Hi-decibel employee
 

We have a summer intern who is incredibly loud - I can hear him fifty yards away. Whether he's on the phone or talking to someone in person, the volume is always turned all the way up. I'm not hypersensitive - everyone else is annoyed by him, and he's affecting the work of others in the office. We have actual walled offices too, not cubicles, so his voice carries through the walls. It's highly unlikely that he's going to be offered a permanent position anyway, so should I say something to him about the volume? If so, any suggestions on how to do it tactfully?

ETA: This has been an ongoing problem since June, and "Could you please keep it down? I'm in the middle of a big project" works only temporarily. It's time for drastic measures ...

I understand that perfectly. My current boss loves to talk on the speakerphone, and it is so loud that it drives me insane! Even if he isn't on speakerphone, he is loud, all the time. Any suggestions for not losing my mind would be great.

Tell them to use their "indoor voices".

No, if they're using the speakerphone ask them nicely to turn down the volume or use the hand set because you can hear their conversation and it's very distracting.

If they're talking too loudly just ask them to keep it down. If they won't, jump into their conversations, that'll usually shut them up.

Perhaps he has a hearing loss and doesn't realize how loudly he is speaking. Some people come from families where everyone is loud and it's natural to them to speak loudly.

But maybe he is just being a jerk...

That is my family right there. We all speak loudly because both my Dad & I have tinnitus which can make it hard for us to hear sometimes. I get offended really easily when others yell at me for speaking too loudly because all they had to do was mention it. No need to be rude, you know?

I was scared that he might have a hearing loss, so the first few times I did the "Could you please keep it down? I'm in the middle of a big project" I was extremely delicate about it, and he didn't mention any hearing problem then, which would have been the time to do it. Given his other conduct this summer, I'm more inclined to believe that he's just being a jerk. He's exhibited a total lack of social skills this summer.

And I'm hysterically LOL over Lady Pi Phi's suggestion to jump into his conversation, because he does that to other people all the time! He will come out of his office when I am having a private conversation with someone else and just join in like he was invited. (Which makes me think he can hear that there is a conversation going on, so further evidence of no hearing loss.) One of my co-workers and I have decided that the next time he does it, we're going to switch gears and start having a conversation about "female stuff" to see if he continues to participate.

We have now started just asking him to keep it down (very nicely) without giving a reason why (like big project, etc.) Still not working. Fortunately, I do most of my work from home, but I have to come in some mornings. Counting the days until he goes back to school.

Even if he doesn't have a hearing loss, perhaps a family member close to him does. My mother has a profound hearing loss and I find after I have been around her for a while, the volume of my voice is elevated. Takes me a few days and some crazy looks to get the modulation back into a more normal range.

I would politely take him aside and ask him if it is the case he is around someone daily with such a difficulty. Gently advise him that his voice carries rather clearly and if he doesn't learn to keep it down, it will be a hinderance in his future career plans.

You would be doing him a service by providing him with clear and specific feedback regarding his work performance. Afterall, isn't that the point of an internship...to learn?

update
 

In the middle of a conference this morning when I hear him at top volume. Post-conference, I (extremely nicely and politely, but not too sugar-coated that it sounded sarcastic) said that I could hear his phone conversation while I was in my office. I asked if there was some problem with his phone or any other problem that might be causing him to talk so loudly (opening it up for him to tell me about hearing problems, hearing-impaired family members, etc.) since this seems to keep happening. His response?

"No, you must just be sensitive to my voice." :eek:

Instead of saying that I'm certainly not sensitive to voices with three kids who I have to frequently tune out (I exercised a whole lot of restraint), I said that I didn't think I was the only one who had noticed that his voice is sometimes rather loud, and I would appreciate it if he could keep it down. He *whispered* "fine."

Right after that, someone else walked down the hall and said to him, "Did you just say that someone is sensitive to your voice? Because I must be too - I hear you all the time from my office." Intern's response: "Well, I just have to start whispering from now on."

Thanks for all of your good advice. I'll be working from home until his internship is over.

bump
 

We had an intern like this, too. She would quietly do her work, but when it came to her cell phone ringing or making personal calls about her new apartment or the progress of her pregnancy and making appts with her OB/GYN, our entire office could hear her.

Several of us were annoyed with it, but only a few had the cajones to ask her to keep her voice down. And she would act all surprised, like she didn't realize she was being loud and would be quieter. For. That. Call.

Then she would start up again.

!!!!

I was so glad when her internship ended in late Nov.

What I don't understand is that this kind of behavior in an INTERN was tolerated. I could understand if it was the boss, but a temporary employee who is there to learn and get college credit? I was new at the time, and would've said more if I'd been there longer, but I was still learning the office culture.

I don't think our office did her any favors by ignoring her office etiquette lessons!

Re: bump
 

To me it seems to me your intern just didnt' realize it, and talks that way naturally, so when you asked she was quieter, but when she got on another call her natural loudness took over.

Seems like Angellove's intern was just a jerk.

Luckily for me, I don't work in an office setting....I don't realize how loud I am [at work] until I call a family member or friend on break....My dad is notorious for telling me VERY quickly about how loud I'm being and to tone it down...

But it's not my fault!!! I have to practically scream all day long at work to be heard! (I work at a nursing home...)

I am sometimes loud and I also ask other people to speak up. I do have a hearing problem though. It's not related to hearing loss (actually I hear better than most) but how I process sounds. Like if someone is speaking at normal volume and there is several people talking at once or several sounds at once...their voice will blend in and I can't hear them. So when I speak at normal volume, I assume that no one can hear me when in reality they do. Then there's other times I get loud because I'm excited. I'm trying to be more conscious of my voice now.