6 ms·

I find this quite ridiculous, people are not these fragile creatures that can't see, hear or smell anything other than the usual office sights, sounds and aroma

by hnriot 13y ago

I find this quite ridiculous, people are not these fragile creatures that can't see, hear or smell anything other than the usual office sights, sounds and aromas. I think you're over thinking this. Unless you're eating weird stuff like boiled lungfish or whatever then I suspect nobody is paying the slightest attention to you eating chips or an apple.

Touche 13y ago
If you allow people to eat at their desk inevitably someone will bring in stinky tuna salad every day.
- raverbashing 13y ago
  Tuna salad is the least bad of the problems Really
ItendToDisagree 13y ago
Every place I have ever worked this has become a problem at some point for some person (or group of people). Someone decides to reheat some fish they caught and had for dinner last night, or has a really heavy garlic/curry dish they heat up and bring to their desk, or covers their food in a pungent sauce, or they bring in McDonalds/greasy fast food, etc. Inevitably someone complains and HR sends out the "please be considerate of other people when deciding to eat at your desk" email. It seems to happen more quickly in multicultural environments, where many people have different tastes/sensibilities, but this has just been my experience. Edit: Re-wording! For clarity!
buckbova 13y ago
I don't want to hear you crunching into carrots or biting and slurping an apple. I don't want to smell your leftovers from yesterday. I don't want to hear the rustle of your take-out bags. Please find another place to eat. Why is that so difficult?
- slm_HN 13y ago
  If the sound of a bag rustling sends you into such a tailspin what does an overheard conversation do? At some point you simply have to develop the power of concentration. Try focusing intently on your work rather than focusing intently on your surroundings.
  - buckbova 13y ago
    I don't take personal calls at my desk. My phone is on silent at all times when at the office. If I need to make a call, I step out. I would like others to do the same. Edit: Even my desk phone is on silent. It sounds a single beep when the phone rings.
    - sampo 13y ago
      I'd like to share an office with someone as considerate as you.
    - redbad 13y ago
      > I don't take personal calls at my desk. My phone is on > silent at all times when at the office. If I need to > make a call, I step out. > > Even my desk phone is on silent. It sounds a single beep > when the phone rings. That's going a bit overboard, but that's fine. Good for you. > I would like others to do the same. That's not really a reasonable request.
      - polymatter 13y ago
        FWIW I agree with buckbova and don't think its overboard in the slightest to ask for personal calls to be made out of the office. Nor do I think it unreasonable for this to be part of the company culture. It happens to be part of how we work in the startup I work at (except the desk phone on silent thing) and I'm not aware of any problems this has caused. So I find your pronouncement that its not "reasonable" to be a bit presumptuous.
        13y ago
genericuser 13y ago
I do not think it is ridiculous at all. I have an office mate who always eats at his desk about 4 feet directly behind me. He chews with his mouth open and takes his time eating his lunch. So I get an hour of lipsmacking and chewing noises every day. That hour is occuring right now and I am reading hacker news because getting anything done with that slurpy wet smacking going on is rather difficult. I am enough of an asshole to have pointed out I would like if he didn't chew with his mouth open, but not enough of an asshole to argue with him when he denied that he does. I also realize noise cancelling headphones would solve this problem, but I value being aware of my surroundings (I really want to avoid the situation where someone has to tap me or wave a hand in between me and my screen to get my attention). I have previously had other office mates who ate at their desks who did not bother me at all, but depending on a persons eating habits it certainly could be inconsiderate to your coworkers. Edit: For clarification we have a full cafeteria (where he gets his food) as well as other areas he could eat.
- ItendToDisagree 13y ago
  Once sat a couple feet away from a woman who's jaw made a very loud clicking sound when she chewed. I brought it up, she apologized, said it sucks for her too. We were pretty good friends and liked to joke around and once during her lunch she IMed me saying "I found this video you would love!" and it was a youtube of Mike Meyers from Waynes World describing his faults including how when he eats he makes a clicking sound with his jaw. Thank you for reminding me of this small slice of my past I had nearly forgotten. It made me smile. TL:DR "Cool story Hansel"
knieveltech 13y ago
You might be wrong about that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misophonia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misophonia
crazygringo 13y ago
You've clearly never sat next to someone in a quiet office, who is crunching on fistfuls of banana chips for an hour with their mouth open. I swear it would echo, those things are so loud. Maybe it's the whole mouth-open thing that does it. But not everyone manages to eat discreetly, or even 'normally'. In a loud office, it might not be so bad, but when the office is otherwise quiet, it keeps you from concentrating at all. CRUNCH. CRUNCH. cr-cr-cr-cr-CRUNCHCHCHCHCH.
- freehunter 13y ago
  If your office is poorly laid out in such a fashion, headphones would be a good addition to your desk. When I first moved into a dorm room, I had a hard time sleeping due to hearing other people moving around and talking. I learned to sleep with a fan in order to generate white noise. You might say "I don't like working with headphones!" but the point I'm trying to make is that in offices without privacy, some amount of consideration has to be paid to mitigate the effects of other people. There's always going to be some noise that someone makes that annoys someone else. You can't stop it at their end, so you try to stop it at your end.
- saraid216 13y ago
  Sometimes, at my office, someone decides to make popcorn. I never hear them eating it. But, on the other side of the office, the smell encroaches, stirring the taste buds with delicious promises. And then I look up, curious. And then I realize what happened. And then my stomach goes, "Oooh, that's a good idea." And then it's too late.
daveslash 13y ago
I think we know who eats chips and apples in the office. :-)
michaelcampbell 13y ago
No one considers assaulting ones neighbors sonically with a radio acceptable, why is it so different with your lunch? Trust me, your sandwich is no better to anyone else than your choice in music. Leave it in the breakroom.
girvo 13y ago
I have an actual phobia, for hearing people chew. It makes my skin crawl and instantly pisses me off. I get it from my dad apparently. I really wish it didn't affect me so much.
tluyben2 13y ago
I was trying to find a nice way to say this; people seem to not focus very much if you notice things like that. I have had Indian/Vietnamees people eat stuff next to me (which is very high in aroma) and in the Netherlands there is quite a bit of fish eating; I have never noticed anything as i'm , you know, focusing on what i'm doing? Hell, I often work next to a TV or console gaming and that really doesn't do anything. Never had colleagues bothered by this either. I notice that people who complain about sounds and odours are often people who don't have very much to do, at least not with a looming deadline. It's like when you live in a neighbourhood with attached housing; there are always a few who complain about everything they hear and see and they actually do listen to people flushing toilets and accidentally dropping chairs.

