Humming all day long

[caseysmom]

So I sit in a cubicle at work and this lady just moved a cube diagonally across the hall. She hums all day! Isn't that rude, wouldn't she be aware of bothering people.

She is not a technical person, she moved into the middle of the engineering folks because she needed to be near natural light she had a brain tumor. I feel bad for her but come on we need to concentrate!

[Cinder & Smoke]

So I sit in a cubicle at work and this lady ...
She hums all day!

OMG!
This sounds like a job that Human Resources ought to resolve!

[caseysmom]

Yeah I am trying not to do that but I may have to. Another person who sits nearby talked to her about her phone conferences that are not work related but she didn't seem to take the hint. She is really loud.

I am afraid one day I will stand up and just yell shut up!

[Taz_Zoee]

Welcome to my world!! I've been dealing with a hummer/singer in my office for MONTHS (almost a full year) now. I tell (or ask) him to stop. Finally at our last company staff meeting it was mentioned not to do that because it is distracting to those trying to concentrate. And he still does it! But I just remind him of the meeting. I actually haven't heard him today, now that I think about it.

A co-worker that used to sit in the cubicle right next to him would wear ear plugs or headphones to drown him out. And I think it's worse because he is male, so the sound is deeper and travels farther.

Good luck! I would definitely tell HR though. I did! And I told my supervisor and she told me I should talk to him and I told her I DO!!!

[caseysmom]

My boss would take care of it but it wouldn't be tactful at all I have been trying to avoid that.

[Cataholic]

Could you mention to her, "you know, I hear you making noises over here, and I always think you are saying something to me!" Maybe she isn't aware of it??

[caseysmom]

Could you mention to her, "you know, I hear you making noises over here, and I always think you are saying something to me!" Maybe she isn't aware of it??

She is actually on the other side of the isle...I don't think she would get it sadly. When she first moved there she would just start saying something to me so I stopped responding to discourage that...so did her more direct neighbor, the one that already spoke to her.

[Karen]

She may be unaware that she does it so much. I had an assistant that would tunelessly whistle opera at times, years ago. He honestly wasn't aware he was doing it, so I (with his permission) poked or threw something at him whenever he started, he eventually stopped altogether!

Does she know she's doing it? If she needs natural light because of a brain tumor, might this also be something caused by that? Some tumors can cause tinnitus, (ringing in the ears) and some sufferers hum to drown it out.

[caseysmom]

She hasn't mention any ringing in her ear. I don't know her really well she just moved there about 4 months ago and our jobs don't get us together at all she is a different unit.

She is just one of those people that seems to be emitting some kind of noise at all times, talking, humming...the radio....

[kuhio98]

Sorry, I'm guilty of the same thing.

I hum all day long. I have apologized to my coworkers on numerous occasions over the years but they all swear to me that they enjoy it because it is nice to hear humming because it is happy and cheerful.

But, I have an office to myself these days.

I shared an office with 3 other people back in 2000-2001. None of them complained. I either didn't hum so much in those days, or they were very tolerant, or they had their headphones on.

One of the guys cleared his throat every 5 minutes -- that was annoying. It was so loud and sharp that it would startle me. Every now and then, I'd actually jump in my seat.

But, what are you going to do? People have annoying habits. In the grand scheme of things, they really aren't that bad. I'd rather put up with humming and throat clearing 8 to 12 hours a day (I work 12-hour days) than be unemployed. I guess pick your battles. To me, this isn't one worth making a huge issue out of.

[pomtzu]

It would probably get on my nerves after a while, if I had to listen to it all day. I had a worse offender in my office when I was still working. She chomped and CRACKED gum all day - even when on the phone! Even her clients on the phone would end up calling back in and talking to the department manager about it. So it would stop for a while - then she was right back at it before long! Thankfully she didn't work there for too long..............

[Anikaca77]

Ok Humming is annoying but how about when you hear your boss taking a dump after lunch everyday Monday-Friday! 1 p.m. comes and I'm just hoping that whatever I had for lunch will stay down.

Yup just think about that for a while. I won't go into details but let's just say it's so loud that even if I try to hold my ears shut I can still hear it.

Yet to boot it's right in the enterance way of our building.

Melissa

[Twisterdog]

There is a lady who works at the local pet store here who hums CONSTANTLY. If she is not actually speaking, she is humming ... even between sentences when YOU are speaking. But she is such a sweet lady, everyone just thinks its cute.

Humming doesn't really bother me that much. My mom hummed a lot when I was growing up, so I'm used to it. And it seems rather soothing to me, I suppose because I associate it with my mom.

Whistling tends to drive me crazy, though. I don't mind if it's soft and in tune. My husband whistles all the time, if he is happily doing something. I want to strangle him. He is very loud, off-key and whistles the same verse over and over and over. I feel bad telling him to stop, because he's just being happy and doesn't even realize he is doing it. But how much "Green Sleeves" or the theme from the Muppets can one take?

[Catherinedana]

My husband is a whistler too. If we are listening to music while doing something he stridently whistles along like a crazed songbird. Geesh! I understand the strangling urge, but he is happy and helping out so I don't say anything. Last time it happened I lowered the music and he whistled more softly - but if your hubby is whistling without accompanyment (is that a word?) then this won't work for you. Perhaps turning some music ON will divert his attention from his current tune (it's time to play the music! It's time to light the lights!)