Office Etiquette

[Ecophys]

So, as I sit here writing this, another officemate is having a discussion with another person. Rather than talk at a normal level, they are whispering and it is incredibly distracting to me. I know they are just trying to be polite and not talk in the office but I would rather they just talked at a normal level. It may sound weird but whispering is more distracting than someone just having a normal conversation.

What does everyone else think?

I am not too bothered by it as it doesn't happen very often. I just find it a little strange and distracting.

[Genomic Repairman]

It sucks but its a fact of life when you are cramped into an office like drunken frat boys into a phone booth. I usually keep my iPod headphones in or I have a special set of earplugs, similar to those used by folks on aircraft carrier decks, when I need absolute silence for manuscript or proposal writing. The leg shakers are the worst, the person next to me shakes their legs so hard that it makes my desk (connected to theirs) rattle.

[fuzzylogician]

Well, because of the marvelous architecture and acoustics of the Stata center (can you detect my cynicism?), I sit in an office with 7 other people, that is part of an open space so that it is basically connected to an office with 5 other people on one side and to the hallway, kitchen, some chairs, tables and computers, and open space of the floor below us[1]. We do not have a door. We can hear whatever anyone is saying in all of the places I mentioned earlier, whisper or not. So I completely sympathize. In our case what we did is first off hang signs in strategic places outside reminding people that we can hear them, and we have an agreement within our office and with the people in the next office about talking in the office. You can't really prevent anyone from talking, but you can let others know if something they do particularly bothers you, or if you're doing something that requires particular concentration. If it's just you three in the office, you could tell the other two people you'd rather they just talked in a normal voice. They're obviously trying to be polite. If there are more of you, you should definitely have a conversation among all of you and come to some understanding of what works for you all in terms of sharing the space. In the meanwhile, and in general, get headphones and listen to music that doesn't have words - classical, jazz, instrumental. For me at least, as long as I'm not doing something that requires extra concentration, that solves the problem.

[1] but aside from that it's really a great large office with a great view and wonderful people; it's the traditional 1st year office so everybody in the department remembers what it was like when they were there and try to be mindful of how loud they speak.

[Genomic Repairman]

I share a bullpen-style office with a postdoc, another graduate student, and five technicians. So with only a quorum of three people we have STFU rule. We each right it on the board next to our name and folks can see when we need quiet time to get crap done. This way loud conversations and personal phone calls are taken outside of the office area. We all came into agreement when we moved into this space on the rule rather quickly, as I have found that it has worked well in my previous labs.

[timuralp]

I went the earphones route, as I have the opposite problem: frequently, other students visit the office to talk and often get way too loud. Somewhat of an overkill, but if you have the money and love music, might be a good investment: http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er4.aspx

We had a different issue related to hygiene for a while though, but it was cleared up after talking about it. Was pretty awkward though.

[gsams]

Hygeine would be awkward.

I can't deal with conversations while I am working, which is why I am thankful I do not need a "lab" to finish most of my work. I will have a nice, quiet home office with no distractions.

However, I think reaching out to the office mates can work if A. they have the same noise worries as you (some don't consider loud the same as you believe it or not!) and B. only can work in the same environment you prefer.

[Ecophys]

Hygeine would be awkward.

I can't deal with conversations while I am working, which is why I am thankful I do not need a "lab" to finish most of my work. I will have a nice, quiet home office with no distractions.

However, I think reaching out to the office mates can work if A. they have the same noise worries as you (some don't consider loud the same as you believe it or not!) and B. only can work in the same environment you prefer.

Generally, everyone is quite good in the office. I really don't mind if someone comes in for a chat or they talk with their supervisor. Even though we are sharing space, sometimes our office is the only place we can meet. I TA so I have students coming in to my office. There is really no other place I can meet them. It is a reality there is going to be some talking and chatting in an office shared with 5 or 6 other people. Tolerance is important in this type of office arrangement. It can't be like a library. If office mates expect that, they should go to the library.

I guess I would rather they just talk at a normal level and I can put my headphones on to drown them out rather than whisper which comes across as suspicious or secretive. Maybe I am just odd...lol