Sharing a space with coworkers can be so awkward & comical that they made an entire show revolving around it (The Office).

In today’s awkward office situation, a woman who is going insane over the sound of her coworker’s eating and lip-smacking asks the internet if she should ask her to tone it down a bit, or just keep using noise-cancelling headphones.

Read the story and analyze the situation.

WIBTA if I told my coworker to stop smacking her lips when she eats?

Hi everyone – I’m caught in a dilemma and I can’t figure out if I’d be helping or harming a relationship I have with my coworker.

I (27, F) and Coworker A (32, F) have been working together for about a year and a half now.

Our company isn’t huge, so everyone knows everyone quite well and has a positive relationship.

But not always.

Except for when we eat.

Coworker A has this habit of smacking her lips pretty loudly while she eats.

I’m pretty sure it’s a cultural thing (we come from similar ethnic backgrounds) as people in our community do that pretty often.

My parents made a point to nip that habit in the bud when I was a kid, so I’m extra cognizant of that when I’m around other people.

Now it bothers her.

It doesn’t matter what the food is, there’s just always lip-smacking.

I’ve been intentional about eating when she doesn’t, but the way our office is situated, the kitchen is pretty open and we can hear/see when someone is having lunch.

She tried being subtle.

I once was eating noodles while she was working, and made a comment along the lines of: “Ugh, I hate how loud it sounds when I eat noodles” within her earshot, and she (very kindly) said:

“Hey! No judgement here – eat as loud as you want”.

Dang it.

She is super nice, super kind, and outside of that is a great coworker.

But it’s gotten to the point where when she eats I have to put in noise-cancelling headphones to drown out the lip-smacking noises/actively avoid eating at the same time as her because it grates on my nerves so much.

She is coping the best she can, but her coworker’s lip-smacking is out of hand.

I’m a fairly confrontational person, and wouldn’t mind mentioning it to her, but I can also see making any comment around coming across as hurtful/insensitive.

I haven’t talked to my coworkers about it because it feels gossip-y to do so, and I don’t want to make what is otherwise a minor issue a huge thing.

Most people in the area I live in aren’t confrontational either, so me being upfront is a bit unorthodox already.

WIBTA?

It really depends on how her coworker would react to a respectful and kind request.

I’m curious to see what Reddit has to say about this.

A commenter thinks she shouldn’t say anything.

This commenter shares their thoughts.

Someone shares their story.

Yup.

Another reader chimes in.

This person shares how they would deal with it.

If this is driving her nuts every day, being gentle or even using humor may be worth a shot.

It is a shared space, so maybe her coworker will understand.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.