Conference 7.286::digital

    
    I think that you'd have to define your idea of quiet a little more.
    I mean, if you work in the library, then of course you have the
    right to quiet.  However, if you work in a machine shop, then good
    luck!
    
    But, if I read your note correctly, then a person certainly has the
    right to work in an area that is realativly free of excess noise.
    In other words, if people are shouting around your office area or
    playing a radio too loud for you to concentrate on your job; and
    you ask them (nicely) to hold down the conversation or to lower
    the volume on thier radio, they should comply with your wishes.
    That's just common decentcy(sp?)
    
    Tim  
    
     

RE: .0

If we had the right to a quiet environment then Digital would provide
its employees with offices and doors.  Since we get cubicles where
you can listen in to phone conversations 3 rows away it is certain
that you/we do not have a right to quiet.

John

    I used to work in a group that issued head phones (noise prevention
    not music playing :-)) to anyone who asked. I still have mine and
    use them regularly.

    Of course noise is relative. Here in the quiet of my room at home
    the fan in this Rainbow is down right deafening. I'd never notice
    it over the ambient noise in the average office. In fact in a room
    with no other noise a VT241 sounds loud.

    			Alfred

    Re: .0
    
    I find that having a walkman-type device and a pair of headphones lets
    me tune out from office noise completely.  (Of course, that's not
    exactly quiet, but it masks distracting conversations or noises around
    me).
    
    --Pat

Well, I guess this is a fitting place to tell this story since headphones
have been mentioned.

At a recent customer site, I was noticed by some, I guess I have to say
"unfriendlies", wearing a headphone.  Comments were made to the effect "AND HE
LISTENS TO A WALKMAN TOO" (implication = @ $125/hr).

I was in a difficult situation consulting (PSS) to a VERY unpopular customer
manager (unpopular to the faculty members he was servicing and to the new
system manager he had hired). I was perceived as not making fast enough
progress in solving the problems, I guess by everyone.  After the fact it
appears that the unpopular manager had no reason to explain what was going on,
at least initially.  It probably was in his interest to demonstrate that an
independent expert was having a problem with his system too - since the
previous (and apparently knowledgeable) system manager had quit on him. The
problems revolved around a lack of proper VAX system management because he
himself had developed little technical knowledge over two years and now he was
paying for it. The problems were rubbing off onto me. 

Although they didn't make use of it, it turns out I was wearing the customer's
own BOOM-MIKE TELEPHONE HEADSET during many calls to CSC - the only music was
supplied by their hold system!  Being an old pilot and used to such things I
finally found one that worked well. 

THE MESSAGE FOR THIS NOTE IS THAT PROPERLY USED THESE THINGS CAN CUT DOWN
CROSS-CUBICAL WORK INTERFERENCE, to say nothing about having both hands free
for the keyboard.  This is because you can speak more softly into an up close
sensitive microphone than you can into a regular telephone handset - and there
is less ambient noise pickup (pilot instructor experience talking here).  But
be careful, impressions set by such things in some work settings can be very
damaging! 

Fred

PS:  ONE of the problems eventually solved was NOT to set a CPU time limit of
5 minutes on accounts (these were college student accounts) using VMS
Workstations (DECwindows).  The login screen accumulates CPU time while it is
doing "nothing" overnight, then passes this time on to the next user to log in.
The terminal hangs up until either DECwindows is restarted or the system is
rebooted.  It will usually accumulate 5 minutes overnight!

<And whoever in DEC has heard ever of using a CPU time limit on VMS accounts?> 

BTW, Radio Shack has what looks to be a new good telephone boom-mike headset in
their new catalog for $50.  I have one on order for my personal use - yes, at
other customer sites.  Talk about being a glutton for punishment. 
    

.0>    Exactly what rights does an employee have? I know he/she has the right

	Ideally, you should have the right to a working environment free
    of unnecessary health hazards.

-mike z

    This issue is a sensitive one to me.  I am one of three Digital
    assignees at SEMATECH in Austin, Texas.  We also havea cubicle
    environment as in Hudson - Digital's Semicoductor Headquarters.  We
    have a very nice 'phonemail' system.  They also gave us brand new
    phones - speaker phones.  Not a smart move considering no one - not
    even top level managers - have private offices.  However, we have
    several mini-conference rooms on each floor that are almost available.
    
