Noisy Work Environments?
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I agree that those things can be annoying, but if that is all you have, then elephant off consider yourself blessed. ;P After 10 years of having my own, private office and working from home a lot, I am now with a new company and sitting in a SW engineering 'hall'. 30 developers in the same room with a mix of open landscape separated into three areas by normal height cubicle walls. My desk is next to a small kitchen with a cappuccino maker that sounds like it should be strapped to the wing of a Jumbo Jet. :sigh: Most of the noise actually come from that little kitchen. Apparently when people are in there laughing and chatting, they think there is an invisible, sound proof cocoon around them. :^) I am trying to adjust, but it is difficult after so many years. Soren
"When you don't know what you're doing it's best to do it quickly" - Jase #DuckDynasty
That explains your CP Username... :laugh:
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience
Greg King
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I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.
Lily Tomlin, Actress -
Unfortunately it IS normal (at least in my part of the world. I hate having to share office with the other developers, because they all have their irritating behaviours; tapping fingers, listening to music, talking on the phone, moaning and groaning (yes, I have a collegue like that X| ), irritating ring signals and signals signalling incoming email going off every 30 seconds. Some people don't care, but I agree with you. I can't work in a noisy environment either. I would prefer a private office so I can surf pr0n work in peace. But in a company with a sizeable amount of developers, I guees that is too costly... :sigh:
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience
Greg King
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I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.
Lily Tomlin, ActressAnd swearing. Don't forget swearing.(You DO use Microsoft right?)
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Tim Carmichael wrote:
So, in that light, do you like your job enough to learn to ignore the noise or are you going to change positions?
Normal people do not ignore sound, due to evolution. People ignoring the sound of a lion (or the fire alarm) are less prone to survive and reproduce. ..I live in a cold and wet place. Turn your heating down and learn to code at the same temperature as your fridge. Some type o' problem, same solution.
Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
'Normal people'? Who died and made you god?
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And swearing. Don't forget swearing.(You DO use Microsoft right?)
What the elephant are you on about sunshine? We don't elephanting swear in out elephanting company... :laugh: Nah, seriously, you're right! But strangely enough, the Mac saved saints also seem to swear about their Mac. (Personally, I don't understand why they use a Mac at all, because the job they're hired to do has with Microsoft products. But some people need to be OOOOH so special (thus complicating everything for themselves). No sympathy from me! :laugh:
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience
Greg King
-----
I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.
Lily Tomlin, Actress -
What the elephant are you on about sunshine? We don't elephanting swear in out elephanting company... :laugh: Nah, seriously, you're right! But strangely enough, the Mac saved saints also seem to swear about their Mac. (Personally, I don't understand why they use a Mac at all, because the job they're hired to do has with Microsoft products. But some people need to be OOOOH so special (thus complicating everything for themselves). No sympathy from me! :laugh:
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience
Greg King
-----
I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.
Lily Tomlin, ActressAre you referring to the Macmentarians? I was talking to one last night. She couldn't understand why I built my home ent system out of bits of string and Linux for less than £150(now I have a 40" screen, 5.1 sound and Freeview on the same box. Also all my music and DVD's), then another £200 on an old, bomb-proof Elitebook, with a tb drive and core2duo processor(which I use for making and storing videos), when I could have spent 5-10 times as much on a Mac(which is still Intel)and been saved. Yes. The ability to license all my tv and films and music for one, overpriced, sealed box, and pay over the odds for them, is sorely tempting. Not. :laugh:
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Is it normal for developers to have to work on noisy office spaces? I've had a few different jobs as a developer over the past few years. The best one had an office. It was quiet and it was easy to focus on my work. I've had others with semi-queiet cubicles and one with a very noisy environment with people talking on their cell phones while walking around the developers' desks. How am I supposed to concentrate on work when the employer seems to discourage it by the environment? Please tell me that this isn't normal. Are there employers out there that actually encourage productivity? How do I find these jobs? Lately I seem to be having bad luck. Maybe I live in the wrong part of the US?
