6 ms·
I'm in one of those (inescapable) open-office nightmares right now. All day, every day, people are talking right next to me, making it impossible to concentrat
by clifanatic 10y ago
I'm in one of those (inescapable) open-office nightmares right now. All day, every day, people are talking right next to me, making it impossible to concentrate. They're not even talking about work, they're talking about cars, or kids, or movies, or inane bullshit. I don't care that they're talking (and apparently management doesn't either, because since we're in a panopticon, if I know it, they know it too), but when they do it five feet away from me, I can't block it out or concentrate. I can concentrate well enough to write this post on Hacker News, but I can't concentrate well enough to put together a workable recommendation on centralized identity and access management. But I'll be asked for a recommendation on identity and access management anyway, because I'm expected to know every answer to every question off the top of my head instantaneously, even though I haven't been able to concentrate on anything effectively for the past ten years. Yeah, team work makes the dream work. BRB, going to set the building on fire.
- rexpop 10y agoSounds like something to tell your manager.
- enraged_camel 10y agoManagers are usually completely powerless because office design decisions are almost always made by (or at the recommendation of) executives. Here is what it comes down to: you can put a dollar figure on the money saved from going with an open office plan. You can't easily put a dollar figure on lost productivity due to conversations going on around you.
- novia 10y agoSounds like your company cares more about their bottom line than your well being.
- clifanatic 10y agoWait there's another kind?
- hood_syntax 10y agoThe only other kind is the company that realizes a healthy work-life balance and solid benefits helps them retain talent for the long term. Not many companies do that, but I have some acquaintances that work at one of them (SAS).
- acron0 10y agoQuick answer: Headphones and music/white noise. Long answer: If you really feel this strongly about your working environment then you should seriously consider telling your manager. It's in their best interests that you're happy/comfortable/working as smoothly as you can. If they can't or won't change your situation, look for another employer. Ten years, Christ.
- clifanatic 10y ago> look for another employer. Ten years, Christ. Actually I've had 3 over the past ten years. They're all the same. You've never noticed?
- aswanson 10y agoExactly my solution. My brain is tuned to human audio, I can't block out conversation.
- eeZah7Ux 10y agoDo not use regular headphones with music! 8+ hours a day for years damages your hearing. Use passive insulation, either in high quality headphones or ear defenders (much cheaper, but no music).
- pragmatic 10y agoHeadphones lead to hearing damage, especially when used all day. One of the reasons I'm glad I'm out of the bullpen environment for now. My hearing is bad enough already.
- scarecrowbob 10y agoOne of the elements of a panopticon is that it only has to be possible to be observed. That's why you have fewer guards in that system. It breaks down when folks stop getting 'caught'. But for my part, I don't know how you'd work under those conditions. I have a hard enough time working from home with my wife on the other side of the house teaching kids violin. I have both over the ear headphones and IEMs, though... that might help?
- ddorian43 10y agoWhat's IEM ? It's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-ear_monitor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-ear_monitor
- rubicon33 10y agoI couldn't tell if your post was satire or not but, assuming it's not, why are you still working there?
- beachstartup 10y agosome people are weak decision makers in real life.
- 77pt77 10y agoOthers just lack options...
- rubicon33 10y agoAnd what we just witnessed were two fundamentally different ideologies, often at the root of the conflict between republicans and democrats. It's the "strong father" vs. "nurturing mother" dispositions.
- beachstartup 10y agoo.p. has been in that situation for _10 years_. TEN YEARS. this is a tech job. tech workers are in high demand. he could find a new job if he wanted to. i mean come on.
- clifanatic 10y ago> o.p. has been in that situation for _10 years_. TEN YEARS. o.p. has had three different employers in 10 years (and actually this goes back more like 15 years, since "open offices" became a fad, and five different employers). Every place is exactly the same. source: am o.p.
- unfamiliar 10y agoUnnecessarily cruel, but not necessarily untrue.
- hasbroslasher 10y agoI have the same problem. Try listening to really long (unpwards of 10 minutes) songs or albums that really flow together. You want to avoid distraction and listen to things that are repetitive and don't require you to lose focus and fiddle with your music player. Another that I can't recommend enough is listening to old video game music. Something you love and played as a kid. For me it's N64: Zelda, Mario Kart, SM64, Banjo Kazooie. It's all on Youtube. There's something Pavlovian about music that accompanies passive focus and puzzle-solving.
- 77pt77 10y ago> Another that I can't recommend enough is listening to old video game music. Amiga games. Can't go wrong. Also "pink" noise works rather well for me in extreme situations. I can even sleep in busy airports with it.
- monksy 10y agoDoom stoner metal is really good about this. I.e. Sleep https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIw7oeZKpZc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIw7oeZKpZc
- hasbroslasher 10y agoThat's awesome, I was going to recommend Sleep too in that post but opted not. Nothing kills midday stress like Dopesmoker. Electric Wizard works great too.
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