A loud voice in the front of an office suite?

Q. I work in a law firm as an administrative assistant.  I sit in the front of our office suite.  There are several partners in our firm who will sit at an empty desk right next to me. No kidding… it is five feet from my chair. All these attorneys have their own private offices. I do not make the rules of course, but it is creepy to have an attorney working next to you for hours when they have an office. There is one attorney who seems to like working at this empty desk. He puts his feet up on the desk and makes a lot of personal calls and he is a loud speaker. Others are more reasonable. They will check their phones, make quick calls, or work on their laptops. Sometimes the topics raised in these conversations should not happen in my little area. Visitors, friends, and others sometimes walk by. I also have trouble focusing on tougher tasks. I’ve tried talking to my boss, but he just laughs as if it is funny.

A.  It sounds like you are in a difficult position. This is a more common complaint as many workspaces are now more open, with cubicles or desks, and no walls or partitions. Your manager may also struggle with how to resolve your situation. It sounds like your boss may not want to confront the situation either.

I am also someone that can be very distracted by background noise, so I share your pain. Here are some suggestions:

            – Can you reserve a conference room for a block of time during the day and take work that requires focus and concentration into this conference room? I have even seen employees use a lunchroom or quiet spot in the cafeteria with the intention of avoiding distractions.

            – Try to determine if there is a schedule or pattern that this desk is occupied. Is it after lunch or late in the day? Then, can you work around it? By that I mean, can you take lunch at that time or use another desk at that time?

            – Can you use a small set of earbuds to provide some white noise relief?

            – Could you approach this one attorney in a non-threatening but polite way? Although I see this as a viable option, I do not know your work culture or organization. I would not want you to threaten your employment situation so this is option that may be risky.

It would seem that the most concerning behavior is the lack of discretion as guests or others are within ear shot of this desk.  Maybe you could mention this concern to your manager?  There are reasons why many attorneys have offices.  Discretion and confidentiality are both often critically important when working on client matters, whether your firm is working with clients who are trying to resolve a custody dispute or a tax controversy.      

I realize that this attorney may be driving you nuts with his noise levels, but my guess is that he does not realize it is affecting you so negatively.  Realistically, I don’t think you will see significant change overnight.  However, I think you may see small steps in the right direction.  He may be hearing a message from you, subtly, but others may also be sending him similar feedback.

Want to leave a comment?

Create an Account Or sign in to your account

To comment, please create a screen name in your profile

To comment, please verify your email address

Conversation

This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com