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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

#321

Post by CydeWeys »

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…

It sounds like the company is being penny-wise, pound-foolish. It absolutely makes sense to spend a few hundred extra per month to have a suitable work environment. I'm sure your increases in productivity will more than offset the increased expenditure. To get the other two to realize how serious this issue is for you, tell them you're seriously considering quitting if they won't get a quiet office.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#322

Post by mumblemumble »

A product recommendation, for those looking to deal with office noise:

I've found that the earbuds that Etymotic makes are far superior to anything I've tried with active noise canceling. They're less expensive, they don't require batteries, they're more portable, the audio quality is better, they don't have that "stifling" feeling, they're a LOT more effective, and, best of all, you can control the level of noise damping by adjusting the fit. With mine (the MK5's), I find I can adjust them anywhere from "foam earplugs" levels of sound dampening to "can't hear someone trying to talk to me in a normal tone of voice." (Yes, really.) Half the time I'm wearing them, I'm not even listening to music, because there's no need, and I'm one of those people who finds that, productivity-wise, silence really is golden.

Since getting them, my Bose headphones that cost 5 times as much have just been gathering dust.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#324

Post by anon9001 »

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.

I moved to the middle of nowhere and did not take a paycut. Now I work remotely and I'm saving so much money that I might even take a year off after this job expires.

It still sucks and I hate working, but it's the least bad path that I could find.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#325

Post by ben509 »

mumblemumble wrote: post #322

A product recommendation, for those looking to deal with office noise: I've found that the earbuds that Etymotic makes are far superior to anything I've tried with active noise canceling. They're less expensive, they don't require batteries, they're more portable, the audio quality is better, they don't have that "stifling" feeling, they're a LOT more effective, and, best of all, you can control the level of noise da…

Same experience, I had Bose and found that the ANC made speech worse.

I'd add that Comply makes a line of memory foam tips that are much nicer than Etymotic's.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#326

Post by taneq »

munmaek wrote: post #185
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…

Have you tried in-ear variants like the bose qc20? I have no problems with them for long periods of time. Also, as other users have pointed out, noise-canceling just counteracts constant noise like machine hums, and the like. It won't do anything about human speech because it 1.v aries constantly and 2. takes place across a large spectrum of sound. Noise-canceling headphones can adapt but it's always going to lag beh…

I bought some of these for plane flights and I'm always amazed at how much it reduces my stress levels when I wear them somewhere else. I feel far less crowded just walking through a supermarket or sitting on a train while wearing them.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#327

Post by seppin »

CydeWeys wrote: post #319
birdyrooster wrote: post #272

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No. The noise is the businesses responsibility to resolve, not the individual employee. We need spaces which take the needs of employees into account first when creating work spaces, not finance people masquerading as office space gurus.

In a three person company, every problem is every person's responsibility to solve. Especially if you're the only one having that problem!

This is one of the reasons I love small companies

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#328

Post by seppin »

sxates wrote: post #242
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.

Same, I quite like them. Just a heads up, don't walk the streets with both in. The in ear allows to listen with just one in.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#329

Post by cbhl »

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 start working on a plan to finding a quiet space that is yours.

That might mean a small town, or it might mean a $3000/mo+ studio apartment. How do you get to having enough cash flow to afford that space? Can you nix the hotdesking membership? Worst case, can you bail on the startup and join a megacorp?

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