Employee's "health" affecting co-workers

KP68

My apologies for posting this here, but I wasn't sure where it would be appropriate.
We have an employee who has had what seems to be a rather 'chronic' cough for literally years, and it is affecting co-workers in a negative way, and I will spare you the gruesome details. Employees had, in the past, asked him if he was okay, because these coughing jags would last for a long time, and his response was always very short and well, rude.
This hasn't caused him to miss any work, so I'm not sure how this should be addressed. A co-worked did say that "it is affecting the way I work...".

Any suggestions on how this should be approached, or if we even should?
Thank you!

deniseE

What kind of work do your ee's do??? I worked in a call center for some time and this would definately be a problem!

If it's just an office annoyance, they may have to tolerate it....

I'm sure the coughing is much more annoying to the ee doing the coughing than those listening to it!!

KP68

It is an office setting, however all employees sit in connected cubes with low or no walls dividing them. There could be some 'exposure risks' and employees have mentioned this.

System

If it makes you feel any better, I sit across the hall from the King of Gastric Distress. This guy hiccups ALL THE TIME. Loudly. We've got another guy down the hall who hacks and retches all day. Then there's the data entry clerk who talks WAY too loudly, and the manager with a strange snorting-clearing-his-throat thing. (As a bipolar person I not only notice these things, but I get easily irritated by them, so I understand!!) As for exposure, as long as the coworkers don't use the guy's phone or computer and he doesn't cough right on them, I don't think it's a big deal. They'll just have to tune it out. Good luck with this!

Cinderella

Heck Linda, I'm not bipolar but if I had to listen to all of that I would irritated. I can't STAND the snorting-clearing-the-throat thing that people do. It literally makes me want to GAG.

Everytime my dad sneezes he YELLS "GOD D@#$% IT!" Literally like this:

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHCCCCCHHHHHOOOOOOOOOO GOD D@#$% IT!"

When I was little he did this in public much to my Lutheran Deaconess mother's dismay. She told me a couple of months ago that he did it in a BIBLE STUDY once, too. #-o

Don D

Help me understand how/why being bi-polar would affect how you react to or notice this? Just curious.

marc

For me, the issue is the break in concentration. The hacking cough is just so unexpected and after it goes on for a bit, you can just hear how much it must be hurting and just when you think they have coughed out a lung, it gets a bit worse.

Anyway, I get irritated after a while. The one in our office is caused by a combination of allergies and asthma. Sometimes, the ladies medications just don't help. Tuning it out is difficult, but I close the door and turn on some music - helps a little, but with our thin office walls, not much.

KP68

So does the manager and staff just have to deal with this?

Can/should something be said to this employee?

System

I can only speak for myself and partly for my son, but I have very low irritation threshold. I hate when people chew ice or chew anything crunchy. Certain fabrics drive my son nuts, like windbreaker material. One tendency bipolars have is the uncanny ability to get irritated easily and quickly, and we tend to react equally quickly! My husband and I work side by side here (he's the ice cruncher!), and he can tune all of the distractions out. I have to work at it. Fun, fun, fun!

KP68

This is beyond the personal "irritation" factor - as numerous employees have voiced their concerns -for his sake and their own, really.
I guess I'm looking to find out if there is any regulation that would prevent us from asking him if he's okay, etc.

A way to open the door, if you will, for him to let us know if there is something bigger going on.

Don D

Let's be reasonable. I suggest it is perfectly reasonable to bring the man in, set him down and ask him those questions. There is nothing to prohibit your doing that. That's what I would do. Treat it as you would treat someone with some other extremely irritating personal characteristic that affected the productivity or comfort of other employees.

KP68

Thank you Don D - just what I wanted to hear.

Cinderella

Good advice - reasonable and straight forward. x:-)



WARNING: The text below contains a tongue in cheek joke. The joke is not ment to offend. The joke involves a person who consistently talks sense, an advertisment that may or may not be FCC compliant, and mention of a geographic location. If you are highly sensitive and/or prone to hitting the "alert" button, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT read the text below the line. You have been warned!!

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Don, I think you should start a consulting service. Seriously - you would make a TON of money. I can see the ad now:

"Bring me your coughers, your smellys, your funny noise makers, your rude, your yellers, your 'I've worked here 25 years and have always done it this way'-ers. I will have the 'hard to have' yet uncomplicated and straight forward conversation with them. Save your sanity, get your 'good' employees to stop complaining, resist the urge to brush up your conflict resolution skills, spend more time on the HR Hero Forum. Let Don D kick a$$ and take names FOR you! $300 an hour not including refreshments. Call 1-800-SOUTHERN."

There you go. I'll take 30% of all sales. x:D

Don D

$300 an hour is reasonable; however, I cannot spring for refreshments for that price.