Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
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Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#2The open office revolution needs to die. I don't like wearing headphones all day, but I also don't like hearing 30 people's conversations either.
I had a (old) guy that used to sit in my area who would argue with his manager in person and argue (loudly) with everyone he was on the phone with (including his wife).
He got moved a couple of months ago and there were no tears shed.
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#3honestly, that's why I'm hardly ever in the office. there's someone there who's noise profile is utterly unfilterable. they fiddle with things, drop things, fidget, cough, snort phlegm up their nose, subvocalize, and generally emit an air of restlessness. nice person though.
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#4[deleted]
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#5I'd say environmental factors such as being so freaking hot that you are sweating or so freaking cold you have to bring in a heater to counteract the AC are pretty distracting as well. And in terms of productivity, not having enough ventilation so that the air builds up CO2 makes people really tired and unproductive.
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#6Coworker who is extremely loud on the phone. I get 0 work done when she's on the phone. She's so loud I can't hear people when I'm on the phone. We have an "open door" policy at work so if I close my door to my own office it looks weird. If I tell her she's being too loud I look like an asshole. We're moving to a new building and I'm going to be on a different floor than her and I can't wait. So many years of listening to half of a conversation is enough to make you go insane.
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#7Bought a pair of good closed back headphones after using semi-open headphones for ages. Lots of money you can pour into these, but can't complain having great sound and not able to hear the noise of my colleagues.
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#8Bought a pair of good closed back headphones after using semi-open headphones for ages. Lots of money you can pour into these, but can't complain having great sound and not able to hear the noise of my colleagues.
Which pair?
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#9Another thread where most commenters will advocate for remote work and/or private offices. I agree.
Dan Luu recently said this about Peopleware, which advocates for offices and is highly regarded:
> This book seemed convincing when I read it in college. It even had all sorts of studies backing up what they said. No deadlines is better than having deadlines. Offices are better than cubicles. Basically all devs I talk to agree with this stuff.
> But virtually every successful company is run the opposite way. Even Microsoft is remodeling buildings from individual offices to open plan layouts. Could it be that all of this stuff just doesn’t matter that much? If it really is that important, how come companies that are true believers, like Fog Creek, aren’t running roughshod over their competitors?
> This book agrees with my biases and I’d love for this book to be right, but the meta evidence makes me want to re-read this with a critical eye and look up primary sources.
--
What's HN opinions?
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#10The problem with open office plans is that it takes just one noisy person to spoil it for everybody. If managed carefully and actively, they can work -- it just takes an manager willing to correct bad behavior or send sick people home.
Where I work, I have a budding tupperware percussionist, three imminent victims of whooping cough, some parents managing high-maintenance offspring over cell phones, and one guy who conducts teleconferences with his desk phone. So I often sneak off to empty conference rooms with a laptop if I'm trying to concentrate.