It Bothers Me
I have a co-worker who has a persistent cough. There is nothing he can really do about it to clear it up (I have asked!) and it causes him to cough in a very loud and long way, ever 3-5 minutes. It just so happens that his office is right next to mine, and when I am in the office I hear him coughing constantly throughout the day.
At first it didn’t really bother me. I mean there is absolutely nothing I can do about it, so I just went about talking on the phone, working on my loan files, and going about my normal business.
But lately it has been irritating me more and more.
I have talked to him about his cough; I’ve tried closing my door for most of the day (makes me seem unfriendly to all my other co-workers though when I do that!); and have tried to ignore it – yet it still bothers me.
What else can I do?
Complaining to him, complaining to my boss, or just complaining to others is the thing that I want to do most.
But that won’t change anything!
“Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!” Jam 5:9 (NIV)
A Real Christian businessman recognizes that leading by example in this case is crucial. As much as it bothers and irritates me… I can’t change him, I have to do something on my end to stop it from bothering me.
So you know what I did? I asked my boss if I could move my office to another area.
Next time you are bothered by something that involves a co-worker, make a decision to take some type of action that YOU can do and that is representative of a Real Christian Businessman.
Remember – everyone is watching how we react in these situations so let’s give them all something good to talk about.