# How do I ask my boss to tell my coworkers to pipe down while he is gone? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 2, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-ask-my-boss-to-tell-my-coworkers-to-pipe-down-while-he-is-gone/541681 "2010-06-02T18:46:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-ask-my-boss-to-tell-my-coworkers-to-pipe-down-while-he-is-gone/541681/1 "2010-06-02T18:46:44Z")
My coworkers pretty much do NO work all day long when my boss is gone. Fine, whatever, I am not in charge of them and as long as they do the things that enable me to do MY work I don’t care - they’ll have to deal with it on their review. But they are LOUD. The laughter and the cackling is especially annoying. Sometimes it gets so bad that I put an earphone in that ear, and sometimes they get the hint. But I am the low man on the totem pole and can’t just tell them to shut up. I want to bring this up with my boss, and just ask him to ask them nicely to just keep it to a dull roar. But how do you say this without coming off as a complainer? ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-ask-my-boss-to-tell-my-coworkers-to-pipe-down-while-he-is-gone/541681/2 "2010-06-02T19:01:24Z")
You don’t. Sorry, but there is absolutely no way for you to say “Hey boss, can you ask everyone not to party so loud while you’re gone?” without coming off as not only a complainer, but a suckup and a rat. Stick with the headphones. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-ask-my-boss-to-tell-my-coworkers-to-pipe-down-while-he-is-gone/541681/3 "2010-06-02T19:02:18Z")
I used to work in this situation, and it helped that I sometimes had to take phone calls, and I could tell them that my caller was having a hard time hearing and understanding me because of the racket in the background. (That wasn’t untrue.) If that’s the case in your office, you can tell them so; and tell the boss. It works best if there’s a possibility you’re losing money because potential customers can’t understand you. Otherwise, you could tell the boss you’re concerned about how unprofessional it seems (to other departments? to customers? to callers?) when the staff is yakking it up. That way it doesn’t seem about you but about your interest in the company’s best interest. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-ask-my-boss-to-tell-my-coworkers-to-pipe-down-while-he-is-gone/541681/4 "2010-06-02T19:06:57Z")
You’ll probably get pegged as the complainer if the boss talks to them about it. It’s probably not worth it. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-ask-my-boss-to-tell-my-coworkers-to-pipe-down-while-he-is-gone/541681/5 "2010-06-02T19:10:36Z")
Missed the edit window - but you absolutely CAN tell them to shut up. Like Sigmagirl, I’ve been there, and I never had any problem putting someone on hold and then standing up and yelling “Seriously guys? On a call here, stifle it will ya?” These are people you need to work with. Be the person who straightforwardly asked them to shut up, not the person who got the boss involved, especially if you’re new. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-ask-my-boss-to-tell-my-coworkers-to-pipe-down-while-he-is-gone/541681/6 "2010-06-02T19:17:56Z")
I say it easily enough when I am on a call, but just when I am sitting here trying to do my work, it gets really, really distracting. Oh well. Headphones it is. 🙂 By the by, this has been going on for a looooooooong time - almost a year - every time the boss is gone. Mostly I can tune it out but once in a while, grrrr… I’m definitely not new - I’ve been here a long time, but my ‘title’ is lower than the others, and plus, I don’t really care to make waves. I work hard in my 40 hours, but I am done beyond that. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-ask-my-boss-to-tell-my-coworkers-to-pipe-down-while-he-is-gone/541681/7 "2010-06-02T20:02:00Z")
I don’t know where you work, but do you have a confederate in another department who could remark to the boss on what a zoo it is when the boss is gone? (Except for you, of course.) ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-ask-my-boss-to-tell-my-coworkers-to-pipe-down-while-he-is-gone/541681/8 "2010-06-02T20:37:40Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I don’t know where you work, but do you have a confederate in another department who could remark to the boss on what a zoo it is when the boss is gone? (Except for you, of course.) “Hey Boss, I have this _friend_…” ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-ask-my-boss-to-tell-my-coworkers-to-pipe-down-while-he-is-gone/541681/9 "2010-06-02T21:12:23Z")
Could you come up with some reason to either call your boss, or have him call you, while he is out of the office? Once he’s on the phone, you could “accidentally” hit speaker phone and let him hear it for himself… ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2010, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-ask-my-boss-to-tell-my-coworkers-to-pipe-down-while-he-is-gone/541681/10 "2010-06-02T23:50:43Z")
Yup, headphones it is. I wear them all the time at work, connected to my iPod. I’m sure my coworkers think I’m a nut because I tend to bee-bop to my tunes, but I don’t really care. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-ask-my-boss-to-tell-my-coworkers-to-pipe-down-while-he-is-gone/541681/11 "2010-06-03T00:01:48Z")
Yep, definitely go with the headphones. What you describe must be a universal problem; I certainly see it quite a bit where I work. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2010, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-ask-my-boss-to-tell-my-coworkers-to-pipe-down-while-he-is-gone/541681/12 "2010-06-03T10:10:16Z")
I have got much the same problem - only in my case the boss isn’t out but has his office door closed because that solves the problem for _him_. I tried with a white noise generator (vetoed by the colleagues), then for much of a year went with headphones. Improved my musical education no end (one week I went through the complete Ring cycle - 18 hours. Weia! Waga! Woge, du Welle!). The last I heard through was the complete operas of Gilbert & Sullivan. Four weeks ago I had a change of attitude. I decided to give up on trying to change my colleagues and to love them instead. Really. As of today it has worked.