How do I handle my co-worker who eats with his mouth open?

Question

My co-worker is constantly eating chips (all day long) and chewing ice from his drink with his mouth open. It's loud and obnoxious and I've told him gently to please keep his mouth closed when he eats. It's gotten to the point that I've gotten harsher and told him that it's rude to those around him and to knock it off. He continues to chew loudly and I can't take it anymore. I actually left my office today during lunch and wouldn't return until he was done eating. What do I do??

Answer 1

It sounds like he's TRYING to p**s you off! How obnoxious! I'd say, If he wants to be rude, you can be rude right back. Tell him that his chewing is disgusting and you can't concentrate.

  If you're not comfortable being so straightforward, Go to your boss and suggest a new rule about eating and drinking in the office. Tell him/her your story and let him/her know that it's distracting and it's making it difficult for you to focus on your work. If the boss thinks the rule will boost moral, I think the odds are in your favor.  Good Luck!

Answer 2

try listening to music if you can and just don't look in his direction. ignore him, i think he is purposely doing it to annoy you. try concentrating on something else or think about something you have to do.

Answer 3

I think he is doing it because he knows it bothers you so much. Time for a dose of his own medicine I think, next time you need to go near him bend over and f**t in his face under the pretence of picking something up from the floor.

Answer 4

Well I would say you should ignore him or her, but there is a point were you might want to kill that person because they are big disturbance.

Well if you have a supervisor or someone higher in charge you can report the person and maybe he or she will stop. Other than that you really can't do anything but ignore him, because you can't tell someone what to do.

Good Luck

Answer 5

Get a straw and shoot spit wads in his mouth as he eats...

Answer 6

I would say that leaving during lunch or not eating at the same table with him is the best thing you can do.  It is unfortunate that an adult has not learned to chew with his/her mouth closed by now, but there is no real formal action you can take.  If you take it to management, you will be viewed as petty and unprofessional.  Clearly he is not getting the message or refuses to change his eating habits.  And you can't force him to chew with his mouth closed.

The best I can say is don't look at him while he eats and wear headphones so you can't hear.  

If you absolutely cannot work with it, the only other option would be to find a different place to work.

Good luck!

Answer 7

YOU SHOULD PUT A COMPLAINT TO YOUR MANAGER!!!

Answer 8

Arrrrggghhh....this is one of my pet peeves as well.   I can't stand eating noises like open-mouth chewing.  Since speaking to him has had no effect, it's time to take other people with you and have a semi-formal meeting with him.  Let him hear from other people as well.  You don't have to be "in-your-face" about it--you could even put the blame back onto yourselves ("sorry that we're so sensitive about this")--but if it's making you so uncomfortable that you can't stay in the office, then it's definitely appropriate to go to the next step.

If you don't have co-workers willing to go with you or the meeting has no effect, then you're simply going to have to go to your supervisor.  Naturally, no decent co-worker ever wants to go to the boss and complain about a colleague...and that's how it should be...but if you can go asking for help and invite your boss to MEDIATE another meeting (as opposed to reprimand or issue orders), that will probably be all you need to do.