5 ms·

This is my experience in startup offices as well - a small clique of people (or one person) controlling "office music", which everyone is forced to listen to. I

by chris_7 10y ago

This is my experience in startup offices as well - a small clique of people (or one person) controlling "office music", which everyone is forced to listen to. It's so hard for me to get work done. I really don't get why companies do this, it's basically throwing away productivity ($$$) for an image of "team-ness".

erickhill 10y ago
I would recommend noise-cancelling headphones - a nice pair that are comfortable and won't hurt your ears for extended use. My office uses internet radio at minimal noise levels just so the environment doesn't feel eerily quiet or like a crypt. But half the folks wear headphones (I am one of them - I can barely hear the radio). Books on "tape", music, podcasts, silence or white noise - whatever floats your boat. They are easy enough to remove if you need to chat with someone.
- chris_7 10y ago
  Noise cancelling only really works on ambient noise, so unless your coworkers are queuing up "Music for Airports", it won't really help. It also can't create silence, and will still damage your hearing over time. The best solution is for the people that want noise to just use headphones!
  - drivers99 10y ago
    "[Noise canelling will] damage your hearing over time" Do you have a good source on that? I'm thinking about getting some noise-cancelling headphones for office use.
    - chris_7 10y ago
      Not noise cancelling specifically, just wearing headphones in general for 40 hours a week.
    - coldtea 10y ago
      There's no good source on that, as it's wrong. There's absolutely no damage from noise cancelling, and in fact they're healthier than regular headphones (because you don't need to raise the volume to drawn out external noises).
      - rixed 10y ago
        Any source on that?
        coldtea 10y ago
        >Unlike cell phones, noise-cancelling headphones do not emit low level radiation and do not pose any of the potential hazards that could stem from frequent use of a cell phone held next to the ear. >Actually, noise-cancelling headphones can be beneficial, since both loud noises and constant low-level noise can lead to health problems. Acute loud noises can damage hearing, interfere with sleep, raise blood pressure and stress levels and cause headaches. As for low-level noise, a study published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America in March, 2001, found that Austrian children who live in neighborhoods with constant low-level noise (mostly from automobile and train traffic) had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol than youngsters who lived in quieter neighborhoods. And a study published in the February, 2006, issue of the European Heart Journal found that heart attack risk was higher among people exposed to chronic noise. I actually recommend noise-canceling headphones to help avert the health problems noise exposure can present. http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400774/Are-Noise-Cancelling-Headphones-Safe.html http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400774/Are-Noise-Cancelling-H... And tons of others -- besides the basic lack of any mechanism by which noise cancelling cans could be harmful for the ears compared to regular ones. The burden on proof is on the "damage" side.
  - Frondo 10y ago
    I met a lady in a coffee shop once who wore earplugs and headphones. She wore the earplugs so she could play the headphones really loud without damaging her hearing, while blocking out all the ambient coffee shop noise.
  - jdietrich 10y ago
