I try to be a rather tolerant person, but the guy who has moved into the desk next to me (although he does not work for my company, we still are renting the desk...so we are doing him a favor by letting him use it), is driving me fucking nuts. I do not know if I have seen someone who is so unaware of what proper office behavior and decorum is.
Let me give you some background on him. Jamie is working for his dad until he finds a job. He is 27 and has a Master's degree. He drives a Mercedes and is making more money than me, despite the fact he spends most of the day not working.
Jamie has a series of extremely annoying and disruptive behaviors that only I have to deal with (because I am the only person who can hear him).
1. For quite some time, he would watch videos on the internet and do other things requiring sound...with the volume all the way up. I finally got fed up with it and asked him to turn it down, to which he replied that he didn't know how.... Who the fuck doesn't know how to adjust the volume on his computer? Furthermore, if you know it is too loud, then how about NOT WATCHING THE VIDEOS AT ALL. It is now turned down, but I can still often hear it.
2. He talks on his cell phone (and now he uses the office phone) for personal calls all day (literally, all day). Never mind that he leaves his annoying ringer/text message noise on at full volume (he seems to get a message every 5 minutes). I can hear every word of his calls. There is no attempt to keep it down...or short. Furthermore, his conversations are one of 3 things. A. He is talking about how he doesn't like someone or how they behave ([sigh] "I don't really want to go. I just don't like how he acts.") Btw, he sighs constantly on the phone as if he is always under such terrible burdens. B. He is advising someone on how they should act/run their lives. He does this in a very condescending manner and makes it clear he has superior ideas on proper behavior. C. He argues with someone telling them how they were wrong to do something. Note that all of these assume some sort of superiority over anyone he talks to. However, I have rarely seen someone so ill-equipped to be instructing people on life choices.
3. On the very rare occasions that he makes calls about looking for a job/some program he might enroll in, he shows absolutely no tact when talking to them. "Yes, hi, my name is Jamie LastName. How do I get into the program?" That is a verbatim quote.
Before I tell you the last thing, I should point out that I think he might have some sort of developmental disability. His speech, walking, compulsive behaviors, etc seem to suggest it. However, he is clearly has a very high level of functioning. I mean, he wouldn't have gotten a master's degree otherwise. Furthermore, his conversations with his friends are more along the lines of a jackass than someone who has a learning disability. I hope this makes sense. I am trying not to seem like an ass myself, but I believe if you were in my position, you would understand my situation and feelings. It is possible that what I call symptoms of a disability are the only ones...in that, his actual behavior, attitude, and personality are not affected.
4. He has some rather bizarre and compulsive behavior. About once every 2 minutes, he loudly rubs his hands together (loud enough for me to hear it clearly) and breathes deeply, rapidly, and very oddly. It is hard to describe. I thought he was choking one time. I believe he does this when he gets even remotely excited. While it is entirely possible he has no control over it, once when walking by his desk, he was doing this. Seeing me, he stopped. I have know some people with some compulsive behaviors can control them to a certain degree when they feel it is unacceptable behavior at the time. I am not an expert, but I get a feeling he can control it...he just simply chooses not to (much like a lot of other things he does).
In the end, even if he cannot help any of this, what am I supposed to do? It is literally driving me insane. Sympathy for him dried up a long time ago (also, my strong suspicions that he can control all of this makes me even less likely to feel sorry for him). This is an office. Either act like an adult or go somewhere else. I mean, he is looking for jobs that would require better behavior...no one is going to hire him if he acts like he is. Furthermore, it is not my place nor do I have the authority to do anything about it. I absolutely cannot go complain to his dad or even my boss. When some things are blatant problems (like the watching of movies at full volume) I feel I can say something to him directly. But how do you tell him to stop slapping his hands together and breathing hard? Furthermore, how do I tell him not to make personal calls? He seems to have a horrible temper and detests anyone knocking down his superiority by telling him his behavior is unacceptable. I also don't want to seem like an insensitive prick if he actually does have some severe learning disability.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
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2 comments:
The more I hear about your job the more I am reminded of Dilbert. I would say that you should submit this as an idea to Scott Adams, but he has already done plenty of cartoon strips with annoying co-workers.
I don't know very much about mental issues, but the way you describe this guy, he might have a disorder where he doesn't naturally pick up on social cues. Some people have to learn them, so he may not have realized that his behavior was annoying until he saw you walking by.
Well, I should clarify. He still does the hands/breathing thing all the time. He only stopped that one time when I saw him do it. As if he suddenly became self-conscious when he could be seen...which shows that he is aware/ashamed of it.
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