# Music and hostile work environment. Yes or no? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 9, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-and-hostile-work-environment-yes-or-no/283931 "2005-01-09T21:26:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-and-hostile-work-environment-yes-or-no/283931/21 "2005-01-10T02:36:48Z")
Quote: My hunch is this guy is just screwed, and will have to find work elsewhere. > [@manhattan](#): > > No. > No. > We knew he was screwed as soon as you typed “a guy in his late 30s who works at a McDonalds” unless he is mentally disabled. > You are wrong. It wouldn’t be. > > Apropos of nothing, do you know **alaricthegoth**? Hm, someone working a job to make a paycheck is a loser? You perhaps would want him on welfare or unemployment? Knocking over mini-marts? I know that jobs now can be very tough to get, I have been laid off from my last 3 jobs and I have not been able to find work in 2 years of trying [physical handicap, I cant stand and walk for prolonged amounts of time, precluding almost all jobs other than clerical/secretarial/customer service. My last 3 jobs were outfreakingsourced to some person who barely speaks the american dialect of english.] ---
**Author:** ![mza662](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f4b2a3/32.png) [@mza662](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mza662)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-and-hostile-work-environment-yes-or-no/283931/22 "2005-01-10T02:50:20Z")
if it was a bunch of white people listening to country music and one black person wanting to listen to rap, would that be an issue? what if it was all white people and one of them wanted rap instead of country? etc. etc. the colour of the people has nothing to do with it, the majority rules, compromises are made, or the radio goes. ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-and-hostile-work-environment-yes-or-no/283931/23 "2005-01-10T02:57:13Z")
> [@manhattan](#): > > We knew he was screwed as soon as you typed “a guy in his late 30s who works at a McDonalds” unless he is mentally disabled. Now, that was a crappy thing to say. And you should know better. ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-and-hostile-work-environment-yes-or-no/283931/24 "2005-01-10T03:13:59Z")
Re: the OP I have the same problem, only it’s with Top 40 radio. That’s all many of my co-workers listen to. I can deal with a bit of it, but hearing the same g\*\*\*\*\*n songs over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over for long shifts is extremely annoying, especially when it’s the vacuous drivel that is most of pop music these days. Frankly, I’d rather have silence and I wish the boss would just trash the radio. I’ve tried playing some of my music - I have eclectic/obscure tastes cultivated by the local college station - but it always gets a "Whut duh heck iz dat? Me no like cuz it’s _different_! Duh-huh! (God forbid they expand their horizons and become something more than brainless pop culture zombies.) Um, where was I? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-and-hostile-work-environment-yes-or-no/283931/25 "2005-01-10T03:21:20Z")
> [@LifeOnWry](#): > > Now, that was a crappy thing to say. And you should know better. I agree. FWIW he once commented to me that something like 5-6 of the non-manager employees were older than him. So that would mean 6 of the 35 non-manager employees are at least his age. AFAIK are mentally handicapped. Do you mean to suggest they are all screwed? ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2005, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-and-hostile-work-environment-yes-or-no/283931/26 "2005-01-10T03:28:04Z")
> [@rfgdxm](#): > > I agree. FWIW he once commented to me that something like 5-6 of the non-manager employees were older than him. So that would mean 6 of the 35 non-manager employees are at least his age. AFAIK are mentally handicapped. Do you mean to suggest they are all screwed? Should read “AFAIK none are mentally handicapped”. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-and-hostile-work-environment-yes-or-no/283931/27 "2005-01-11T00:32:41Z")
He should send a complaint about the stale oil to corporate headquarters. McDonalds has the power to revoke a franchise if the operator does not meet company standards for how they operate the restaurant. A badly run restaurant reflects badly on the parent company and other franchises. Ray Kroc used to make surprise inspections of the company’s restaurants. If I were the manager, I’d get rid of the radio. Your “right” to listen to X ends as soon as it annoys another employee or a customer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/music-and-hostile-work-environment-yes-or-no/283931.md?page=1)