    Headphones with good passive attenuation will block any kind of noise. They are essentially industrial ear defenders that also happen to be excellent headphones. Headphones with Bose-style active noise cancellation are an ineffective gimmick. Headphones of this type typically provide around 30dB of attenuation, enough to reduce loud music to a gentle murmur. I highly recommend them to anyone who works in an open-plan office. http://europe.beyerdynamic.com/shop/dt-770-m.html http://europe.beyerdynamic.com/shop/dt-770-m.html http://en-uk.sennheiser.com/hd-280-pro http://en-uk.sennheiser.com/hd-280-pro http://www.extremeheadphones.com/passive-noise-isolation-hearing-protection-headphones/studio-products/ex-29-headphones/ http://www.extremeheadphones.com/passive-noise-isolation-hea...
    - nl 10y ago
      Headphones with Bose-style active noise cancellation are an ineffective gimmick. Not if you fly a lot (or even a reasonable amount). I don't have Bose ones, but active cancelling works amazingly well for that constant hum on airplanes.
    - coldtea 10y ago
      >Headphones with Bose-style active noise cancellation are an ineffective gimmick. They are actually very effective, both for airplane style noise, but also for street noise, people talking in an office, and music playing. Haven't tried Bose themselves, but active noise cancellation on Parrot Zik's works well, and all reviews say Bose's is even better. Plus, if you also play your own music on top, you can't really hear anything -- to the point of it being dangerous if you're walking in the street, crossing roads, etc.
  - sampo 10y ago
    > will still damage your hearing over time I quick google search seems to suggest otherwise.
  - coldtea 10y ago
    >Noise cancelling only really works on ambient noise, so unless your coworkers are queuing up "Music for Airports", it won't really help. You'd be surprised -- plus that is flatly wrong. I have a pair of noise cancelling cans (Parrot Zik 2) and they can totally eliminate street musicians coming aboard on your subway train and playing and singing next to you in full blast (we get that a lot in my country) -- along with all other train talk and noises. Same for office music and other things -- it's not just for ambient noise by any means. And the Zik are not even considered the best cans out there in their noise cancelling department.
- quantumhobbit 10y ago
  Any recommendations for noise cancelling headphones, preferably with Bluetooth? The apple earbuds aren't cutting it at work for me.
  - sampo 10y ago
    I am happy with Bose QuietComfort 20 in-ear headphones (or model 20i for Apple devices). They cost $300, and are not bluetooth. Also need to recharge their battery every 8-10 hours, but you can use them while charging. They charge from an usb jack. I guess you could buy a wireless (wireless in the sense that it runs on battery) bluetooth receiver separately.
zeta0134 10y ago
We have this at my office as well. I do my best to humour the guy, and he often plays good music, but occasionally plays rap, which immediately kills my concentration. I've spoken with my direct manager and my team about it, and the compromise is that whenever he's playing music I don't like, I simply put on headphones and go about my day. Everyone is totally cool with this arrangement, even the music man, who tries his best to be inclusive and will often ask everyone else (myself included) for musical requests.
civilian 10y ago
My office has a Sonos. The rule is: if you don't like what's playing, you can change it or turn it off. And everyone has access to the app, and it's anonymous who is taking what actions. We've never had "battles" over the sonos. Except on December 23rd when there were 3 people in the office and I really wanted to play the album "Christmas Island" by Jimmy Buffett and my QA guy wanted to play "The Gift of Rock" by Smash Mouth. We might have not fully represented the holiday spirit that day.

