am pretty good at being a non-picker in front of anyone. I do chew gum a lot though and am working on being aware of getting rid of it before meetings or being a more subtle chewer.
Try painting them with Oragel each time you get the urge. And keep a good ceramic nail file on hand to gently smopoth away any rough spots. If you let them heal and desensitize you’ll have a much easier time stopping.
And for the real Bertie Bott’s lovers: http://www.stupid.com/fun/BOOZ.html
yet another harry potter reference. “hem, hem.”
I found out some more information from one of his former co-workers, who tackled him on it once in the past. He just completely blanked them when they tried to talk about it and ignored them completely for several weeks (but carried on picking and eating).
That doesn’t surprise me. I assume he’s a full adult, so he’s doing something that 99.99999999% of the population got trained out of by grade school - it makes sense that people have taken him to task about this violently disgusting habit before.
Wouldn’t ignore me. “what part of ““stop eating your buggers”” did you not understand” in a very loud voice.
Why am I picturing Al Bundy?
Good GOD, I can see having a really bad booger and having to get it out, but that’s when you go to a bathroom stall…and you don’t EAT it. Ugh…
(And I thought I was weird for swallowing my gum)
Blowing bubbles out your ass would be the socially awkward part.
Trouble is, in this particular workplace (local government office), there’s a great emphasis on political correctness in the office (dignity in the workplace, equality and diversity, etc) - for the most part, this is a good thing, because it means vulnerable people are protected, but it does also mean people can claim they’re being victimised unfairly in situations where they provoked it all themselves.
Perhaps one day this person will be so engrossed in munching his mucus that he falls under a bus. Problem sort of gone. Sad for bus driver, though, so not the best idea.
I do hope a solution is found.
Well, then maybe management needs to consider whether accomodating this particular vulnerability (and the rights of the co-workers to a comfortable workplace) doesn’t necessitate a personal cubicle. I’d hate to see the habit “rewarded,” but others should not have to look at that all day.
I’ve read the posts in this thread and I’m really :dubious:
Why would you choose the passive-aggressive or escalation way of dealing with this?
Just take him aside, privately, and say in a non-accusatory tone “Bob, I’ve noticed that you have a compulsive habit of eating (hair/skin/etc). Your co-workers and I are uncomfortable when you do this, so please be cognizant of your actions. Thank you.”
What is so hard about that? You are concerned about breaking co-worker unity and dependence, but Bob is already breaking that unity by grossing out your other two co-workers.
As was already reported, this was done to no avail. It went into one waxed ear, and came out the other on the end of his finger.
If someone could do that, it would be pretty damned cool, actually.
It’s not the act of broaching the subject that concerns me - it’s the potential repercussions after doing it. There’s no way to tell how it might unravel.
However, if something is to be said, it will be in the manner you describe - I do not wish to engage in passive-aggressive stuff.
I’m still waiting for my manager to come back to me on this, but I’m tending more and more to think this is something I cannot deal with personally - recent observation strongly suggests this is part of a wider set of compulsive behaviours - I think it’s too serious a thing for me to be personally intruding into.
I’m curious to hear how this turns out - on the one hand, compulsive behaviours/serious, debilitating problems are things that you sort of have to accommodate in the workplace, but on the other hand, his problem behaviours are a long way past disgusting and co-workers shouldn’t have to tolerate them.
Any updates?
Update:
The short version: Nothing has changed
The longer version: HR decided it would not be appropriate for any of us to broach the topic directly - our manager has discussed the problem with him, and asked me if anything has improved. It hasn’t. If anything, it’s a bit worse.
Maybe you could start posting a “word of the day” on the office fridge or something, then work “Rhinotillexomania” into it.