I work in an office with an open cluster area. I’m not in that area, but the people there have a small AM/FM radio tuned to a local popular hits station.
EVERY. GODDAMNED. DAY I have to hear the same insipid hits over and over. Songs like Pink’s “funhouse” and Lady Gaga’s “Bad romance”- these two in particular come up at least twice a day.
Let’s just say my musical taste runs in different directions entirely, and hearing these songs every day - besides the torture of getting them stuck in my head and waking up with them - is really unpleasant for me.
I’ve asked repeatedly for the radio to be kept soft, and have often turned it down myself, but that never helps for more than a few hours. A few more people started working here recently, and they seem to enjoy the radio too, so I’m severely outnumbered.
Please help me, what can I do? Unfortunately my work requires me both on the phone, and up and down from my desk through the day, so earphones are not a good solution.
This has been the situation for some months and I really can’t take it any more. I need to stop that radio. How do I do it? I don’t want to physically sabotage it but… I can’t take this shitty music any more. Please help.
Having been down this road before, I predict that what awaits you will be a sharing policy where certain people choose stations on certain days, followed by a whining policy where some people vocally complain about other people’s choices, followed by a visit to HR resulting in a complete banning of the radio and a campaign of passive-aggressive retaliation against the original complainer. Happy Friday.
Man I share your pain. We had radios for years where I work and everybody respected each other and would turn it off or down if asked. Then we got a jerk in and I had to listen to mariachi music non-stop. Got to the point where I hated to go to work. I did all the things you are supposed to do, asked nicely, tried to compromise. For my trouble I was told to fuck off. I finally went to the VP and told him it was hurting my productivity. Next day radios were banned throughout the building. A couple of people were pissed off at me, but they got over it. We can still listen to radios, i-pods if we use headphones. Maybe the people you work with would be cool with that. I doubt it though. Radio wars make people a little nutty.
"Milton Waddams: I was told that I could listen to the radio at a reasonable volume from nine to eleven, I told Bill that if Sandra is going to listen to her headphones while she’s filing then I should be able to listen to the radio while I’m collating so I don’t see why I should have to turn down the radio because I enjoy listening at a reasonable volume from nine to eleven. "
It’s a small office setup… there are 6-7 people in the open area, and then 4-5 people (incl me) in the adjoining offices.
No HR dept, so if I go complain it’s going to be really awkward.
Try proposing a classical music station, or something completely innocuous like that. I would rather listen to opera than the crap you apparently have to listen to.
ETA: I also like heavy metal, but I don’t expect to be able to play Megadeth in the office.
I had a similar problem in my office. One of my co-workers liked to blare an oldies station in the open area where she worked. I kept turning it down or off until finally the situation resolved itself when she began working in her own office more. She still does it sometimes if she is working in the open area for a period of time, so once again I have to turn it down or shut my office door to muffle it somewhat. What really drives me nuts now is that she’ll turn it on when she’s working in the open area—which is fine—but then leave it on when she leaves.
I think radios are only appropriate at work when kept to a low level in one’s own office. I enjoy listening to classical occasionally myself. But I wouldn’t expect others to listen to that or the other music that I enjoy if they hated it. Some people just can’t seem to understand that not everyone likes what they like.
Do you have a boss who you could talk to about it? Maybe you could tell him/her that the radio distracts you, especially when you are on the phone.
A few more suggestions that probably won’t help.
Ask the radio nuts why you can’t smoke at work. When they tell you that a person who doesn’t smoke shouldn’t have to put up with the smoke from someone who does, show them that this situation is the same.
Get your own radio and set it to the most annoying station you can find. Turn it up. Turn it way up. When they start to bitch you can talk to them. This is a dangerous tactic because you could certainly end up in hot water for it.
Explain to whoever is in charge that when employees are listening to the radio they are not concentrating on their jobs. This means the company is loosing money.
By the way don’t feel like you are being a jerk for wanting the radio off. These people have no right to pollute the office with their noise. Speaking of pollution you could eat eggs and brocolli for breakfest then go over and drop a few air bombs on them every day! Good luck. I hope something works out for you because I put up with this situation for over a year and got to the point where I was so upset I hated going into work and was loosing sleep.
I think you got it in one. This is not a battle that anyone wins. Just think, OP, it could be worse - it could be country. Ra ra ahahah, ma ma mamama, ra ra oo la la ah…
Keep this in mind. Sometimes when someone asks very nicely and
apologetically, it just signals to the radio people that they do have the right to keep blaring. Be firm and open with “No offense, but that horrible crap you’re listening to is going to make me kill either myself or someone else. Turn that shit down!”
[That is, after making sure the boss isn’t someone who both loves the horrible crap and can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t like it.]
I vote for playing your own radio, but a little bit louder, loud enough to interfere with the other radio, though not loud enough to seem malicious. When people find it annoying, the powers that be will have to issue a blanket rule.