by hnriot 13y ago

Touche 13y ago

If you allow people to eat at their desk inevitably someone will bring in stinky tuna salad every day.

raverbashing 13y ago
Tuna salad is the least bad of the problems Really

ItendToDisagree 13y ago

Every place I have ever worked this has become a problem at some point for some person (or group of people). Someone decides to reheat some fish they caught and had for dinner last night, or has a really heavy garlic/curry dish they heat up and bring to their desk, or covers their food in a pungent sauce, or they bring in McDonalds/greasy fast food, etc. Inevitably someone complains and HR sends out the "please be considerate of other people when deciding to eat at your desk" email. It seems to happen more quickly in multicultural environments, where many people have different tastes/sensibilities, but this has just been my experience. Edit: Re-wording! For clarity!

buckbova 13y ago

I don't want to hear you crunching into carrots or biting and slurping an apple. I don't want to smell your leftovers from yesterday. I don't want to hear the rustle of your take-out bags. Please find another place to eat. Why is that so difficult?

slm_HN 13y ago
If the sound of a bag rustling sends you into such a tailspin what does an overheard conversation do? At some point you simply have to develop the power of concentration. Try focusing intently on your work rather than focusing intently on your surroundings.
- buckbova 13y ago
  I don't take personal calls at my desk. My phone is on silent at all times when at the office. If I need to make a call, I step out. I would like others to do the same. Edit: Even my desk phone is on silent. It sounds a single beep when the phone rings.
  - sampo 13y ago
    I'd like to share an office with someone as considerate as you.
  - redbad 13y ago
    > I don't take personal calls at my desk. My phone is on > silent at all times when at the office. If I need to > make a call, I step out. > > Even my desk phone is on silent. It sounds a single beep > when the phone rings. That's going a bit overboard, but that's fine. Good for you. > I would like others to do the same. That's not really a reasonable request.
    - polymatter 13y ago
      FWIW I agree with buckbova and don't think its overboard in the slightest to ask for personal calls to be made out of the office. Nor do I think it unreasonable for this to be part of the company culture. It happens to be part of how we work in the startup I work at (except the desk phone on silent thing) and I'm not aware of any problems this has caused. So I find your pronouncement that its not "reasonable" to be a bit presumptuous.
      - 13y ago