by chris_7 10y ago

erickhill 10y ago

I would recommend noise-cancelling headphones - a nice pair that are comfortable and won't hurt your ears for extended use. My office uses internet radio at minimal noise levels just so the environment doesn't feel eerily quiet or like a crypt. But half the folks wear headphones (I am one of them - I can barely hear the radio). Books on "tape", music, podcasts, silence or white noise - whatever floats your boat. They are easy enough to remove if you need to chat with someone.

chris_7 10y ago
Noise cancelling only really works on ambient noise, so unless your coworkers are queuing up "Music for Airports", it won't really help. It also can't create silence, and will still damage your hearing over time. The best solution is for the people that want noise to just use headphones!
- drivers99 10y ago
  "[Noise canelling will] damage your hearing over time" Do you have a good source on that? I'm thinking about getting some noise-cancelling headphones for office use.
  - chris_7 10y ago
    Not noise cancelling specifically, just wearing headphones in general for 40 hours a week.
  - coldtea 10y ago
    There's no good source on that, as it's wrong. There's absolutely no damage from noise cancelling, and in fact they're healthier than regular headphones (because you don't need to raise the volume to drawn out external noises).
    - rixed 10y ago
      Any source on that?
      - coldtea 10y ago
        >Unlike cell phones, noise-cancelling headphones do not emit low level radiation and do not pose any of the potential hazards that could stem from frequent use of a cell phone held next to the ear. >Actually, noise-cancelling headphones can be beneficial, since both loud noises and constant low-level noise can lead to health problems. Acute loud noises can damage hearing, interfere with sleep, raise blood pressure and stress levels and cause headaches. As for low-level noise, a study published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America in March, 2001, found that Austrian children who live in neighborhoods with constant low-level noise (mostly from automobile and train traffic) had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol than youngsters who lived in quieter neighborhoods. And a study published in the February, 2006, issue of the European Heart Journal found that heart attack risk was higher among people exposed to chronic noise. I actually recommend noise-canceling headphones to help avert the health problems noise exposure can present. http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400774/Are-Noise-Cancelling-Headphones-Safe.html http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400774/Are-Noise-Cancelling-H... And tons of others -- besides the basic lack of any mechanism by which noise cancelling cans could be harmful for the ears compared to regular ones. The burden on proof is on the "damage" side.
- Frondo 10y ago
  I met a lady in a coffee shop once who wore earplugs and headphones. She wore the earplugs so she could play the headphones really loud without damaging her hearing, while blocking out all the ambient coffee shop noise.
- jdietrich 10y ago
  Headphones with good passive attenuation will block any kind of noise. They are essentially industrial ear defenders that also happen to be excellent headphones. Headphones with Bose-style active noise cancellation are an ineffective gimmick. Headphones of this type typically provide around 30dB of attenuation, enough to reduce loud music to a gentle murmur. I highly recommend them to anyone who works in an open-plan office. http://europe.beyerdynamic.com/shop/dt-770-m.html http://europe.beyerdynamic.com/shop/dt-770-m.html http://en-uk.sennheiser.com/hd-280-pro http://en-uk.sennheiser.com/hd-280-pro http://www.extremeheadphones.com/passive-noise-isolation-hearing-protection-headphones/studio-products/ex-29-headphones/ http://www.extremeheadphones.com/passive-noise-isolation-hea...
  - nl 10y ago
    Headphones with Bose-style active noise cancellation are an ineffective gimmick. Not if you fly a lot (or even a reasonable amount). I don't have Bose ones, but active cancelling works amazingly well for that constant hum on airplanes.
  - coldtea 10y ago
    >Headphones with Bose-style active noise cancellation are an ineffective gimmick. They are actually very effective, both for airplane style noise, but also for street noise, people talking in an office, and music playing. Haven't tried Bose themselves, but active noise cancellation on Parrot Zik's works well, and all reviews say Bose's is even better. Plus, if you also play your own music on top, you can't really hear anything -- to the point of it being dangerous if you're walking in the street, crossing roads, etc.
- sampo 10y ago
  > will still damage your hearing over time I quick google search seems to suggest otherwise.
- coldtea 10y ago
  >Noise cancelling only really works on ambient noise, so unless your coworkers are queuing up "Music for Airports", it won't really help. You'd be surprised -- plus that is flatly wrong. I have a pair of noise cancelling cans (Parrot Zik 2) and they can totally eliminate street musicians coming aboard on your subway train and playing and singing next to you in full blast (we get that a lot in my country) -- along with all other train talk and noises. Same for office music and other things -- it's not just for ambient noise by any means. And the Zik are not even considered the best cans out there in their noise cancelling department.
quantumhobbit 10y ago
Any recommendations for noise cancelling headphones, preferably with Bluetooth? The apple earbuds aren't cutting it at work for me.
- sampo 10y ago
  I am happy with Bose QuietComfort 20 in-ear headphones (or model 20i for Apple devices). They cost $300, and are not bluetooth. Also need to recharge their battery every 8-10 hours, but you can use them while charging. They charge from an usb jack. I guess you could buy a wireless (wireless in the sense that it runs on battery) bluetooth receiver separately.

zeta0134 10y ago

We have this at my office as well. I do my best to humour the guy, and he often plays good music, but occasionally plays rap, which immediately kills my concentration. I've spoken with my direct manager and my team about it, and the compromise is that whenever he's playing music I don't like, I simply put on headphones and go about my day. Everyone is totally cool with this arrangement, even the music man, who tries his best to be inclusive and will often ask everyone else (myself included) for musical requests.

civilian 10y ago

My office has a Sonos. The rule is: if you don't like what's playing, you can change it or turn it off. And everyone has access to the app, and it's anonymous who is taking what actions. We've never had "battles" over the sonos. Except on December 23rd when there were 3 people in the office and I really wanted to play the album "Christmas Island" by Jimmy Buffett and my QA guy wanted to play "The Gift of Rock" by Smash Mouth. We might have not fully represented the holiday spirit that day.