Is it rude to wear headphones at work, or is it considerate? The answer probably depends on the workplace culture. While some people would see headphones as a way of eliminating distractions, other people might see them as a way of ignoring coworkers or not being fully present at work.

What would you do if you sat in a cubicle near a coworker who takes meetings without wearing headphones? Would this bother you? If it did, would you mind your own business, talk to the coworker about it, or talk to a supervisor?

In this story, one woman is in this situation, and she feels more comfortable sending an email to a supervisor than she does approaching her coworker about how distracting it is for her when he is in a meeting without wearing headphones. However, she’s not sure if that’s the best way to handle the situation.

Let’s read all about it to decide.

WIBTA for going straight to my supervisors to complain about a coworker’s lack of headphones?

I (25F) have been working at a new job for a little less than 2 months and it is my first time in a cubicle setting.

At my previous job, we were always advised to wear headphones while taking online meetings to protect confidential information.

Ever since I have started this new job I have used headphones in the office for confidential purposes as well as noise control but at the same time one coworker (late 20’sM) in a different row of cubicles takes every single meeting in his cubicle without headphones and even sometimes plays music out loud.

Honestly it is very distracting and loud and I am unsure how to approach the issue.

She’s thinking about sending an email.

I will admit I am pretty timid and afraid to tell a coworker I haven’t even officially met (we work in different teams) that he should wear headphones or at least turn the volume down.

Also some of my friends told me it was rude to wear headphones in the office but I think it’s even more rude not to.

My solution is to either email my manager or our director with my concern that everyone should be courteous and wear headphones at least for meetings since we sometimes talk about patient’s personal information (we work in public health) and also to provide an appropriate work environment where people taking meetings at their desk wont be as distracting to other coworkers. I am not going to mention his name specifically but just make a general request.

WIBTA if I went straight to my supervisors with this issue instead of bringing it up to my coworker?

I don’t think it’s wrong for her to go to her supervisor to ask about the headphones policy at this office. She could simply explain that she was encouraged to wear headphones at a previous job but noticed a lot of people don’t wear headphones at this job. She could phrase it as simply asking about the policy.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman whose HR department advised her to quit if she was that unhappy, so she did and found herself in a role reversal years later.

Let’s see what Reddit suggests.

This person thinks she’s handling it perfectly.

Another office worker weighs in.

This person shares three rules of working in a cubicle.

Another person gives a suggestion about how to approach the manager.

I’ve never worked in an office setting where coworkers would listen to music without headphones or join meetings without headphones unless literally everyone was in the meeting, and then we’d most likely be in a conference room.

Her coworker is being really rude and disrespectful of his coworkers. She can’t be the only one who finds the noise coming from his desk distracting.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who works fast and helps her coworkers, but is met with disapproval from her supervisor because of this practice