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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

#281

Post by navs »

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…

Not the qc20 but the WF-1000xm3. In ear just hurts after a while. I do combine the noise cancelling with some background audio. It's the best combination so far.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#282

Post by codycraven »

jackhack wrote: post #149
lowercased wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

countercounterpoint: he was choosing to sit in front of the television.

I think this is it -- he had control . Once others are free to intrude into your space, injecting distraction, all is lost.

Anecdotally, I often (during evening/side projects) work with a TV on in the room.

However a TV is entirely different than people being around me. There's noise from various directions, distances, and volumes—not to mention the awareness of people being near which always heightens my awareness of a situation, distracting from what I am trying to focus on.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#283

Post by navs »

tanseydavid wrote: post #221
munmaek wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Noise-cancelling headphones + silicon ear plugs. Excessive by most standards but I (almost) have to have this when working in an open office.

How long can you keep that up in a 7hr day (assuming a 1hr lunch break in the middle)?

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#284

Post by fauria »

vorpalhex wrote: post #190
kedean wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've noticed this particular kind of issue is helped significantly by white noise generators. The last office I worked in (i'm now remote) had a white noise generator built in that cancelled out a lot of those sounds like chip bags and chewing that are super jarring in a vacuum. I didn't even realize it was there until the day it broke down for a few hours and we ended up with a sudden eerie silence. Suddenly I was b…

There are also apps like Noisli which are personal white noise machines. I find it works well when I need "quiet" time.

I would add myNoise. The free tier includes many free white noise generators: https://mynoise.net/noiseMachines.php

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#285

Post by catalogia »

navs wrote: post #144
pkaye wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The meeting rooms cost a few hundred and need to be pre-booked. Is this one of those "we work" type of environments where everything is rented piece meal?

Yes, just not we-work. The only thing that’s free is the instant coffee and milk.

Have you considered working at a public library instead? Some have quiet reading rooms that I find are often suitable for working in peace.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#286

Post by magduf »

LameRubberDucky wrote: post #171
magduf wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Citation needed. Otherwise, this is just reads as ageism.

Easy, just look at the reply in this thread from "AmericanChopper".

Every single time this topic comes up on an online discussion like this, there's plenty of people like him saying the exact same thing. And I have to partially agree with him: most engineers I work with do not have a problem with these offices. It's only a few.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#288

Post by abawany »

Starkus wrote: post #201

I have misophonia, I get extreme anger in the office if someone starts chomping with their mouths open out of nowhere. Also the two older dudes near me always have their phones dinging, like when any notification comes to their phone, im close to insanity about it

I have learnt while trying out the iphone that its notification management is byzantine and confusing, leading most people to give up and just deal with the embarrassing noisiness [1]. Of course they could flip the switch to turn off all sounds but that may turn off sounds for items that are critical to them unless they go hunting around for things that must always make a sound. I developed a new sympathy for people with iphones where previously I used to dismiss them as inconsiderate.

[1] Example: mail applications other than apple mail must make a sound to generate an apparent notification - there is no vibrate-only function for non-apple-mail clients as far as I could tell.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#289

Post by catalogia »

chadlavi wrote: post #78
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.

This also bothers me as an American. Shush, folks.

Normally I just remove myself from those sort of situations, but sometimes that's not socially possible. My family reunions always leave my ears ringing. Some people seem to think that your volume should be proportional to your enthusiasm.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#290

Post by abawany »

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…

Another one here - it feels like a violation when some random stranger asks where I work during a casual/one-time business transaction.
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