People wearing ear plugs in the workplace

[PatriarchyPersonified]

I probably am being unreasonable but...

Random one this one. I work in an open plan office that probably contains about 30 people on a busy day, in an area the size of two tennis courts. (Roughly).

The only noise is normal day to day activity, low level conversations and the occasional phone call. No machinery or radios etc.

A person who has recently started working here has taken to wearing ear plugs in the office. (Think noise reducing in ear defender type things that are used by people who shoot) when asked why they said it "helps them concentrate".

Now I suppose that's fair enough but this has prompted a couple of other people to start doing the same thing, including wearing old fashioned ear defender type headsets (think 1960s headphones) that block out all external noise.

Now we have three or four (depending on the day) people who are completely cut off from everything but their screens, to the point where you have to wave a hand in front of their face if you want to offer them a tea.

It feels a bit, well, rude.

I feel sorry for the people who have to sit next to them, because they are effectively isolated from any human contact for the entire day.

I can't see it being a management issue, as I don't think they are doing anything wrong technically. But it is making some people feel uncomfortable in work.

Is this normal practice?

TBF OP they are there to work......not pander to you feeling they are being rude. Leave them to it, if they work better that way then so be it.

I used ear defenders in a previous job. It really helps block out the office and get on with the job in an open plan office. I think most clients would appreciate that.

People who wear ear plugs to block out sniffing/breathing/clicking/throat clearing etc, do you have any recommendations for which ones to get? I’m using those silicone earplug things but they’re not that good at blocking out the sniffing and constant throat clearing that two of my colleagues appear to find necessary (seriously, one sniffs on every other breath, the other clears his throat loudly every 15 seconds, I sit there almost drawing blood by gritting my teeth so hard and digging my nails into my palms)
Any suggestions on which ones to buy would be massively helpful.
Otherwise, look out for the headline about a mass murder in a south London hospital lab one day soon.

DaftCat, I use headphones and loud rock music most of the time! If you can't have music on, have a look for industrial standards noise cancelling ear plugs. My colleague chews fruit with her mouth open and it makes me simultaneously nauseated and stabby.

Why don't all the people saying they have to wave their hands / arms in front of someone's face to get their attention just go for the more socially-acceptable option of tapping them gently on the arm / shoulder? It's not that difficult (unless you're deliberately attention-seeking)

And is it getting attention for a work-related matter, or just to natter ?

I now work in Germany, where there isn't the culture of presenteeism.
I've noticed far less distraction from people wanting to chat about non-work matters

Even in professional jobs, we work the contracted weekly hours (great flexitime for both parties) and get the work done
Maybe that social difference helps explains some differences in expected working hours and productivity

I suspect presenteeism increases the psychological need for natter breaks, to de-stress, but the longer hours result in less actual work being done.

My manager had head phones on a lot it does mean I occasionally have to repeat myself or tap him on the shoulder to get his attention but it’s a non issue. I only speak to him if I really need to when his got headphones on because we’re both busy and we still chat at other times when we’re less busy.

I work from home now, but when I worked in an office I always wore headphones with white noise playing to block out background noise. My work involves long periods of concentration and holding different strands of information in my head, and it was just impossible for me to do it well while listening to five different conversations going on around me.

Open plan offices are truly stupid and awful. You couldn't pay me enough to work in one again.

My SO has misphonia and wears ear buds. It took me a long time to understand that noise really does affect him on another level, it's not the same as when I find noise slightly annoying. He'd much prefer people didn't make any noise but knows it's unreasonable. So he's doing the next best thing and blocking it out so he can get on with his work.

I can't concentrate in an open plan office without listening to some music so it blocks out the constant conversations, the photocopier and the people who don't seem to be able to eat and drink without chewing and slurping loudly all day.

daftcat I don't wear them at work, but do use Ohropax every night to block out the sound of my DH breathing/snoring. They completely muffle ambient noise but I can still sort of tell if he's talking to me -
have to remove one to actually hear it though so potentially a hazard if working in a lab?! www.amazon.co.uk/OHROPAX-Ohropax-Soft-Earplugs/dp/B000V3PZB0/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=ohropax&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1518611935&sr=8-2

Open plan offices are hell for those of us who can't tune out of noise. They're extra hell if you share with inconsiderate people, especially if those people rank higher than you.

