65-year-old clerk constantly talks all throughout the workday, interrupts coworker when she tries to get a word in: 'She never calls off and never shuts up or stops complaining.'

She needs to leave her coworkers alone, but she never will.

How much should you talk on the job? Some jobs are so boring that there's nothing else to do but talk to your coworkers. If you've ever worked at a store or a frozen yogurt store that doesn't get a lot of customers, having a coworker that you can talk to for hours is a Godsend. However, there are other jobs where socializing with your coworkers really gets in the way of your productivity. I would argue that most jobs are not conducive to chatting all day long about your personal life. There's a time and a place for water-cooler talk, and asking your coworkers for their thoughts on the newest releases can certainly build rapport. But if you're interrupting everyone's work to talk about Project Hail Mary, you might not be popular with your hardworking coworkers. 

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  • A woman talking on the phone
    via Centre for Ageing Better

    Clerk talking on the phone at work, after having spent most of the workday talking to her coworkers about everything under the sun.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • A great deal of the population straight-up doesn't care if they're disruptive, nor do they particularly care about doing a good job at work. They've been able to get away with messing around at work for years without getting fired or scolded, so they just continue to behave badly, much to the chagrin of everyone around them

    The employee in this story can't stand her older coworker. She is one of the worst kinds of people to be around all day: a complainer. Listening to someone drone on about TV shows is far superior to listening to someone complain about their life nonstop.

  • My 65-year-old coworker never shuts up

    I work with one lady daily. 4/5 days of the week. A clerk. She never calls off and never shuts up or stops complaining. I straight up ignore her because I don't have the energy to listen to her, but she does not catch on to social cues which is so unfortunate. I feel like a
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • b but she quite literally does not catch on to me not making eye contact with her, I give no responses back except "uh huh, yeah". I have even said "I quite frankly don't want to hear about the schedule anymore and want quiet time, I am tired". She still talks to me
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • in front of my desk so I can't escape. I talk to clients all day, and dont have the energy to also hear her on top of that. She huffs and puffs expecting me to ask whats up. She talks about her daughter's wedding 24/7, the weather, her car, her crafts, her family, her nails, her clothes, everything. The second
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • A close-up of a persons hands holding another persons hand
    via roger vaughan

    Manicured hands of a woman who does not know how to stop talking when nobody is listening.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • I try to get a word in, she talks over me too. She is also aggressive and doesnt handle stress well, and shouts JC and GD all day long and we work with kids so it's kind of ironic she gets away with that. Sorry for the long rant, but how do you deal with someone who still oversteps boundaries in
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • Young children sitting at a table
    via Anna Zwiefel

    Little kids overhear clerk at their preschool saying some naughty words.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • your physical space when you've asked for it? Do I bring it up to my boss? I cant close my door either because she brings clients into my office. Help please!
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • RumBunBun I used to work with someone like that. She would come stand in my cube and talk about how far behind she was and how she got in trouble for being so far behind. Then she'd start in on exactly what tasks she was behind on and how long it was going to take her to catch up. I'd tell her she better get back to her desk then, and actually work. She'd agree, then wander over to someone else's desk and tell them how far behind she was, etc, etc. I finally transferred to a different department
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • Poundaflesh Perfect! "Then you should go back to your desk and work on that.” “I understand, which is why I cannot chat right now." "You should go work on that (On repeat)." "You look dehydrated, you should get some water."
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • Rinzlor Bro I got stressed just reading this, sometimes going to the boss is the only way to handle it without straight up being a to her lol.
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • TeaNo3259 OP Yeah I feel bad occasionally for being extremely blunt. But so far she has continued to invade my space after Ive made it blatantly clear I am doing paperwork, doing computer work, just dont want to listen etc. She also has very bad breath which is the icing on the cake I sit in my car until the very last minute walking in in the mornings
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • because the second I do walk in, shes by my side talking in my face about how she slept or something. I know every single aspect of her finances, daily life with her husband, what they have for dinner everyday, if she was up pooping all night, the list goes on. I dont ask. She just never stops talking →
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • blind30 We recently hired a guy who talks non stop, and is absolutely full of sh. All he talks about is himself, keeps plowing on even when you're throwing off every hint in the book. I finally came up with a solution that worked. Zoned out, look at my phone while he's talking, and after a few minutes I looked up and said: "Wait, what movie is this again?"
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • Disastrous-Summer619 That's actually hilarious. Sometimes the only way to deal with nonstop talkers is to just break the script like that and make them realize you weren't listening at all
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • QueenK59 After working in open offices for most of my career, everyone enjoys occasional chatter and laughter. We would have a cue lines, "we're working now"! To shut it off and get to work.
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • BeDeRex Repeat after me: That's FASCINATING, Janet. I can't wait to hear more! Tell me everything! Then, since she doesn't catch social clues, walk away when she starts talking. Bonus points if you call her Janet and her name isn't Janet.
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • TeaNo3259 OP i Her name is Tammee which is even better have tried that before sadly. I got up and said I needed to go to the bathroom and she even followed me to the bathroom talking... multiple. occasions. I started locking the main door to the multi stall bathroom.
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • emotumbleweed She sounds like someone who needs people to talk to, but doesn't have many people to talk to, and it looks like there's a good reason, if your description is any indication. So, she's latched onto someone who's backed up in a corner and can't flee like everyone else, you.
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • Do you like this person? Is this someone you'd be willing to be an emotional crutch for, with certain boundaries in place? Or do you just want to clock in, do your job, clock out, and get paid without getting personal? The answer might change how you wanna approach this.
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • Either way, if she's just unloading her stream of consciousness on you, she'll only get more into it the longer she goes on, so try stopping her before she can. The next time she starts on a rant, cut her off immediately. Say something like "sorry, I can't chat right now, I need to focus on my work." If you like her, add "but we can catch up later." If you don't like her, add "I can't do that when people are trying to have a conversation about unrelated things." Be polite, but blunt. How she rea
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • If she ignores you and keeps talking, try to interrupt her again. If that doesn't work or she gets upset the first time, talk to your boss. It's past being an interpersonal issue, you've tried resolving it yourself, it hasn't worked and it's affecting your work performance so it's their business now too.
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • top_value7293 Not talk TO. She wants someone to talk AT. It's like a verbal assault lol these kind just will not stop
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • Poundaflesh These people don't get hints. You have to specifically tell them what you need or how they need to behave. You needn't be ugly about it. One of our camp mates was like this and I'd see him talking to people who looked really annoyed so I'd say, "Wm, let's go look for wild flowers." We'd do that until I got tired of him. “This was fun, thank you for your time, I'm going to do X now." "No, I need alone time, thanks for offering to come with me." "You look dehydrated, you should get som
    via u/TeaNo3259
  • emotumbleweed Eh, I was trying to be lenient to this total stranger because most lonely motormouth older people would quiet right down if they had someone, anyone to engage with them. Unfortunately, they're not entitled to the emotional labour of anybody not willing to be their emotional dumping ground.
    via u/TeaNo3259

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