genericuser 13y ago

I do not think it is ridiculous at all. I have an office mate who always eats at his desk about 4 feet directly behind me. He chews with his mouth open and takes his time eating his lunch. So I get an hour of lipsmacking and chewing noises every day. That hour is occuring right now and I am reading hacker news because getting anything done with that slurpy wet smacking going on is rather difficult. I am enough of an asshole to have pointed out I would like if he didn't chew with his mouth open, but not enough of an asshole to argue with him when he denied that he does. I also realize noise cancelling headphones would solve this problem, but I value being aware of my surroundings (I really want to avoid the situation where someone has to tap me or wave a hand in between me and my screen to get my attention). I have previously had other office mates who ate at their desks who did not bother me at all, but depending on a persons eating habits it certainly could be inconsiderate to your coworkers. Edit: For clarification we have a full cafeteria (where he gets his food) as well as other areas he could eat.

ItendToDisagree 13y ago
Once sat a couple feet away from a woman who's jaw made a very loud clicking sound when she chewed. I brought it up, she apologized, said it sucks for her too. We were pretty good friends and liked to joke around and once during her lunch she IMed me saying "I found this video you would love!" and it was a youtube of Mike Meyers from Waynes World describing his faults including how when he eats he makes a clicking sound with his jaw. Thank you for reminding me of this small slice of my past I had nearly forgotten. It made me smile. TL:DR "Cool story Hansel"

knieveltech 13y ago

You might be wrong about that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misophonia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misophonia

crazygringo 13y ago

You've clearly never sat next to someone in a quiet office, who is crunching on fistfuls of banana chips for an hour with their mouth open. I swear it would echo, those things are so loud. Maybe it's the whole mouth-open thing that does it. But not everyone manages to eat discreetly, or even 'normally'. In a loud office, it might not be so bad, but when the office is otherwise quiet, it keeps you from concentrating at all. CRUNCH. CRUNCH. cr-cr-cr-cr-CRUNCHCHCHCHCH.

freehunter 13y ago
If your office is poorly laid out in such a fashion, headphones would be a good addition to your desk. When I first moved into a dorm room, I had a hard time sleeping due to hearing other people moving around and talking. I learned to sleep with a fan in order to generate white noise. You might say "I don't like working with headphones!" but the point I'm trying to make is that in offices without privacy, some amount of consideration has to be paid to mitigate the effects of other people. There's always going to be some noise that someone makes that annoys someone else. You can't stop it at their end, so you try to stop it at your end.
saraid216 13y ago
Sometimes, at my office, someone decides to make popcorn. I never hear them eating it. But, on the other side of the office, the smell encroaches, stirring the taste buds with delicious promises. And then I look up, curious. And then I realize what happened. And then my stomach goes, "Oooh, that's a good idea." And then it's too late.

daveslash 13y ago

I think we know who eats chips and apples in the office. :-)

michaelcampbell 13y ago

No one considers assaulting ones neighbors sonically with a radio acceptable, why is it so different with your lunch? Trust me, your sandwich is no better to anyone else than your choice in music. Leave it in the breakroom.

girvo 13y ago

I have an actual phobia, for hearing people chew. It makes my skin crawl and instantly pisses me off. I get it from my dad apparently. I really wish it didn't affect me so much.

tluyben2 13y ago

I was trying to find a nice way to say this; people seem to not focus very much if you notice things like that. I have had Indian/Vietnamees people eat stuff next to me (which is very high in aroma) and in the Netherlands there is quite a bit of fish eating; I have never noticed anything as i'm , you know, focusing on what i'm doing? Hell, I often work next to a TV or console gaming and that really doesn't do anything. Never had colleagues bothered by this either. I notice that people who complain about sounds and odours are often people who don't have very much to do, at least not with a looming deadline. It's like when you live in a neighbourhood with attached housing; there are always a few who complain about everything they hear and see and they actually do listen to people flushing toilets and accidentally dropping chairs.