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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

#161

Post by dogma1138 »

mgkimsal wrote: post #114
speeder wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

but think of all the money they saved on the office space!

Are modern open space offices actually cheaper?

Just the costs of the decor and other accommodations would probably outweigh the costs of having internal walls and maybe a tab bit more floor space (even tho I have a strong suspicion that traditional offices are actually more space friendly).

Cubicles and small team offices do not take much more space, in fact they can often be more space friendly since there isn't that much open space needed in order for the office not to feel like a sweatshop and you also save a lot of space on quiet rooms and meeting rooms.

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

#162

Post by darkstar999 »

rdiddly wrote: post #25

Active noise-cancelling headphones plus a white noise generator, is where it's at. These are the best headphones I've used: https://amzn.com/B00X9KV0HU They come in Apple- or Android-compatible versions. They won't cancel everything. In general they're great with anything constant (hums/motors/fans etc.) but the more impulsive (in the physics sense) a sound wave is, the more of it seeps through. Human speech I find i…

"Apple-compatible version" oh god this is really happening. What a regression!

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

#163

Post by driverdan »

speeder wrote: post #80
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…

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…

You've recognized some of the problems you encounter with ADHD. Have you attempted to take corrective action? Instead of having hard objects around that make noise have something soft to play with. In the end you're responsible for your actions.

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

#164

Post by mgkimsal »

dogma1138 wrote: post #161
mgkimsal wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

but think of all the money they saved on the office space!

Are modern open space offices actually cheaper? Just the costs of the decor and other accommodations would probably outweigh the costs of having internal walls and maybe a tab bit more floor space (even tho I have a strong suspicion that traditional offices are actually more space friendly). Cubicles and small team offices do not take much more space, in fact they can often be more space friendly since there isn't th…

duct work for ventilating multiple smaller offices properly is problematic vs just having one big open space. I'm not sure what fire codes may have to say about it either. ventilation was one issue that was brought up to me years ago when asked for input on a new office revamp. Somehow the owners and exec team still all managed to get new private offices with ventilation, but the dev team didn't...

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

#165

Post by Xcelerate »

barleymash wrote: post #49
Xcelerate wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a graduate student, I was lucky to have an advisor that let me work on research from anywhere as long as I was getting stuff done. I tried to work in the office a few times, and a couple loud people made it almost impossible for me to accomplish anything. Coffee shops, despite the presence of ambient conversations, were much more effective for me. I haven't quite figured out the difference between coffee shop nois…

Have you tried coffitivity.com? Lol every time I tell people I use this, they look at me sideways. I discovered it a few years ago, and still use it just about everyday. It's basically just ambient noises from a coffee shop, and you can choose a couple of different "environments". I pop that on in my headphones, and layer on some instrumental music. I love it.

Haha, that's pretty cool actually

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

#166

Post by taneq »

brazzledazzle wrote: post #145
daodedickinson wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

video not found?

Oops, edited. Thanks. It's https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCAGc-rkIfo

Very interesting video, thanks!

I just got up to the part where he basically says that people with ADHD basically don't have an inner monologue. Is that right? If so why have I never heard this before?

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

#167

Post by closeparen »

droopyEyelids wrote: post #117
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…

If you have to outlaw default human behavior for a system to 'work' then it doesn't work

I dunno, university libraries work pretty well.

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

#168

Post by antisthenes »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #65
bcheung wrote: post #5

I'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.

Seconding. I've previously worked in places where I would fight my sleepiness for the whole day because ventilation was poor. I'm somewhat more sensitive to that than average, judging by the fact I was the only one with this problem. Environmental factors are annoying, too. I prefer it colder than most people, so I sometimes will sit in a t-shirt while my cow-orkers complain it's too cold...

Poor ventilation + heat is my personal hell. I can 'sit' for 8 hours at my desk and accomplish literally nothing in those conditions.

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

#169

Post by joshstrange »

I'm a little late to this discussion but I wear headphones/earbuds the entire time I'm in my office and if people are being loud I just turn up my music. I am no fan of open floor plans but at the same time they don't bother me as long as I can wear my headphones and people aren't constantly trying to get my attention vis non-chat methods (chat me and say you need to talk, saying my name or waving at me it not going to grab my attention).
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