AdminSecret

My cubicle is situated in a high traffic area (among other cubicles and offices surrounding the cubicles).  I try to tune out all the chit-chat that goes on, but it's getting increasingly difficult.  There are a couple of staffers in the two offices near my cube who are loud.  They talk loud, they laugh loud, and they know it (one even apologized to me for being loud - which I thought was odd because it's not like I said something to her or anyone else about her loudness).

And then there are student workers sitting in a cube near mine and they don't do any work.  There's usually two or three of them there, they surf the web, play with their cellphones, whisper and talk. 

I would like to play music (classical, probably) so I don't have to listen to all those distractions.  Do you have music playing while you are working?  Do you use headphones or speakers?

I don't have speakers (my old ones broke) but I could buy some.  I would want something small/space-saving.  Plus, I would have the volume pretty low as my neighbor that I share a wall with is the perfect cubicle-mate and keeps her noise to a minimum :)  So I don't want to distract/disturb her (everyone else, I don't care).

On the other hand, I don't really want to use earphones.  I think it looks a little unprofessional (the student workers wear earphones but they're kids, what do you expect).  Plus, my bosses tend to call for me while still sitting in their offices so I need to be able to hear them.  Lastly, my cpu is on the ground so plugging the earphones in to the computer would be awkward (if not impossible, if the cord is not long enough), but I don't want to have to use my iPod.  I'd rather stream music over the web.

Anyway, any ideas?  I ended up listening to my iPod today while setting up a webpage for my boss.  For something like that (or data entry), I could consider listening to my iPod, but in general, I'd rather not. 

There are two issues here.

First, the office noise needs to be dealt with.  We had a similar problem when we moved in to our new office space.  People who use to have offices were now in cubicles plus there was a lot of chitchat.  I'm on the executive floor so it wasn't too bad, but employees on other floors started to "sshh" and tell each other to be quiet.  It became a problem.  HR had to talk with managers who spoke with their teams but also with individual repeat offenders.  There was tension in the office but it was definitely quiet!  If people are speaking loudly in their offices or in the conference room, I'll go up to the door and with a smile on my face, close it quietly.  That's usually all it takes.

As for music in the office, I'm against it.  I sit in a cubicle and would benefit from some music playing quietly in the background; however, then someone else will want to play easy listening on their radio, and someone else will want pop.  Soon, there could be a clash of music.  I also think it looks unprofessional to have radios all over the place or see people with ear phones on (the students need to be told that those earphones are not acceptable and then be put to work!  They should be lucky to have a job in this economy!)  If your company allows you to have softly playing music in the background, then more power to you.  But, I would think companies do not want music in the office because it can introduce problems into the work place.

So, say something about the decible level to either your manager (hopefully they are not a culprit) or HR/office manager.  Be prepared to give suggestions about the noise level (humorous signage, email reminders, funny placards).  Also, be sure to take your breaks away from your desk so that you can get some quiet time during the day.

For what it's worth, the staffers in the offices listen to music on their computers or radios.

I don't think anything can be done about the noise level.  One of the people making the most noise (the one that apologized to me) is the dept manager.  The other really loud staffer is her best friend.

When we (my boss and I) moved from another work location to this one, I told him that noise would be a factor.  He offered that we should buy headphones for me.  He tends to say stuff like that but not really mean it - though I guess if I did go ahead, he wouldn't tell me to return them.  There is someone above the dept manager (the technical manager) and when I mentioned how I preferred to sit in a different location because of the noise, he kind of just waved it off and said that the noise issue was better than it was before.

So obviously, they don't care.

I guess I could try bringing it up at a staff meeting (which we have infrequently) but I'd rather not - I can't control the behavior of others (unfortunately!) so I think I have to find ways to mask the noise.  Music is not going to block it out completely (I would not turn the volume up high), but at least it'll be more like white noise.

Music is such a personal preference that all of us are rude to presume that anyone around us wants to hear what we enjoy. I have stopped shopping @ local stores in the Cleveland area because their (public address system) PAs are so loud that I can't even drown out the overhead chatter of someone's idea of music for shoppers when I bring personal headphones & tapes; I have one set of special ear plugs that are somewhat successful in deadening the sound. At my office, the one part of the business is in litigation w/the other part(s); the "new" manager there has already got rid of everyone hired by the previous manager when it was all one business, & she has openly threatened me, one of the few people left from the old regime. One of her special annoying acts is to play music on the new laptop computers specifically purchased for that part of the business (even though there were already computers in place, but those computers didn't have speakers). This is a case of personal harassment against me. Frankly, I wouldn't play the music that I like even if I could. Like I stated, music is a personal preference, & we're all rude if we presume other people WANT to hear what we happen to like

 

It all boils down to respect.  We are allowed Internet radio at our desks but not loud enough to be heard outside of our cubicles.  Chit chat and laughter are OK as long as others around you are not speaking with clients either in person or by phone.