    Despite the ability to grab one of these offices for a speakerphone
    conference call - many are completely insensitive to the noise they add
    to their neighbors environment.
    
    Noise is additive in that you may not notice it but it does 'get to
    you' as another form of stress.  The less noise and the less it
    interferes with your ability to do your job the better.  There's
    nothing we can do about the many forms of noise around: the computer
    terminal's fan, the clicking of the keyboard, the phone conversations,
    the 'live' conversations.
    
    But, there are many things we can all do to reduce the noise levels. 
    If you know that you need to talk to a few people, yet you also know
    that your neighbor is working on a technical report - go grab a
    conference room or other location like the cafeteria.  R - E - S - P -
    E - C - T   your neighbors a<nd be aware of the noise you are causing.
    
    I am currently not getting that respect even from my own boss - who in
    my special case - is not a Digital employee.  As my boss, you'd think
    he would do everything he could to help my performance.  But he's a
    great guy to work for in many ways - he doesn't understand this one
    concept even I've brought it up to him.  ( In fact, he was taken aback
    and rude when I asked him to listen to his phonemail messages with his
    headset not on his speaker! )
    
    Office space is much easier to build and modify in a cubicle
    environment - and lower cost.  Some feel it enhances communication in a
    group as opposed to getting separated in their own offices.
    
    JO'R

    This business of sensitivity to people wearing headphones has some
    interesting psychological aspects (amateur speaking here).

    My wife gets mad a me sometimes when I wear them at home.

    I have noticed impatience in myself when I speak to someone and do not
    get a nearly instantaneous response or expression of interest in what I
    was saying.  No one likes a blank stare at a comment or question - and
    they are also annoyed because they know they will have to repeat while
    you are taking them off.

    That must be part of why she gets mad at me - and why at least some
    folks do not want to wear them when others are around.  Afraid of
    offending perhaps, in a strange way; but it does not seem to apply
    inversely such as where another individual does not care how he
    intrudes on someone elses quiet zone, as in the case of using a
    speakerphone instead of headphones (and just as well shouting when it
    has to be obvious that it is disturbing others).

    It does not happen in an airplane cockpit because there are only two
    people and both are very interested in communicating over the ambient
    noise (expert speaking here).

    Maybe that is why I (and many others) work best in one-on-one
    situations. 

    Fred
    

    The office should not be a social club.  I wear headphones at my cube
    during the working day in order to drown out the conversations around
    me, many of which have no particular relevance to the work at hand.  These
    are especially bothersome as they generally get loud quickly.  Once
    some 5 years ago I had to stand and request the individuals who were
    dribbling a basketball in the area to please take it outside.  Even
    the headphones couldn't drown this one out.
    
    re: -.1  Impatience.
    
    I am no less annoyed when working on a task to be interrupted,
    than you describe others annoyance in waiting for the headphones to
    be removed.  Why is their interruption more important than my thought
    process?  In fact, it generally is not more important, yet it 
    happens regularly.  Etiquette in the office demands that we accommodate
    social interaction and respect others need to privacy to perform the
    function for which they are paid.  The use of headphones (for me)
    is a necessary part of the work week.  The use of etiquette (for all
    of us) should be also.
    
    

    I'll list a few rights I think I have in addition to a smoke-free
    workplace.
    
         * A quiet, non-distracting environment.
    
         * An individual workspace I can call mine, i.e., unshared cubicle.
    
         * Periodic, open and honest performance evaluation.
    
         * The tools to do my job.
    
         * Freedom from being bothered by small children brought in the
           office.

    re: Cubicles

    In a prior non-Digital life, I found that higher cubicle walls, padded
    to deaden noise, significantly reduced noise over lower ones -- the ones
    you can look over. It also prevented people "talking" (shouting) across
    the floor, since they could no longer see each other. The higher cubicle
    walls also significantly enhanced the sense of privacy that people had.

    Also [I forget where we were discussing lighting], we removed the
    standard translucent plastic panels and replaced them with the open
    "silvered grid" ones, where the grid cross section is wedge-shaped,
    wider on top, to reflect light downward.  These significantly reduced
    glare, did not reflect on screens like the transluscent panels, and
    greatly improved the look of the office.  We also replaced all the bulbs
    with warm fluorescents.

