An annoying coworker? We should all have such problems

Dear Bob …

I realize this isn’t the biggest problem you’ve helped someone with, but I’m hoping you’ll help me anyway. My problem? A coworker who’s off the charts on the annoying scale.

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The guy is an extralarge in more than just size. He’s loud, coarse, has a mean-sounding laugh that fills a room — not in a good way — and when he eats, he shovels food in his mouth in a way that’s thoroughly unappetizing. Yuck!

I’ve asked my manager to speak to Mr. Big, but she’s refused, on the grounds that he isn’t doing anything identifiably wrong.

What do you think, Bob? Have any great ideas on how to deal with this?

– Imposed Upon

Dear Imposed Upon …

Do I have any advice? Sure do. My advice is to grow up. If this is what passes for problems in your circle, you need to learn an important lesson, as Robert Fulghum related in a story he told about his youth in his well-worth-reading “Uh Oh!” (1993). He was complaining that the meals included with his job turned out to be nothing but frank ‘n’ beans.

The person he was complaining to was a Holocaust survivor, who told him, “Fulghum, you need to learn the difference between a problem and an inconvenience.”

And Imposed Upon, so do you. Every time Mr. Big does something that annoys you — not because he’s being unpleasant or inappropriate to you, but just because of how he is — thank whatever deity you worship and your lucky stars if you don’t have one that this is what passes for bad in your life.

– Bob

This story, “An annoying coworker? We should all have such problems,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of Bob Lewis’s Advice Line blog on InfoWorld.com.