Be careful what you wish for. I used to work in a really noisy office, we were a small company and everyone was in the same room so you had account handlers and sales people constantly on the phone with phones ringing non-stop. Then the building was renovated and myself and another developer got our own office, which was sooo quiet and depressing that I would have given anything to move back into the populated office; I started getting moody and frustrated and felt completely isolated especially when the other developer went on holiday for weeks at a time. Eventually we moved into a less populated office and the noise levels were tolerable with headphones, but I'd rather be with people than without them.
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Are you referring to the Macmentarians? I was talking to one last night. She couldn't understand why I built my home ent system out of bits of string and Linux for less than £150(now I have a 40" screen, 5.1 sound and Freeview on the same box. Also all my music and DVD's), then another £200 on an old, bomb-proof Elitebook, with a tb drive and core2duo processor(which I use for making and storing videos), when I could have spent 5-10 times as much on a Mac(which is still Intel)and been saved. Yes. The ability to license all my tv and films and music for one, overpriced, sealed box, and pay over the odds for them, is sorely tempting. Not. :laugh:
In the end, it's all about the total time you save, including building and using. Much like this xkcd comic. That's probably why I'm so keen on optimising programs...
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In the end, it's all about the total time you save, including building and using. Much like this xkcd comic. That's probably why I'm so keen on optimising programs...
I do it for fun. If it isn't fun, then it really isn't worth doing IMO. :rolleyes:
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Noise distraction is relative. i grew up in a family with 9 children; I learned to be alone in a room full of people. It doesn't bother me to have others making noise around me. Also, I lived next to an airbase where jets were scrambled all times of the day and night over our house. We learned to ignore it. So, in that light, do you like your job enough to learn to ignore the noise or are you going to change positions? Tim
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I do it for fun. If it isn't fun, then it really isn't worth doing IMO. :rolleyes:
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Good point. Booze. Women. Pubs. Or I could waste it. ;)
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Good point. Booze. Women. Pubs. Or I could waste it. ;)
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That reminds me of the joke where someone tells a smoker, "If you smoke for 30 years, you'd waste enough money on cigs to buy a Ferrari!" To which the smoker retorts, "As you don't smoke, where's your Ferrari?"
But seriously folks.....my employer celebrated 40 years in the business by giving everyone an Ipod Shuffle. Within 30 minutes the team had found a Python hack that allowed it to be used as a drag and drop player. Then Apple put barriers up so that the hack couldn't be used/was illegal, and hey presto, my 2GB music player can only be filled by DRM bloatware, assuming I have a Windows VM running somewhere. Not a time saver, and apart from beautiful design, not a particularly good player. Now, I have a BB10 phone(NOT iphone/android), which is 20 times bigger, has a better amp, an interface and is also a phone. And I can put anything on it and it will play. Only drawback is my Linux machines have to use wifi to access it, because BB10 bloatware isn't available. Narf.
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Is it normal for developers to have to work on noisy office spaces? I've had a few different jobs as a developer over the past few years. The best one had an office. It was quiet and it was easy to focus on my work. I've had others with semi-queiet cubicles and one with a very noisy environment with people talking on their cell phones while walking around the developers' desks. How am I supposed to concentrate on work when the employer seems to discourage it by the environment? Please tell me that this isn't normal. Are there employers out there that actually encourage productivity? How do I find these jobs? Lately I seem to be having bad luck. Maybe I live in the wrong part of the US?
It seems to be heading toward normal ... as the office planners move to more cubitoriums. People don't understand how we work. I'm currently in a cubitorium where a few meters away sits she-whose-name-can't-be-mentioned but she is incapable of TALKING WITH AN INSIDE VOICE. I've never met her but I know all about her husband, children, auto insurance and the current real estate projects! :(
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Is it normal for developers to have to work on noisy office spaces? I've had a few different jobs as a developer over the past few years. The best one had an office. It was quiet and it was easy to focus on my work. I've had others with semi-queiet cubicles and one with a very noisy environment with people talking on their cell phones while walking around the developers' desks. How am I supposed to concentrate on work when the employer seems to discourage it by the environment? Please tell me that this isn't normal. Are there employers out there that actually encourage productivity? How do I find these jobs? Lately I seem to be having bad luck. Maybe I live in the wrong part of the US?