I had a boss who would pontificate about how 'the younger generation' were always 'plugged in' to their devices and never wanted to have a proper conversation. I would have far, far preferred not to have been 'plugged in' and to have worked in peace with the odd conversation now and again, but that wasn't an option. The non-plugged option was listening to the boss crap on about his tedious political views for hours on end while the guy next to me joined in with his tedious conspiracy theories.

I work from home now and it is FANTASTIC.

I get no work done in the office because I can't block out any noise dyslexic and dyspraxic). I work at home most of the time but if I am trying to achieve something in the office I put on headphones.

I think it's a lot less rude than tell everyone to shut the f up and turn off the printer and stop walking and typing so loudly and because I can't concentrate!

This is one reason why open plan offices is such a bad idea. How are people supposed to concentrate when you are sitting in close proximity to someone else (especially when she's a shouter on the phone!)

I wear earplugs to the gym as well as some of the classes I go to are soooo loud, I'm sure it's damaging my hearing.

I work in an office which is extremely noisy. If I am doing something complicated, which I do sometimes, it is very very difficult. However, it is nice if an office is sociable. So I can see both sides to this

I think it's far more considerate to put headphones on (I don't see that it matters if they are music headphones or silent ear defenders) than to force those who like a bit of noise and chat to be silent. I have also been guilty of pretending to be in a conference call if I needed to escape from the chat though to concentrate on a budget or something though (obviously would take headphones off if someone actually had to speak to me!).

Thankyou Hun. It’s a diagnostic lab, I don’t really need to be able to hear other people. I shouldn’t really have to wear the ear buds but if they can’t learn not to make ridiculous noises then I’m going to have to.

I worked in a massive open plan office, with a terrible woman who would cackle loudly and incessantly. She was a horrific gossip and bully. We weren’t allowed headphones to listen to music, but I wish I’d thought about earplugs.
I left, took redundancy as soon as I was able. It was a mistake now, but she was unbearable. Don’t criticise their headphones, they may need them.

Another misophonic here.

Normal noises actually hurt me. I'd definitely be wearing them, even though most plugs and on-ear headphones also cause me pain.

In a perfect world, the particularly shrieky people would stop and realise how annoying they are.

I’ll stop putting my earphone in when the rest of the office agree to stop whistling, eating and all the noises associated with it (rustling, chewing, spoons clinking on bowls), tapping desks, or cups, water bottles to a drum beat while walking to the machine, shouting across the office because the are too lazy to get up, walking about on mobile phones, standing in the office discussing work or chatting in raised voices near my desk, slamming the printer when fixing a jam/chasing paper trays, talking about shite, shout/shriek or put on laughter during phone calls.

And also when my constant for 4 years tinnitus is cured.

It’s constant all day and infuriating how oblivious to the noise disruption to others that these social atmosphere generating people (who usually have fuck all to do and spend a good portion of their day chatting or surfing) create.

Sorry bad day in the office today! Not helped by people talking shite.

OMD office noise

great quote re earphones being better than murder

I really don't understand why they would annoy you unless you were constantly having to tap someone on the shoulder for work stuff - not tea making. Just leave them out of tea making.

Open plan offices are hellish but in my age group I've never really known anything else - was it ever not a norm, I mean if you aren't a senior director or something?

My son (and some of his cllassmates) wears those at school ;-)
They are even providedd by school, and I think it is great. TBH, some people can concentrate really well with bakground noise and stuff, and some people really can't. I can't see the issue with these people deciding to do what is good for them. If YOu did not have open plan office but separate rooms, nobody would be able to chat to his desk neighbour because they would not have one and nobody would feel socially "isolated for the whole day". People woudl just chat during breaks.

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I have done that in the past. I have never found earphones that block out all noise so you wouldn't ear the phone ring though.

I'm not there for a social. I'm there to work. I don't see anything rude about just saying good morning and good night to people sat next to you and nothing else all day.

It does create a barrier too. If your bored in an open plan office, it is tempting to distract the person next to you with unimportant stuff. If you have to wave in front of their face, it makes you rethink whether you actually need to speak to them.