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Office noise bothers some people more than others

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Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#31

Post by WhompingWindows »

zabzonk wrote: post #7

People put with noise far more than they have to. Here are a few of my experiences: - moved into an office where a very noisy dot-matrix printer printed out every opening and closing of a door in the building. Nobody ever looked at the printouts. I unplugged it and put it in a dumpster. Nobody ever complained. - working for an oil company, my boss was sitting next to a big HP plotter that was horribly noisy - he wore…

I worked in a place where my team of 8 was right next to a door that loudly clanged shut whenever one of the 150 people in the company used it, and they did 90% of the time as most of the desks were closer to that door. Well, it was kind of annoying, I had to constantly re-prop the door, and we weren't allowed to put signage or a door stop...maybe due to fire hazards or regulations?

The main issue: Upper management didn't care, they all had their own offices that were removed and much nicer. The rest of us peons were in an open office hell, my team was on an island that anyone could walk around at any time...we were unmoored and near a clangy door, it was very hard to focus.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#32

Post by cowpewter »

scythe wrote: post #22

I've started chewing nicotine gum while in the office/class and found that it helps a lot with making the noise more tolerable. I have a history of smoking and vaping, so I don't recommend it to naive people. It appears to be bad for me so I try to minimize it: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/01.cir.94.5.878

Do you have (or suspect you might have, but be undiagnosed) ADHD?

Nicotine is a stimulant. It improves concentration for individuals with ADHD, for much the same reasons that prescription stimulant drugs do. I picked up nicotine gum, and eventually switched to vaping myself, as a form of self-medication for my ADHD. If it really helps you block out distracting noises and sights from a busy office, that might be part of why.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#33

Post by sneak »

After living in Europe for some years now, I find whenever I am back in the US, it is really irritating (not misophonia-level, more just a "what the fuck are you thinking") how unnecessarily loud everyone seems to be by default in the US. Seems common that people are speaking easily twice as loud as is necessary to accomplish the communication required.

Lower your voice.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#34

Post by eitland »

zabzonk wrote: post #7

People put with noise far more than they have to. Here are a few of my experiences: - moved into an office where a very noisy dot-matrix printer printed out every opening and closing of a door in the building. Nobody ever looked at the printouts. I unplugged it and put it in a dumpster. Nobody ever complained. - working for an oil company, my boss was sitting next to a big HP plotter that was horribly noisy - he wore…

That said, it is still probably the correct place to put my observation (unless original author comes around to post it too ...):

At one point I sat for months in a radio room, next to a really noise rack. Temperature was often 30 degrees C.

The reason I sat there was because the sound of the fans were much easier to block out than people (without support contracts : ) popping in to ask questions while I where supposed to help people who had support contracts.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#35

Post by t34543 »

nkrisc wrote: post #3

Constant coughing and throat clearing drive me up the wall . I despise working around most smokers as many of them have this unconscious, horrid smoker's cough that they do a few times a minute on average, it seems (I haven't actually counted). But any constant throat clearing sets me off and I usually have to leave or I can't focus on anything. The type of throat clearing I'm talking about is when someone really jus…

I can’t stand mastication noise. I must leave the area or drown it out, block any visible signs of eating, and take a few deep breaths.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#36

Post by brailsafe »

zabzonk wrote: post #7

People put with noise far more than they have to. Here are a few of my experiences: - moved into an office where a very noisy dot-matrix printer printed out every opening and closing of a door in the building. Nobody ever looked at the printouts. I unplugged it and put it in a dumpster. Nobody ever complained. - working for an oil company, my boss was sitting next to a big HP plotter that was horribly noisy - he wore…

My biggest hurdle—aside from undocumented code—at my new company, is fucking mouth noises from coworkers and the sound of crumpling snack bags in an open office. It's to the extent where I have to leave the area and regain composure before mentioning it. If I can't find a way to manage, I'll leave, but I'm not in the financial position to have that luxury yet. What will probably happen, is I'll work up to a slow competency with their codebase, and they'll fire me before I get to quit. Optimistically I'll find a way to cope, either by dampening the noise or leaving the office for a coffee shop; something I've started doing.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#37

Post by t34543 »

coupdejarnac wrote: post #8

I see no mention of genetic predisposition to hating office noise. 23andme looks for a marker that indicates hating the sound of chewing, misophonia. Maybe something similar is at play for other noises.

Duke University has a wonderful misophonia research initiative. They hold webinars periodically.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#38

Post by nkrisc »

t34543 wrote: post #35
nkrisc wrote: post #3

Constant coughing and throat clearing drive me up the wall . I despise working around most smokers as many of them have this unconscious, horrid smoker's cough that they do a few times a minute on average, it seems (I haven't actually counted). But any constant throat clearing sets me off and I usually have to leave or I can't focus on anything. The type of throat clearing I'm talking about is when someone really jus…

I can’t stand mastication noise. I must leave the area or drown it out, block any visible signs of eating, and take a few deep breaths.

What's funny about this topic is that chewing sounds don't bother me at all! Not a bit. Yet some sounds drive me crazy.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#40

Post by liquidise »

I'm a data point that favors surrounding noise. For years, my most productivity-dense time of the week is when i bring my laptop to a local sports bar for prime time NFL games. Something about the consistent noise, available momentary distractions and wandering eyes keeps me on-task and cradled in thought in a way no office (home or formal) does.
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