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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

#81

Post by user5994461 »

MaysonL wrote: post #73
Matachines wrote: post #9

Another 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…

Same reasons that C/C++/Java/Javascript beat all the better languages. Pop culture.

C and c++ were close to the only language available some 10-30 years ago. There is still lot of legacy to work on.

Java is superior to everything else. Go and C# only came in much later.

Javascript is the only language supported by browsers.

It's not pop culture, there are real historical and practical reasons for them to be where they are.

Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace

#82

Post by TheOneTrueKyle »

Swizec wrote: post #33
ryandrake wrote: post #26

Different strokes for different folks. I'm probably the only person on HN that prefers open office workspaces. I currently have an office to myself and it's so lonely and isolating. I think I'd go crazy working all day without human interaction, so I hardly ever use it. And, no, chat isn't an adequate substitute. I'll generally charge up my laptop and go out and work in a break room or some other common area with act…

Maybe you're an extrovert? Being around people gives you energy. For us introverts it's the opposite. Being around people drains us of energy. Even if we enjoy their company and enjoy social interaction . It's tiring. There's probably no silver bullet for office design. People are different, as you say.

I'm introverted, but still enjoy working in an open office space than in the cube farm. Isolation is worse than emotional drainage from interacting with people in my opinion.

Although I will admit it is hard to start my side project after work and is probably due to being drained.

Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace

#84

Post by mikestew »

post_break wrote: post #6

Coworker 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 listeni…

If I tell her she's being too loud I look like an asshole.

Only to her. Everyone else silently thanks you. Don't let assholes define the narrative by feeling like an asshole because you asked an asshole to quit being such an asshole.

Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace

#85

Post by ar15saveslives »

It's better to work in somewhat noisy environment, where everybody can stare at your monitor, than commit suicide after two years of sitting in dark gloomy gray-walled cubicle without any natural light.

I honestly can't understand people that can work in those depressing conditions.

Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace

#86

Post by Matachines »

Swizec wrote: post #33
ryandrake wrote: post #26

Different strokes for different folks. I'm probably the only person on HN that prefers open office workspaces. I currently have an office to myself and it's so lonely and isolating. I think I'd go crazy working all day without human interaction, so I hardly ever use it. And, no, chat isn't an adequate substitute. I'll generally charge up my laptop and go out and work in a break room or some other common area with act…

Maybe you're an extrovert? Being around people gives you energy. For us introverts it's the opposite. Being around people drains us of energy. Even if we enjoy their company and enjoy social interaction . It's tiring. There's probably no silver bullet for office design. People are different, as you say.

There's sort of a silver bullet: Individual offices around an open area.

Want to work alone? Close door.

Want to work alone but be aware of things going on? Leave the door open.

Can't stand working alone? Go to the open area.

Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace

#87

Post by CaptSpify »

jmcdiesel wrote: post #83

Or we can adapt to the real world where people around us necessarily have an effect on us - and learn to live in that world? We don't need to work in libraries, we need to just adapt.

Just like we need to adapt to poor eyesight instead of relying on these "glasses" everyone keeps raving about. /s

I find it hard to take your statement seriously

Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace

#88

Post by pasbesoin »

pklausler wrote: post #10

The 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 co…

It's often worse in that the noisy person hinders their coworkers, while no one hinders them -- particularly in a work culture that lauds "open" and discourages a limiting response on the part of others towards that person.

Meanwhile, the quiet people are not keeping the noisy one from their work or working effectively if and when they choose to concentrate.

Result? The noisy people "succeed".

I consider it a cousin of bullying.

And, it explains a lot about contemporary Western corporate culture -- to its detriment, in my opinion.

Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace

#89

Post by nisse72 »

I am currently working in a very crowded open office. We have small desks where we sit almost elbow to elbow, the place is all hard surfaces (it's an old industrial building made into office space), and there is a fair amount of noise.

But none of this would bother me except for the fact that one senior person has decided to have speakers installed in the ceiling, and we have to listen to non-stop spotify playing top 40 or whatever, all day every day.

The constant music drives me insane, it just drones on and on. I wear noise cancelling headphones with rain sounds to drown it out but I don't like wearing headphones all day and it hinders collaborating with my neighbours. I can't tell if management is clueless or simply does not give a toss. Probably both.

Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace

#90

Post by digler999 »

nisse72 wrote: post #89

I am currently working in a very crowded open office. We have small desks where we sit almost elbow to elbow, the place is all hard surfaces (it's an old industrial building made into office space), and there is a fair amount of noise. But none of this would bother me except for the fact that one senior person has decided to have speakers installed in the ceiling, and we have to listen to non-stop spotify playing top…

If you don't like them, and you have no hope of using direct methods, you might be able to turn them in to either spotify or ASCAP. I think they might need a special license to play music for more than one person. It's dirty and it's snitching, but it might make your problem go away.
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