Gum popping!
Question: I work in a nice office with a lot of nice people around. Sometimes, however, the lady next to me in her cube will chew gum … then, she will pop it. Not too loud that the whole office hears it, but enough for me to cringe each time. It makes me mad, and I want to yell: “Please stop! For the love of all that is good in this world, stop popping your gum!”
But I am a professional and would like advice on how to politely bring this issue to light. Any suggestions? — Eau Claire, Wis.
Have we all become so worried about offending one another? Are we over the top on political correctness? I think the simple answer is the simple direct approach…
Be polite and just say to her that on occasion when she’s chewing gum she tends to make a loud popping noise that bothers you. Would she mind not doing that?
Being polite will mean not accusing her of anything. Make sure you aren’t using the gum incident as a smoke screen for something else that’s bothering you.
Posted by: | January 13, 2006 at 05:03 PM
I have a coworker who uses her Instant Messaging on her computer and it sometimes bothers me the same way because you can hear every time they type a message. I’ve either asked her by calling (more discreet) or emailed her. I imagine I could ask her in person as well but we’re rather busy people up here!
Good luck….
Posted by: Dressy | January 13, 2006 at 06:23 PM
Yes, we all need to work together and take other people’s feelings into consideration but I question whether the “gum popper” is really doing anything wrong. I may be in the minority here but I really do not think that I could work in an office so quiet that gum popping or typing would create such a distraction. My co-workers are high energy people that work hard and can make some noise. I have learned to “tune people out” when it does become overwhelming but overall I love working in such a fast-paced and lively environment.
Posted by: young at heart | January 16, 2006 at 08:14 AM
I can imagine how annoying that sound can become but I also do agree that if that is the only sound you hear it is pretty quiet at your work. I would suggest playing some quiet music in your cubicle that isn’t distracting, maybe the two of you choose a station you both like. This would eliminate the noise. You could also try during some small talk, a joke about her gum popping. That way it creates a laugh and maybe she will get the hint. Like, didn’t gum popping go out of style in the 80’s?
Posted by: Jocelyn | January 16, 2006 at 08:46 AM
I must be from the really old school but gum popping is absolutely just plain rude! It’s right up there with knuckle popping and breaking wind. If this is something that she likes to do on her own time, fine, but be considerate of others and just don’t do it in public. I would definitely let her know in a nice and kind tone of voice that it was really annoying to me.
Posted by: Margaret A. McBride | January 17, 2006 at 12:00 PM
It’s possible that she’s not even aware that she’s popping her gum!
I would approach it in a polite manner, saying something like, “You may not be aware of this, but you often pop your gum. It’s pretty loud – I just wanted to let you know.” She may get defensive, but at least you spoke your mind in a polite manner!
I sympathize – it seems that once you do focus in on something like that, it’s all you hear. I used to work next to a woman who sniffed constantly. Drove me crazy! I tried not to focus on it, but it was difficult. I kept wanting to offer her some Kleenex!
Posted by: | January 17, 2006 at 01:40 PM
I have extremely sensitive hearing and noises like gum popping drive me wild, while my “other half” and many of my coworkers wouldn’t even hear it. I agree with the approach: you may not be aware of it…..and politely tell her how much it bothers you. Another option would be for you to get noise cancelling headphones and wear them at work.
Posted by: | January 19, 2006 at 06:59 PM
Stop worrying and politely tell her your concern and ask her to stop popping her gum. Besides, have we forgotten our manners of not talking with our mouths full, or chewing so loudly that we can hear it across the table. You are not little children and this is a work environment. Let’s start behaving like adults and leave the gum chewing outside the office. A polite table manners reminder should do the trick.
Posted by: PGJ | January 30, 2006 at 07:59 AM
We have something in my office in place for these types of things–we leave a note once that person has left for the day, so he/she will find it the next morning. At first, I thought it was very childish and lame, but I realized that it works if you are the type of person who doesn’t like confrontation but still needs to get a message across. In my office we still have agreed that if someone is doing something bothersome, you can let them know in person. But another alternative would be that note. Just a suggestion.
Posted by: | February 06, 2006 at 10:52 AM