7 ms·
It has gotten to the point where I'm seriously considering just working from home every day, even though that's strictly not allowed. Open-plan offices are abs
by KozmoNau7 9y ago
It has gotten to the point where I'm seriously considering just working from home every day, even though that's strictly not allowed.
Open-plan offices are absolutely maddening, I get pulled out of my thoughts constantly, and there's no effective way to shut it out. Earplugs aren't enough, and with headphones I would have to play music so loudly it would be annoying my colleagues, just in order to cut out the constant noise. We have so-called "focus rooms", but 1) there are far too few of them, and 2) they're supposed to only be used for short phone meetings and such.
I raise this with my manager every time we have a "pit talk", as they're now called. But there is seemingly nothing he can do.
- skriticos2 9y agoUse noise cancelling headphones. They shut out the world with a bit of quiet music. I love my qc35. Doesn't fix the primary issue, but makes it more bearable.
- eeZah7Ux 9y ago> noise cancelling headphones They are very ineffective against voices! Passive insulating headphones are much better.
- noway421 9y agoafaik qc35 does both
- pdkl95 9y agoAssuming "qc35" == "Bose QuietComfort 35", it also eavesdrops on the metadata of everything you listen to and sends it to Bose (and segment.io). https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Bose-headphones-have-been-spying-on-customers-11086904.php https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Bose-headphones-have-bee...
- gvurrdon 9y agoThanks for the link. This sort of thing is becoming a total pain; it seems that there's almost no gadget I might use that's not reporting my habits to someone.
- davepage 9y agoAfter the scandal, they added an opt-out setting (but on the privacy policy page, where the nominal user will not think to look for it).
- loco5niner 9y agoTried those. Actually made the voices stand out more since everything else was more quiet :-(
- andrewaylett 9y agoMy Plantronics Backbeat Pro are pretty good at both. I can block all external noise with the volume turned down so low some people can't even hear the music when they put them on.
- gvurrdon 9y agoThey're not bad, but are relatively poor against sounds similar to human speech, which includes coughing, sniffing, throat clearing etc. My colleagues who have a large extractor fan just outside their window have reported that noise-cancelling headphones offer an improvement, though.
- loco5niner 9y agoYep, active noise cancellation is great for repeating sounds, but horrible for voices.
- burger_moon 9y agoOne problem is they don't cancel out the terrible odors you have to breath when you're packed in next to people who don't bath and eat at their desks. I think the awful smells I can't escape are worse than the noise at this point.
- brian-armstrong 9y agoYou might try earplugs and earmuffs at the same time. It's a pretty effective level of sound isolation.
- KozmoNau7 9y agoI have considered this, but it's going to be very uncomfortable for a full workday. I've also tried earphones with music, but I can't work like that for long, I just start listening to the music instead. I need peace and quiet. And of course there's the issue of visual noise as well.
- noir_lord 9y agoSilicon ear plugs are amazing, I sleep with them in (insomnia), they kill sound better than foam, mould to fit so stay in and warm up to body temperature so you don't know they are even there. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bio-Ears-Silicone-EarPlugs-Protection/dp/B0013HGG0C https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bio-Ears-Silicone-EarPlugs-Protecti... I split one in two and use them that way, I've gotten to work with them in before without noticing, maybe worth a shot.
- shostack 9y agoSeems like these are only good for a few uses with each set before disposal?
- KozmoNau7 9y agoYeah, and they're rather expensive for disposable items. I bought a box of 100 pairs of Bilsom 303 plugs a couple of years ago, for motorcycling. The whole box was $40.
- noir_lord 9y agoI split one into two, I get 2-3 nights before changing them which means 12-18 nights better sleep, for an insomniac I’d pay 10 times that tbh.
- 9y ago
- jrootabega 9y agoYou shouldn't have to strap something to your face just to get work done. That's for animals. What about your seatmate who eats hot lunch next to you? That's your problem; put in your noseplugs. People walking around constantly? Put on your horse blinders.
- ecshafer 9y agoPeople walking by is my big thing. I hate people being in my peripheral vision when I am trying to work. That and feeling like people are behind me..it's much worse than the sound.
- howard941 9y agoOne of the mech engrs in a cube has a mirror on his wall that puzzled me until I spent a day in the cube farm. I will steal that idea when they relocate me from a private office to cube hell.
- loco5niner 9y agoOk, I'm puzzled. Why the mirror?
- oillio 9y agoSo people can't sneak up on you. It is subtile, but psychologically draining to have people constantly come up to you and interact with you from behind.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]