    /Peters

Re .9: Surely you're not saying that no one should "interrupt" anyone 
who's wearing headphones in his or her office, are you? I don't
see headphones as the equivalent of having a "Do not disturb" sign up.

If I came to your office with a work-related question or matter to be
discussed and you were sitting there wearing headphones, I'd politely
get your attention, wait for you to remove the headphones or otherwise
indicate you were ready, and then say what I came to say. It wouldn't
bother me that you were wearing headphones, but I'd think that it wouldn't
bother you to be so "interrupted" any more than if you were sitting there
without headphones.

In other words, I wouldn't put your wearing headphones in the same category
as if you were on the phone or talking with someone else when I came -- in
these latter cases, I'd leave and come back later (unless it was particularly
urgent to talk with you then).

(Anyone else care to comment? Am I off base or on target as far as modern
office etiquette is concerned?)

    No, Chuck, you're not off base.  You're right on.
    
    Mark.

re: .12, .13

I think it's perfectly reasonable for someone to wish not to be interrupted
while working.  If wearing headphones is his or her way of posting a "do
not disturb" sign on the door, that seems reasonable too.  As was stated
earlier, why should someone assume that his interruption is more important
that the interruptee's thought process?  We often tend not to interrupt someone
who is busy with another person for fear of offending the other person,
not the person he is busy with.  I've seen occasional examples of people
posting their offices with "degrees of interruptability."  This too 
is reasonable.  
I've known far more examples of people sequestering themselves in conference
rooms or other peoples' offices so they couldn't be found and interrupted
as easily. Of course, such self-blockading can be taken to extremes,
and "extremes" are defined differently for different people with different
needs and expectations.

Part of the answer is setting expectations among and with your co-workers 
about how amenable you are to interruptions, and under what conditions.

But these are really etiquette questions, not quiet workplace questions...

- tom]

	For me wearing headphones (other then music playing ones) is
	the same as putting out a "Do Not Disturb" sign. It doesn't
	mean don't bother me with a work issue but it does mean I
	don't invite casual chit-chat. If I was open to being interrupted
	for every little thing I'd keep the headphones in my desk.

	On the other hand if I put out a real "Do not Disturb" sign that 
	means it better be real important before you interrupt me. Some 
	people ignore the sign though which really bugs me. I don't put it 
	out causally. Those interruptions are what cause me to work from home 
	from time to time when "it absolutely has to get done."

	One group I worked in didn't have signs but it was understood
	that if someone had a string across their cubicle opening it
	meant "Do Not Disturb". It seemed to work out pretty well.


			Alfred	

  Here are two more rights to peace and quiet that people in offices should
have:
1. They should be separated by full height walls from any area that has a high
noise level, such as a manufacturing area.
2. All office areas should have carpets on the floor. Real carpets (not the
1/4" thick tiles that look like carpets) are quite effective in reducing
noise.
  I'm an engineer. I had to work for a year in an office environment where
both of the above "rights" were not provided, and it was not fun.

    You're probably wondering why I wrote the base note.Here's why: Where
    my cube is located,I am constantly forced to listen to several people
    located nearby crack up and talk loud.(nothing to do with business)
    It's annoying and it makes it hard to concentrate.Maybe I should just
    get headphones,huh?

    See COOKIE::CD for revirws of several portable CD players: I recommend
    the D25.

    
    I wear earplugs.  There is 60 tons of air conditioning equipt. less
    than 30 feet from me.  I have a amplified fone in the computer room.
    On the days I talk on the phone "pri-analyst ;-)" I wear a headset 
    that I got out of the garbage bin. 
    
    I was a jet mech for 8 years and then I worked on Locomotives for
    10 years.  Quiet in the workplace......
                                  
    

    I used earphones when standing in as resource controlling cover.
    My head must be very small coz I could never get em tight enough
    to cut out extraneous noises!.
    
    I hated em, only advantage I can see in them is that you can
    gesticulate (check spelling) much better with two hands than
    one in an open plan environment!!!!!
    (you can also pen a message to any colleague trying to get aword in
    edgeways!!!)