Intrepidcaribou Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 This guy started working with us a month ago. He's a nice enough guy and is good at his job, but he has this horribly monotone, loud, resonant voice. I see my colleagues visibly cringe when he picks up the phone. I generally don't like unpleasant noises. I can feel it in my bones if a note is out of tune. It's gotten to the point where I avoid speaking to him because his voice annoys me so much. I know it's terrible, but what can I do. I'm not the only one in my unit and I know he can't help it Link to post Share on other sites
loverboy69 Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 This guy started working with us a month ago. He's a nice enough guy and is good at his job, but he has this horribly monotone, loud, resonant voice. I see my colleagues visibly cringe when he picks up the phone. I generally don't like unpleasant noises. I can feel it in my bones if a note is out of tune. It's gotten to the point where I avoid speaking to him because his voice annoys me so much. I know it's terrible, but what can I do. I'm not the only one in my unit and I know he can't help it A pair of decent earphones or earbuds will do. Plug them into your smartphone and listen to your favorite music. Or you could confront him and tell him you hate his voice. I think the earbud suggestion is a better option. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author Intrepidcaribou Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 A pair of decent earphones or earbuds will do. Plug them into your smartphone and listen to your favorite music. Or you could confront him and tell him you hate his voice. I think the earbud suggestion is a better option. Not really an option. I need to be able to listen to and hear my colleagues as part of my job. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
GemmaUK Posted March 13, 2015 Share Posted March 13, 2015 You'll just have to control your own reaction to it if you can't wear ear buds. We all have work stress so getting irritated over a voice is a waste of energy. I sit in a team of women who talk all day every day about food, diets, reality TV shows and celebrities, none of which interest me but it was tedious and distracting to hear. I stick my earbuds in and get on with my work. My team quickly learned to come and see me if I needed to know something. Monday to Friday is classical music - today it's Punk Friday!! : Link to post Share on other sites
pink_sugar Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I used to work somewhere where we weren't allowed to wear ear buds for some weird reason. Anyways, I know my husband's voice is monotone...not to that extent though. He has worked with someone immature people who say he sounds like squiward from spongebob. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
loveweary11 Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 People can't help what their voice sounds like. Find something new to obsess over. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Author Intrepidcaribou Posted March 14, 2015 Author Share Posted March 14, 2015 People can't help what their voice sounds like. Find something new to obsess over. He sounds like Ben Stein from Ferris Bueller, but 10 times less expressive. It's like ignoring nails on a chalkboard. It's affecting our whole unit. One of my colleagues came to work in my cubicle for a few hours on Friday because he couldn't stand "the Voice". Link to post Share on other sites
seekingpeaceinlove Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Aw poor co-worker. I wonder if there is some type of speech/vocal therapy that might improve his tone. I also knew someone with a very distinct, flat, monotone voice ..it was pretty bad. He also, unfortunately, had a host of mental issues. I wonder if your coworker recognizes that his voice is unappealing and if it bothers him at all... Link to post Share on other sites
CC12 Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I get the feeling that you and your coworkers all talk about this guy behind his back and have some little game you all play with each other, with the visible cringing and the moving of seats in order to get away from "the Voice" as you called it. You and your coworkers are coming off kind of like bullies or like mean girls (and guys) or something, even if no one has ever treated him poorly to his face. If this is an unfair or incorrect presumption of me to make, I apologize, but I wanted to point out that this is how it came across to an unbiased person, much like your boss should be, if you ever went to him or her about it in the same way you came to loveshack about it. Really, the only reasonable gripe you have with this coworker is that he's loud. You can either ask him yourself to lower his voice, or you could tell your boss about it and hope that it will be solved. And that's it. Those other things you complained about are petty. As a professional, you have to try to get along with everyone, even the weird guy you don't like. Can I ask, what do you think should happen to this guy? Should he be fired? Should they move his desk to the basement? Should they give him speech lessons? What do you think the solution is? 3 Link to post Share on other sites
SpiralOut Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 This reminds me of a student who did his placement with us for a month. He made a few comments to me that made it very clear that he didn't quite "get" how or why his tone of voice mattered. He was trying to find a job without much success, and after asking for advice, someone told him to work on his tone of voice. I did notice that his words didn't always match his voice - he would try to sound excited but just sound monotone. I'm not sure what his deal was exactly but that's how he was. He was, however, very smart academically. I think you should just treat him like anyone else. Who knows, if you get to know him, he might even open up and mention his voice and tell you why it is like that. He might know that he sounds like but not know how to change it. He may even be worried about fitting in at work because of it. Link to post Share on other sites
SycamoreCircle Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I remember running across something which claimed that women are more attracted to men with monotone voices. Reason being it supposedly subliminally communicates financial and emotional stability. My sister has been faithfully married to a Mr. Monotone over 30 years. They have three kids, two homes and two grandchildren. Mr. Monotone has worked for the same oil company all of his life. Link to post Share on other sites
Author Intrepidcaribou Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 I remember running across something which claimed that women are more attracted to men with monotone voices. Reason being it supposedly subliminally communicates financial and emotional stability. My sister has been faithfully married to a Mr. Monotone over 30 years. They have three kids, two homes and two grandchildren. Mr. Monotone has worked for the same oil company all of his life. If I had your sister's life I'd probably be suicidal. It just proves that to each her own. Link to post Share on other sites
MidwestUSA Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 If I had your sister's life I'd probably be suicidal. It just proves that to each her own. I know, right? Who wants to keep up two homes? Link to post Share on other sites
MuscleCarFan Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 I used to work somewhere where we weren't allowed to wear ear buds for some weird reason. Anyways, I know my husband's voice is monotone...not to that extent though. He has worked with someone immature people who say he sounds like squiward from spongebob. I honestly hate my monotone voice... >_> Link to post Share on other sites
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