I find if there is a big contrast in noises, say if the office is usually quiet and a coworker starts making noises, they are more distractive than if in a constantly noisy environment and a loud coworker makes noise. I would say the contrast is a huge factor as the article seem to suggest
Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
101–110 of 256 posts
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#102Let's be careful with the phrase "open office plan". Many articles lump cubicle farms together with partition-free spaces in the same category, but whenever they're treated as separate choices the research tends to show cubicle farms being worse than partition-free spaces on most dimensions, including noise distraction -- i.e. private offices > partition-free spaces > cubicle farms. Interestingly, this particular article mostly avoids this distinction but does address it in the final paragraph:
"There are solutions, says Cornell's Hedge. The trend toward open offices and hard office furniture makes noise distraction worse, so adding carpet, drapes and upholstery can help. He recommends, perhaps counterintuitively, getting rid of cubicle walls, which provide the illusion of sound privacy, but actually make people less aware of the noises they create."
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#103I 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…
You can never please everyone, I personally am the opposite, I any music playing rather than no music, but also dislike wearing headphones for the same reason as you.
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#104I will never understand why this is such a point of contention on HN and why it isn't accepted that some people legitimately prefer open office plans while others prefer quiet. And even more practical and intelligent would be to offer different kinds of spaces so that people can choose where to work based on a particular mood. But instead we just get weekly complaints about open offices. I'm probably more productive…
> I will never understand why this is such a point of contention on HN
Because people keep trying to disguise penny-pinching stinginess as "collaboration" when it's proven time and time again that it doesn't work.
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#105The 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…
I have ADHD, meaning that open office is great to distract me... But also, one of the symptons of ADHD, with the "H" there, is that people must move, in my particular case one of the things I tend to do is tap my nails on the desk, use tupperware as drums, or if a actual musical instrument is nearby, even if I dunno how to play it, I play it. So, ADHD person in open office not only has terrible productivity due to ot…
I have ADHD too. Have you looked into fidget toys? They dramatically cut down on my toe-tapping and fidgeting. Also the incidence of distracting fidgeting goes down when I'm at a good level of meds+therapy.
I might also add that (this obviously depends on local laws but) you can see if there's any disability protections you can take advantage of. Where your company can work with you to help you work better, or at worst, at least, not fire you just over a disability.
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#106I will never understand why this is such a point of contention on HN and why it isn't accepted that some people legitimately prefer open office plans while others prefer quiet. And even more practical and intelligent would be to offer different kinds of spaces so that people can choose where to work based on a particular mood. But instead we just get weekly complaints about open offices. I'm probably more productive…
I would speculate that people who prefer open-plan are more likely to be adequately happy and productive in more traditional arrangements. So on balance having some degree of privacy and quiet should improve quality of life for the most employees (sadly open-plan layouts are cheaper and easier to shoehorn into various spaces, so they are increasingly common).
All the office or mixed office/high cube environments I've worked in were pretty open office environments. You wanted to talk to someone, you wandered over. Standard was open door to office unless there was some reason to close it. So, yeah, cost aside I'm not sure I buy more collaboration etc. with open plans.
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#107I 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…
I'm no fan of open plans in general but that sounds truly horrifying.
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#108Another 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…
> But virtually every successful company is run the opposite way
Because every company is run the opposite way. The subset that comprises the successful ones ends up grouped in with the open-office sadists by default.
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#109Or 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
Those two things are completely non relatable.
If your eyesight is bad, there are things YOU can do for YOURSELF to fix that problem, without asking anyone to change what THEY are doing.
The "quiet office" is something that only some people prefer. Many of us (I'm one of them) prefer noise - music playing, background noise, etc ... I find it hard to concentrate in silence, and I know more people like me.
To ask others to be silent to ask them to change how they comfortably work to suit you. Let everyone work how they work best.
Re: Noisy Coworkers And Other Sounds Are A Distraction In Workplace
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
> Can't stand working alone? Go to the open area.
But the low-grade sadists that rise to positions of authority in U.S. corporations will punish the people that don't go to the open area. It's not about what you produce, it's about how much torture you're willing to self-inflict.