Shared Office Space and White Noise - A Toe-Tapper, A Candy Wrapper...A Knuckle Puncher

My previous shared office space was in an awesome loft building in trendy SOHO, NY. While the space was awesome, it was situated in an old building and the wood floors were somewhat creaky.

I am not sure if the guy a few desks in front of me was trying out for the Tap Dance Kid or he was getting ready to take over drums for Neil Peart of Rush, either way, he was a compulsive toe-tapper. From the minute he sat down, to the minute he left for the day, his foot was going.

Step back a few years earlier and the star of the "annoying show" was played by the famous "candy wrapper", a.k.a the guy who only purchased candy covered in loud wrappers. And much like "toe tapper", "candy wrapper" was busy doing his thing ALL DAY LONG.

The part of Knuckle Puncher would have been played by me, luckily I was able to control myself. Therefore we will just chalk up knuckle puncher to a character that only made the cutting room floor.

Conclusion: Quiet workplaces need office white noise systems (Follow this link to a pretty funny post explaining the need for white noise by Dudley B. Dawson of the Examiner)

White noise machines are small, compact devices that emit a gentle “humming” sound, much like that of a fan. The white noise machine's hum is actually composed of every sound audible to the human ear, so that any one individual sound in the environment is “absorbed” into the white noise machines sound. This phenomenon is similar to the way in which one individual voice is indistinguishable from that of a large crowd. 

Content Source: sleepwell

Whether you're a space holder or an entrepreneur/small business looking to move into a shared office space, you really need to consider the acoustics and potential for distractions. Over time these little annoyances can add up to hours of lost production for everyone sharing the space.

Even a simple white noise system can help to increase everyone's focus within an office space. Here are a few resources for white noise systems:

Ear Plug Superstore

Avlelec

Sound Machines Direct

By the way, if you happen to know "toe-tapper" or "candy-wrapper" please keep this post quiet. I would hate to be forced to drag "knuckle-puncher" out of retirement.

Related Posts

Shared Office Space Part 1 | An Entrepreneurs Perspective 

Shared Office Space Part 2 | A Space Holders Perspective

Comments

[office sublet nyc]

Thanks for the suggestion. I think it's the job of the office to check first on the structures you're working with before moving in. You can also let your employees check on it because they're the one working there.

-jed

[Blake Mitchell]

In a room with a huge are of office space, even a simple hum can be heard by everyone, leading them to be disoriented a bit. But, it doesn't mean that making a sound is detrimental to one's progress, but repetition is. Though, in our office in Fairfax, making noises and talking is fully encouraged, since our line of work needs us to be sociable and entertain each other as possible, or else, stress will raise through the roof.

[Faye Acklin]

Admit it or not, but oftentimes we get distracted by the noisy colleagues especially in a shared office space environment. There are lots of ways that we can do in order for us to stay focused even in a noisy environment. Here in our office in Charlotte, NC, the spaces from one area to another is enough for us not to get disturbed.

[Minneapolis HVAC Services]

The white noise sounds interesting, no pun intended. I can't help but think of the movie and feel creeped out. You possibly move the furniture around near adjoining walls to dampen the sounds though, but this is just a quick fix.

[Faye Acklin]

Wow! What a beautiful office you have there. It's very elegant and spacious. It surely fits you.