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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

#241

Post by noelsusman »

commandlinefan wrote: post #189
navs wrote: post #135

I currently work for a startup and all three of us are hotdesking. We're constantly moved to new spaces in the hotdesking space because a new company is leaving/moving in. I've sat beside recruiters, property managers and salespeople. There's no "quiet" room. The meeting rooms cost a few hundred and need to be pre-booked. My home environment isn't a quiet refuge either. Beside a busy street, more flatmates than their…

> I'm considering quitting my job and running away If there were an alternative, we'd all run with you. There isn't, though. Something to think about when they say there's supposedly a "talent shortage" and they're having trouble "recruiting top performers".

This baffles me. There are so many alternatives to working for a startup with no real office in a dense, expensive city.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#242

Post by sxates »

navs wrote: post #135

I currently work for a startup and all three of us are hotdesking. We're constantly moved to new spaces in the hotdesking space because a new company is leaving/moving in. I've sat beside recruiters, property managers and salespeople. There's no "quiet" room. The meeting rooms cost a few hundred and need to be pre-booked. My home environment isn't a quiet refuge either. Beside a busy street, more flatmates than their…

I just got the new AirPod Pros with noise cancellation, and have found them excellent and filtering out a lot of the ambient office noises. I turn them on and the AC whoosh, keyboard clicks and other white noise disappear. I can still hear voices, but they're much quieter and easily defeated with some music. If you haven't tried them it might be a good option, I find them comfortable to wear for hours at a time.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#243

Post by noelsusman »

navs wrote: post #135

I currently work for a startup and all three of us are hotdesking. We're constantly moved to new spaces in the hotdesking space because a new company is leaving/moving in. I've sat beside recruiters, property managers and salespeople. There's no "quiet" room. The meeting rooms cost a few hundred and need to be pre-booked. My home environment isn't a quiet refuge either. Beside a busy street, more flatmates than their…

I would have to get paid insane amounts of money to put up with this. I don't know how ya'll do it.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#245

Post by cik »

Part of the issue is noise, but part of the issue is desired aloneness, or personal space. I love working with headphones on, without headphones on, and without external noise. In fact, I crave it - though am effective without it.

The caveat is that I very much appreciate my own, private space. There's nothing I love quite as much as being first in, and blaring music for an hour and a half.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#246

Post by xvector »

hnick wrote: post #240

I'm definitely sensitive to noises and am a stereotypical introvert. One thing they didn't mention that gets me is not related to noise. It's privacy. I have an extremely strong innate need for privacy and I'm not sure where that comes from. I never liked sharing personal details or preferences (like favourite bands), and the idea of someone watching me work just makes me uneasy. It's not even a fear of being caught…

You're me. Our new office has glass walls. Makes me feel uneasy.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#247

Post by drngdds »

magduf wrote: post #164
jackhack wrote: post #80

There are two mutually exclusive groups of people: "Concentrators(1)" and "Communicators(2)". Concentrators must have conditions that allow one to form and hold complex ideas, and act upon them. This is almost always some degree of a quiet environment, without visual or auditory distractions. the opposite of the ideal conditions of Communicators. Communicators must interact with others to do their job. (1) Typical of…

This is no longer true. Most younger people in engineering/CS fields are the "communicator" type and like to work in noisy, open-office environments, and frequently side-by-side. It's usually older and/or more introverted people who complain about the open-office craze, but there's absolutely no shortage of programmers who will strongly defend it.

I've yet to meet a programmer who strongly defends open offices. They seem to range from "doesn't mind it" to "literally unable to tolerate it."

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#248

Post by AlexanderNull »

navs wrote: post #135

I currently work for a startup and all three of us are hotdesking. We're constantly moved to new spaces in the hotdesking space because a new company is leaving/moving in. I've sat beside recruiters, property managers and salespeople. There's no "quiet" room. The meeting rooms cost a few hundred and need to be pre-booked. My home environment isn't a quiet refuge either. Beside a busy street, more flatmates than their…

Sounds rough, good luck coping. I think you're on the right track with prioritizing break time. The more stressful something is the more of a need to cooldown afterwards.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#249

Post by itronitron »

mrandish wrote: post #217

I work at home in a very quiet neighborhood with excellent sound insulation and a silent PC. My home office is very, very quiet. I consider this a great luxury of life well-lived. Then someone bought the empty lot next door and started building a house. I ordered these 3M X5A earmuffs for $30. They are remarkably effective and proved to be a terrific investment. https://smile.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-Over-Earmuffs-X5A/dp…

i have a similar pair, very comfortable and very effective

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#250

Post by mark-r »

anotherevan wrote: post #183

A close cousin of misophonia is hyperacusis, an "abnormal intolerance, a heightened sense of volume and physical discomfort from ordinary, everyday sounds, which other people can tolerate well." https://www.dineenwestcottmoore.com.au/services/hyperacusis-...

This sounds like something I'm now suffering from, after a head injury in March. Loud places make me uncomfortable in a way they didn't before. The nature of the sound doesn't matter much.
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