I did very good work. Work people would repeatedly be amazed at. So, I proved myself, in that regard. Yet, when I would ask for a quiet, distraction-free wor

I did very good work. Work people would repeatedly be amazed at. So, I proved myself, in that regard. Yet, when I would ask for a quiet, distraction-free workplace, I would receive incredulity. Impossibility. Lack of regard. The resources were readily available. But the disconnect between what I was doing, and the control of those resources, was apparently too great to bridge. And sometimes -- not infrequently -- the direct reports I was so helping out, were not willing to go to bat on this. Rock the boat -- me, or them on behalf of me -- and you're out. For me, human noise is the worst. I can tune out a storm, or a significant degree of mechanical noise if it is regular, not too extreme, and not indicative of risk. But nature or nurture has left me highly sensitive to the human activity around me. Headphones don't help; music is as distracting as the rest. All I asked for, was that my circumstances be acknowledged and respected and that a reasonable amount of readily available resources be devoted to matching them. You either trust and believe your employees, or you don't. My output was already exceptional; further, my employer could have measured whether that continued or improved after choosing to "believe me". Unfortunately, my environmental needs were discounted and I was coerced and semi-brainwashed to try to make "open", "collaborative" spaces work, from the time I was a kid. To my great distress. For a time, youth and cortisol and all that carried me through. But I eventually built into and hit a severe level of burn-out, including physical. These days, I'm not even that sharp, any more. You can, indeed, really get "used up". So... I don't care HOW MANY words, slogans, nor how much rhetoric is thrown at this topic. You either respect the people you work with. Believe them. Give them what they ask for, and see whether it works. Or you don't. Most of the people talking, don't. Look for actions, not words. P.S. Likewise for people who say they like different environments. If open-space works for you, fine. Or whatever else. I'll respect that. As long as your performance matches. Just, respect me. Don't force your noise on me. You like what I create and contribute? Then give me the tools I ask for, to better do so.