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Comment by abalone | Hacker News Reader

You mentioned headphones. Headphones seem to be an essential part of open plans. Not only do they send a don't-bother-me signal, they also drown out the noise.

But that's also a really annoying part of it. I don't want to have to put on headphones all the time.

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Protip: get earmuffs. The kind that construction workers use. They're about $20 on Amazon. If you combine them with earbuds, you literally can't hear a conversation right next to you.

This is the setup that pro Starcraft tournaments use so that players can't hear the announcers and crowd.

That has the exact same problem as headphones. I do not want to wear giant things on my head for 6-8 hours a day while I try to get into and stay in the flow.

(I don't have a problem with ambient conversation at, say, Starbucks, but I find myself very distracted by people talking about work stuff in the same room as me.)

Small nitpick: my understanding (perhaps moreso in more sound-dependent FPS) is that pro gamers are already sound shielded.

The two headsets were 1) voice chat with your team 2) large 'surround sound' headphones that really signaled direction.

Definiately not the case for league tournaments. In the spring split of EU LCS they wore 3M Peltor ear defenders over small in-ear buds for their actual sound.

More recent tournaments they seem to have integrated ear defenders with headphones with Mic's on. (Previously they had 3 headsets, the ear buds for sound, the defenders then their sponsors headsets around their necks for the mic.)

I tried construction worker earmuffs for a while. The biggest problem is that I wear eyeglasses. The arms for my eyeglasses have to go through the soundproofing system to hang on to my face, which leaks sound and makes them kind of useless. I assume construction workers don't wear glasses?

They also squeezed my head which was uncomfortable after 8 - 10 hours.

Lastly, people kept trying to talk to me, which meant I had to pull them off and put them on and pull them off and put them on which was a little maddening.

Also: http://i.imgur.com/bZwKOzy.jpg

I bet I'm not the only one who sometimes puts headphones on with no music, solely to broadcast that don't-bother-me signal.

Good headphones are comfortable. I actually prefer them sometimes to no headphones, 'cause they keep my ears warm.

Try earmuffs?

I tried industrial earmuffs for a while (-25 dB), when I was in a noisy office, and they work. With another "layer" of in-ear phones you can work anywhere. They also send a stronger signal of "don't bother me", but some will find it rude.

LOL where is your office?

I've got the reverse problem: I'm _always_ warm. Keep a fan at my desk, on at all times. Over-the-ear phones trap a _lot_ of heat.

Instead I use earplugs.

I wear glasses and I have yet to find a pair of sufficiently isolating headphones that doesn't become painfully uncomfortable after 1 hour. And I've tried various high-end solutions.

Tried Etymotic earbuds? They come with a bunch of adapters to fit different sized ears. My model is of course discontinued but the mc5 looks closest. http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/mc5.html

edit: unlike any other earbuds I have tried, they are engineered to survive the inevitable wax-plugging. Just replace the filter & you're back in business.

> solely to broadcast that don't-bother-me signal.

Current workplace has a no-headphones rule, exactly because of that.

Many people were donning headphones as soon as they arrived in the office and not taking them off until home time, simply to avoid having to interact with anyone else.

So now no-one can avail of shorter periods of non-interruption, but I understand why they banned them.

In-ear earphones seem to be tolerated, so long as they are removed when someone comes to talk.

Sounds like a terrible policy for concentration. On the surface management might think they are getting better results (more interaction) but it is probably at the cost of individual productivity.

Also someone signaling the entire day that they are not available is a big red flag either in terms of their workload, stress level, interpersonal interactions with some people, or some feelings in general at the company.

Either way its something to tap to find out what's going on.

That's the only reason I've ever used headphones.

If the top post indicates anything, it's the high precedence the psyche places on framing. Switch around your default- and exception cases and see if that helps take your mind off it.

It's a real thing. This summer, because my room would get hot at night, I had to leave a fan on. At first, I couldn't sleep with the noise. But now that it's getting colder, I've tried leaving it off, and guess what. Ha. Now I need the noise.

I have worked in an open office plan and simply can't work with people around me talking. I had to wear my headphones all day every day. I would never accept a job in an open office again.

I have an office of 4, which is bearable. I have gone for a few interviews recently, and open plan seems to be the norm. It seems difficult to find a productive working environment.

I was way more productive when there were just two of us in the same office. That was when the organisation was just starting out.

I got marked down as not a culture fit when at an interview with a digital agency - I pointed out that the camped noisy office environment (all working on laptops no double screens and popper docking stations) would be effecting their efficiency.

The role I was going for was as a technical consultant to improve the quality of the work - go figure

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