Cube Farm Chatter 1

[MadMango]

I work in a Cube Farm, I’m sure like many of you do. Even though I may have an "office" the walls do not reach the drop-down ceiling, and I can hear every single conversation. Normal chatter does not bother me, its just another form of white noise that I have come to live with. I do however get very annoyed with my immediate neighbors.

To my left are two full-time consultants. They are in the office 80% of the time. When they are gone, things are peaceful, but when they are in, things get very noisy. They are constantly on the phone, or babbling to each other or suppliers. The hard part is they are both French-Canadians, and when they speak French, it cuts through the office ambiance like a klaxon.

My right-hand neighbor has a "the sky is falling" attitude, and everything that comes across his desk, he must comment on, and never in a positive manner. He can never start any work without discussing the real and his perceived issues surrounding his work. I think his opinions are way off base, and he is ill informed. He has not demonstrated the ability to whisper. I think his vitriol has a strong chance of infecting others, and affecting morale.

I only feel comfortable in turning up my computers speakers to a level that isn’t quite enough to drown them out completely. I fear since others don’t have the luxury of speakers at their cubicles, they are also dealing with this audible assault. I’ve tried talking to our Department Head, but the issue is written off as, "Well, that’s just the way they are" or "Buy a set of headphones."

How have or would you handle this situation?

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[prohammy]

Ken,

(Sorry all, I'm going to go slightly off topic as well)

An interesting opposite to yours. I worked in an open plan office and one of my fellow engineers suffered severe epiletic fits (went unconcious every time and usually resulted in physical harm to himself). Some people found this quite disturbing and one or two asked to move desks.

(back to OP)

I am working beside a guy who is to conversation what water is to fire. He keeps everyone quite by sheer force of his non-existent personality, producing and dead zone of approximately ten miles. Great for work... almost constant silence... but awful for interpersonal morale.


Kevin Hammond

Mechanical Design Engineer
Derbyshire, UK

 

[ctopher]

Office Etiquette

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[dik]

Noise cancelling headphones... my son just picked up a Sony player (thought it was MP3, but is a Sony proprietary device) and it came with noise cancelling earbuds... he picked up a set of proper headphones that almost completely electronically remove any background noise...

Dik

 

[Jordonlaw]

When the guy was doing something that particularly annoys you I'd simply stand up and look at him until he stops and/or ask you why you're there. Then you tell him calmly and quietly what the problem is. He'll get the message; it's kind of like training a dog to sit down.

 

[Pressed]

If your'e not up for the loud speakerphone ploy while they are talking then I don't believe you have anything that will make them stop, other than looking at them which is just as unproductive. But that is typ manager "get headphones", ha.

I had a cube neighbor who constantly brought people to the desk to talk loud. One day he had someone argue with him and I told him stearnly to keep conversations light at the desk and if he didn't do that, to take it to a conference room. He wasn't happy, but it worked great.

You could ask them each time "are you on a speakerphone"? To see if they get the message???????

It sounds like a one man battle with no reserves in sight.


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[plasgears]

For years I have been using 'musician ear plugs' that allow conversation, but they attenuate loud noises like rock concerts and contemporary church services.* They effectively block 40 DBA. The brand name is Hearos, ~$15. They are washable and durable.

* - Some Pentacostal churches standardize at 95 DBA peak as measured at the rear sound booth. Pity the bastards sitting closer than the rear row.

 

[jmw]

Yeah, there you are in your cube with your head-phones on and some boss decides you are not working but amusing yourself at his expense.
IT (the guys who took games out of the windows installation and who issued the company screen saver that must be used) get sent along to remove your Windows Media Player, Real players, and anything else than might amuse you and IPods/MP3 players get banned.

Before that happens, take the time to record an hour or two of the noise and save the file, you might need to send the file to HR when the problem reaches the silly phase.

HR doesn't have a training course for "how to work in an open plan environment" but they may have some other solutions.
The one that may work best is to get moved to somewhere peaceful.

Caution:
Moving isn't an easy option, even if their is, for some reason, an empty desk somewhere.
"Cube farms" aren't "organic" nor did they naturally evolve from bare carpeted space into the anarchic chaos you see today.
Some junior manager saw "planning the office layout" as a major Brown-nose event and has spent many happy hours/days with post-it tables and chairs and coloured markers drawing the office and deciding where everyone should sit.

If you want to know who this is, its the guy who gets windows on two sides of his space which is surrounded by unused aisles.

This plan "has his name on it".
Changes imply what we all know already: he made a mess of it.
How else to account for the fact that the one and only printer is way down the opposite end of the office from the stationary supplies (or anyone who wants to use it) or that the coffee machine is a ten minute hike away in manufacturing. The clue to this style of planning is that many desks are only supplied with power, LAN and phones by dint of many extensions cables which make walking a hazard even with those "you can't sue the company" rubber covers on.

In short, while moving desks is possibly the only available solution, you should be aware that this may only be practicable if you also change companies.




JMW

http://www.ViscoAnalyser.com

 

[kchayfie]

I listen to a classical music radio station through headphones on my phone. I use the studies reported in the media that claim classical music aids concentration to justify why I'm not amusing myself at the company's expense. I only use one earphone (only partly because the other doesn't work) so that I can hear when people who are trying to communicate with me but I focus my listening towards the music to tune out the guy at the other end of the office who is yelling at our colleagues in Poland. (Sometimes I think his phone is for decoration - they can probably hear him from there anyway!) And obviously good manners dictate that if someone is trying to talk to me, I take out my earphone and switch the radio off to give them my full attention.

 

[FEAHappy]

Buy a set of Bose noise cancelling headphones ($300)
and a CD player. I listen to classical music, mild south american guitar, smooth rock. The headphones cut the noise level down enough that the music can overcome it completely.This setup saved my career.

 

[Sideswiper]

My noise cancelling headphones are designed to subdue the frequency of jet or bus engines... not the chatter of coworkers. Even though coworkers might sound like a constant low frequency buzzing, I don't think they count.

The reviews of the pricey models lead me to believe that maybe they negate a wider field of sounds?

 

[TateJ]

FYI... noice-cancelling headphones only cancel out ambient noise... or constant noise. It would not cancel out loud conversations... but would likely make them easier to hear. All of a sudden - you wouldn't be able to hear the constant (almost imperceptable) drone of your HVAC system... ot the cumulative hums of all the PC fans in the area. Then you could hear everyone tapping on their keyboards, clicking their mice, all the different misic on all the radios in your area... and every word of your neighbors conversations.

I don't think you want that.

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[cvg]

we have a white noise generator in our office which does a remarkable job of cancelling out noise in general and making most conversations harder to focus on. However, it doesn't eliminate the sound of the conference call in the next cube, or the drafters across the aisle that are always yucking it up and talking.

 

[chapp333]

I work in a cube with a U-shaped desk where the monitors are in the corner away from the "door" such that I have my back to anyone passing by. I use earbuds to create a nice, peaceful world for myself and have trained all of my coworkers to tap the end of my desk nearest the "door" to get my attention. I then politely remove the earbuds so that I can focus on the interruption. Seems to work well.

White noise makes me sleepy - so much so that I use a fan set on low to help me fall asleep when I've got insomnia.

 

[ubrben]

>> White noise makes me sleepy - so much so that I use a fan set on low to help me fall asleep when I've got insomnia.

Strangley enough I have a CD of sea noise that has a similar effect.

Ben

 

[IceStationZebra]

Just have three kids and make sure one of them has ADHD - you will learn how to tune out in a hurry!

ISZ