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Office noise bothers some people more than others

bbc.com

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Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#421

Post by siquick »

loosescrews wrote: post #364
magduf wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Yes, you can use noise cancelling headphones but: >2. They don't really block all the noise and you live in anxiety waiting for that one blaring ringtone to squeeze through NC headphones aren't designed to block all noise, only repetitive noise, basically white noise. Other noises, like ringtones, actually are louder or easier to hear on many models of NC headphones, as is speech around you. Noise-cancellation's pur…

I use 3M PELTOR X5A Over-The-Head Ear Muffs with 3M Peltor HY80A Gel Ear Cushions. They are comfortable for long periods of time and block all types of noise. They won't make your work environment completely silent, but I am pretty sensitive to noise and they all me to work in an open floor plan office.

>> The Peltor X5A Ear Muff offers the best 37 dB attenuation for use against extremely high noise environments where double protection is required

This seems like a drastic measure - do you require complete silence or is your workplace that noisey?

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#422

Post by numlock86 »

> Office noise bothers some people more than others

The title could be better as there is some discussion about health implications. Then again, I read the article because of the title. I am pretty sure you can't make it less interesting, as it already reads like "people react different to things". Yeah, no doubt on that.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#423

Post by gerbler »

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've struggled with working in similar environments. For one year (in the last 15) I had my own office and was the most productive during that time.

I'm in an open-office now and use light over-ear headphones (I found the Bose Bluetooth ones good) and listen to white noise (by playing with the frequencies you can usually drown out what's bothering you). Of course my preference would be a quiet space, but this white-noise strategy has worked well for several years now.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#424

Post by PeterStuer »

brailsafe wrote: post #36
zabzonk wrote: post #7

People put with noise far more than they have to. Here are a few of my experiences: - moved into an office where a very noisy dot-matrix printer printed out every opening and closing of a door in the building. Nobody ever looked at the printouts. I unplugged it and put it in a dumpster. Nobody ever complained. - working for an oil company, my boss was sitting next to a big HP plotter that was horribly noisy - he wore…

My biggest hurdle—aside from undocumented code—at my new company, is fucking mouth noises from coworkers and the sound of crumpling snack bags in an open office. It's to the extent where I have to leave the area and regain composure before mentioning it. If I can't find a way to manage, I'll leave, but I'm not in the financial position to have that luxury yet. What will probably happen, is I'll work up to a slow comp…

You might be suffering from misophonia. It is a condition where you are extremely sensitive to certain classes of sounds, eating noises being one of the most common. Some self help patient groups do exist, but the condition is not well treatable.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#426

Post by hnick »

flukus wrote: post #400
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…

> the idea of someone watching me work just makes me uneasy. Isn't this nearly universal? Aside from some exhibitionists no one speaks about that "feeling of being watched" in a positive light and there are all sorts of social norms developed around how long it's appropriate to stare at someone, the people that stray beyond these norms are generally labeled as creepy. There's also the extra visual stimulus of people…

I think most parts of the human condition are universal, it's just how far you have it dialled up or down personally. I've never heard anyone else complain about it from a privacy perspective IRL, but office noise gets a lot of attention, as does visual noise like you mention.

FWIW it's not the idea of being watched by someone in particular that bothers me, it's just that I feel much more comfortable in a room with a door closed. It's more of a security/safety/comfort thing.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#427

Post by afarrell »

afarrell wrote: post #393
lmiller1990 wrote: post #244

A lot of people (in this thread, CEO of my company) say "just wear headphones". Noise should be opt in; not opt out. Recently all of marketing went to a conference for a few days; the difference in the quality and quantity of work done was noticeable...

Thats a problem for the individual to deal with, not the company. If your CEO has an employee who is bothered by the noise, they can just put that employee on a PIP if the employee is not able to focus and execute.

To clarify: I think a good company will deal with this problem as part of caring about its employees. I think the default though is for a company to say “we’ll worry about this when it becomes a problem” and for leadership to never notice it is a problem because

1) Those it bothers become the low-performers who have less psychological safety and influence.

2) Hiring good managers is hard and so managers who have the caring to listen to these concerns won’t have time to prioritize them amidst those of the 7-12 other people they have 1-1s with.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#429

Post by larnmar »

jpindar wrote: post #412
vraivroo wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

At least you can afford peace and quiet at home though, instead of having to live with flat mates and commute via public transport.

Re: Office noise bothers some people more than others

#430

Post by x3ro »

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.

It may seem contradictory, but for me it actually helps. I use a macOS app (Noizio) to get a mixture of different sounds (rain/thunder/fire) and, in combination with noise cancelling headphones, it is the only thing I've found that allows me to thoroughly concentrate in a noisy space.
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