I have worked for a lot of companies, large and small. The small ones were usually the best, as the space to work in peace was allowed, and the number of people making noise were limited. The largest with cubicle farms were the worst. Literally hundreds of developers working on different projects at once. In my current position we moved our entire development team to a different part of the building. The only people there are developers and there is no room for anyone else. It is quiet, loose, and comfortable. The best yet. My advise, invest in a good set of noise cancelling headphones.
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I have worked for a lot of companies, large and small. The small ones were usually the best, as the space to work in peace was allowed, and the number of people making noise were limited. The largest with cubicle farms were the worst. Literally hundreds of developers working on different projects at once. In my current position we moved our entire development team to a different part of the building. The only people there are developers and there is no room for anyone else. It is quiet, loose, and comfortable. The best yet. My advise, invest in a good set of noise cancelling headphones.
What types of industries have you worked in? I wonder if software vendors provide better working environments because they understand how developers work? How hard can it be to understand that developers require concentration when working? I don't get it.
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Is it normal for developers to have to work on noisy office spaces? I've had a few different jobs as a developer over the past few years. The best one had an office. It was quiet and it was easy to focus on my work. I've had others with semi-queiet cubicles and one with a very noisy environment with people talking on their cell phones while walking around the developers' desks. How am I supposed to concentrate on work when the employer seems to discourage it by the environment? Please tell me that this isn't normal. Are there employers out there that actually encourage productivity? How do I find these jobs? Lately I seem to be having bad luck. Maybe I live in the wrong part of the US?
My previous job, I had an office I shared with one other person, so it was pretty quiet. The non developers were in an open office so it was noisy over there, but we only had to go over there if we had questions for them. My current job has all of us co-located with our Scrum Teams (we have developers and V/V members on the team) so the noise level among the team is minimal. But we are in cubicles with a lot of other people around. So it does get noisy when people have to meet around the others. The noise is not something that bothers me, as I have noise cancelling head phones that I use listening to music all day.
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Is it normal for developers to have to work on noisy office spaces? I've had a few different jobs as a developer over the past few years. The best one had an office. It was quiet and it was easy to focus on my work. I've had others with semi-queiet cubicles and one with a very noisy environment with people talking on their cell phones while walking around the developers' desks. How am I supposed to concentrate on work when the employer seems to discourage it by the environment? Please tell me that this isn't normal. Are there employers out there that actually encourage productivity? How do I find these jobs? Lately I seem to be having bad luck. Maybe I live in the wrong part of the US?
Here's a suggestion, based on some rather old experience. A couple of generations ago, I worked at a "terminal farm" in the same room as several minicomputers. The noise level was so high that we were issued ear protectors - over-the-ear headphones with no sound reproduction hardware. If you're working in a noisy environment, get a pair of headphones that do a good job of blocking external noise. This has several benefits: 1. It gives you a quiet environment 2. You can play your favorite music without adding to the ambient noise around you 3. It demonstrates to others (management) that the environment is too noisy - maybe the situation will improve for everyone!
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Is it normal for developers to have to work on noisy office spaces? I've had a few different jobs as a developer over the past few years. The best one had an office. It was quiet and it was easy to focus on my work. I've had others with semi-queiet cubicles and one with a very noisy environment with people talking on their cell phones while walking around the developers' desks. How am I supposed to concentrate on work when the employer seems to discourage it by the environment? Please tell me that this isn't normal. Are there employers out there that actually encourage productivity? How do I find these jobs? Lately I seem to be having bad luck. Maybe I live in the wrong part of the US?
I work in the UK for a development department at the parent company in Sweden. Over there they have offices with 2 or 3 developers in, all nice and quiet all the time. Over here, I'm the only developer and have to sit in an office full of engineering designers using CAD. 50% of the time its OK, but the other 50% of the time either the boss is away at meetings so everyone just gasses or sales reps are visiting with their voices that only have 1 volume, LOUD! I've resorted to having a good set of headphones to hand and listen to some suitable music. I've found this site quite good: Music For Programming[^] I have video/goto meetings quite regular so the company payed for a decent headset with mic. Sometimes I'm wearing it for 4 or 5 hours at a time.
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