I have a roommate who is on his phone a lot (he works from home over the phone). His phone is always on speakerphone at quite a loud volume. When his door will be closed and my door is closed and I'm also around a corner in my room, I can still hear everything he is doing on his phone. This includes watching videos or listening to music or talking about (potentially) sensitive information with a client.
This isn't a problem if no one else is home, but I get annoyed by it pretty easy. If I'm just trying to have a quiet moment reading a book, I can put on headphones to block the sound but get a little miffed that I have to do this. The bigger problem is when he is on a call or listening to music when I am trying to sleep, which happens less frequently.
I've thought about how to bring this up with him.
The indirect things I can come up either sound passive-aggressive or might not be clear enough. An example of this might be something like "Hey, is there a reason that you don't use headphones when on a call?". I've also thought about making it about me: "I am pretty sensitive to loud noises and can get annoyed easy; do you think that you could make your calls quieter?" but this could be not direct or clear enough.
The more direct ways (e.g. "Can you find a way to be quieter on calls, especially after I go to bed?" or "Could you please use headphones instead of speakerphone?") seem fake or rude to me.
How do I suggest that he use headphones rather than be on speakerphone without running into either of those problems? Are either of the options I listed above better than I think? Or is there a better way? Is this better handled in person or over text?
Notes that may or not be relevant:
- I'm not sure if his clients actually disclose sensitive information over the phone, so that is not my main concern. If I only bring this up, a response like "they don't reveal any sensitive info" would be a good response but not address the problem.
- I say "roommate" but technically this is a property I own, so I am also the landlord.
- I'm very introverted and more sensitive to loud noises than anyone else I know, so I'll admit part of the problem is me. I really don't like when people play their music or stuff like that in public.
- I go to bed very early (usually around 8pm), so asking him to be quiet when I go to bed might be more difficult than with someone who goes to bed at a more "normal" hour
