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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

#411

Post by StuffedParrot »

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…

Remote work is more popular than ever—I say do it. It’s great for your quality of life.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#412

Post by jpindar »

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.

Hahaha, you think companies in the middle of nowhere don't have cramped, noisy open offices?

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#414

Post by PopeDotNinja »

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…

You don't have to quit! Run away to the small town without telling anyone. Just do it. Then just work from home in perpetuity until you get canned or they accept it!

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#415

Post by dvtrn »

PopeDotNinja wrote: post #414
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…

You don't have to quit! Run away to the small town without telling anyone. Just do it. Then just work from home in perpetuity until you get canned or they accept it!

I could tell you in ten thousand words how many times I've thought about actually trying this.

Recently.

Like...in the last two hours recently.

looks longingly out the window...terminal makes a noise, snaps back to reality, sighs heavily, continues patching

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#416

Post by [deleted] »

ken wrote: post #337
zeta0134 wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know this isn't a great solution, but could you try a lightweight pair of headphones, and some relaxing music? Not particularly heavy music mind, but just something you can leave in the background. Maybe a movie soundtrack. I use videogame OSTs but that's not everyone's cup of tea. This would maybe make the headphone issue more bearable (lightweight - much less uncomfortable for long periods), and the goal isn't to…

I’ve never understood how some people believe that the problem of too much noise could be solved by adding more noise. There’s too much light in my eyes, and dark glasses are uncomfortable. Well, have you tried shining another light at your face? Maybe a different color of light would help.

[deleted]

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#417

Post by richardw »

ken wrote: post #337
zeta0134 wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know this isn't a great solution, but could you try a lightweight pair of headphones, and some relaxing music? Not particularly heavy music mind, but just something you can leave in the background. Maybe a movie soundtrack. I use videogame OSTs but that's not everyone's cup of tea. This would maybe make the headphone issue more bearable (lightweight - much less uncomfortable for long periods), and the goal isn't to…

I’ve never understood how some people believe that the problem of too much noise could be solved by adding more noise. There’s too much light in my eyes, and dark glasses are uncomfortable. Well, have you tried shining another light at your face? Maybe a different color of light would help.

Sounds I choose let me create my own auditory environment, one that suits how I want to feel. Sounds my co-workers choose, don't.

Ive got in-ear noise cancelling headphones and they're amazing. I often come up for air to hear a debate going on not far from me. Because they're noise cancelling I can set the volume lower than I would otherwise.

Edit: I play music I know well so it doesn't distract. My wife uses rain/wave sounds. White noise would work for others.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#418

Post by mjrbrennan »

dwringer wrote: post #165

I've never particularly minded general office noises of the kind that can be cancelled out easily, but what gets me is when coworkers start to become stressed and physically vent this in a way that makes noise - particularly when I can hear a mouse click getting louder and more violent, echoing off every surface in the office. Somehow my brain interprets this as an attack (evoking a fight-or-flight response that othe…

I had this at a coworking space recently, someone working near me would SLAM SLAM SLAM SLAM on his keyboard when he was getting frustrated, sending vibrations through the desk, and I got that same attack interpretation. It _cannot_ be ignored.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#419

Post by ikeyany »

asdf21 wrote: post #77
liquidise wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fascinating question. My mother ran a day care from our home, so almost certainly above what is the norm, though i wouldn't describe it as particularly noisy/rambunctious.

I tend to think a lot of our core personality traits are developed during an imprinting period (mostly between 7 and 11). I grew up as an only child on a fairly pastoral 15 acres, so very different environment compared to most people who have siblings. As an adult, office noise bothers me a lot more than most, especially conversations. The idea of being productive in a cafe / starbucks is almost absurd to me, like a…

I would imagine that anyone who uses the word 'pastoral' to describe their childhood would find much of the Bay Area to be Monty Python-esque.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#420

Post by sky_rw »

AmericanChopper wrote: post #274
drngdds wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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."

I love them. They vastly improve team members ability to work together imo. Personally, I’ve never met an engineer in real life who complains about them, I’ve only ever seen this on HN or Reddit. I’ve always suspected it had something to do with this: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6483953/

If you truly have never met an eng that complains about open office spaces, I submit that you have not worked in an environment where engineers feel safe to voice their true personal opinions.
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