Office noise bothers some people more than others • Hacker News Board

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#261

Post by bliker » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 11:25 PM UTC

pushpop wrote: post #204

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 have a 1.5hr commute each morning and night which adds a lot onto my day but I also living in a quiet village and work in central London. Being able to take refuge in the village on evenings and weekends makes the noise in London bearable. There is also the additional side effect that I have a reasonably large house for the same price that I would have paid for a small room in London.

Even if you account for travel?

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#262

Post by vraivroo » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 11:25 PM UTC

noelsusman wrote: post #241

commandlinefan wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

Yes, you can also work for an established company with cramped offices in a dense, expensive city.

Or you can take a massive pay cut, tank your career, and go live in the middle of nowhere.

Sounds great.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#263

Post by airstrike » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 11:27 PM UTC

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…

Consider connecting wireless headphones to your laptop instead of to your phone

I suggest listening to one of the following:

1. Music you don't already know because you can't hum along to them and won't get distracted by the lyrics (Spotify radios can be great, though they get repetitive if you listen to them a lot)

2. Classical music is great if not too tired otherwise it puts you to sleep

3. Deep / underground house like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz26ohrCNIY&t=2s great if you're cranking at a quantitative problem or coding

4. Instrumental jazz to me is the midpoint between the intensity of listening to house and the absolute serenity of classical music, but ymmv

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#264

Post by garp » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 11:29 PM UTC

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…

When I really need silence at work I use ear plugs in addition to construction grade ear muffs. I may look a bit silly but it really does block out almost all sound.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#265

Post by sneak » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 11:34 PM UTC

hollerith wrote: post #81

sneak wrote: post #33

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.

Where in the US have you noticed this unnecessary loudness? (I'm guessing not in Minnesota.)

Restaurants and bars and public spaces (for example, the doctor’s office this morning) across the USA. California, PNW, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Philly.

No real sample data from MN or the deep south, as yet.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#266

Post by john-radio » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 11:37 PM UTC

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…

I have this quality too and I'm surprised it isn't more common. Maybe people don't like to talk about it because we're worried people will think that we have something to hide.

I don't even like to have conversations about more-than-superficial topics in crowded places. If a restaurant seats me across the table from my dining partner but elbow-to-elbow with random other diners at parallel tables, I will hate it and never return.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#267

Post by john-radio » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 11:38 PM UTC

liquidise wrote: post #40

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.

I'm curious if you follow football (other than by osmosis through this experience)?

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#268

Post by irrational » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 11:39 PM UTC

vraivroo wrote: post #262

noelsusman wrote: post #241

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Yes, you can also work for an established company with cramped offices in a dense, expensive city. Or you can take a massive pay cut, tank your career, and go live in the middle of nowhere. Sounds great.

Well, I work for a Fortune 150 company in not cramped offices in a not dense, not expensive city that is definitely not in the middle of nowhere. Its a great working environment in a great location with great benefits and pay. Such things do exist, you just have to get out of the bubble and look for them.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#269

Post by adrr » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 11:41 PM UTC

BowBun wrote: post #216

adrr wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Attention control with distracting external stimuli is associated to higher intelligence.

Source?

You can google “attention control intelligence”. For more info “attention control aging” for more studies on the ability to focus declines as we age due to cognitive decline.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#270

Post by hcarvalhoalves » Mon, Nov 18, 2019, 11:42 PM UTC

chadash wrote: post #103

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…

Counterpoint: John von Neumann, arguably one of the greatest mathematicians of all time, claimed to do some of his best work in front of the TV. In my personal experience, I know plenty of engineers who don't mind noise. I think it's a personal thing more than anything and it's hard to generalize.

A TV is not calling you to chat every 15 minutes, or even talking anything important work-related to distract your focus. It's just noise, the same as working listening to music.