Controlling your sound environment

Rebecca Knight, writing for the Harvard Business Review, has produced a few “survival strategies” for those who work in an acoustically uncomfortable environment. She was assisted by Karen Dillon, author of the HBR Guide to Office Politics, and David Burkus, an associate professor (US)außerordentliche(r) Professor(in)associate professor at Oral Roberts University.

1. See the positive side

Dillon recommends trying to “to embrace sth.etw. positiv annehmenembrace the open office concept by focusing on the positives, ‘the bondinghier: Intensivierung von Beziehungenbonding’, and downplaying the negatives”. She adds that you don’t want to be to label sb. sth.hier: jmdn. als etw. abstempelnlabelled “difficult”.

2. Speak up

“Have a conversation with your team about how you can all work optimally in an open office,” Burkus suggests. However, he recommends first speaking to your manager so that the discussion comes from leadership. As a team, your goal is to come up with norms that you can all agree on and stick to.

3. Invest in headphones

Dillon recommends buying a set of noise-cancelling headphones for those times when you are working on something that requires deep concentration. Headphones also “serve as a visual cueHinweiscue to your colleagues that you are not to be disturbed unless it’s absolutely necessary”.

4. Move around the office or leave the office

“You should take full advantage of empty conference rooms, semi-private cubicleArbeitsplatz (in einem Großraumbüro)cubicles and quiet alcoveNischealcoves,” suggests Burkus. Ask your manager if you can work somewhere else for a while, such as the cafe across the street. Burkus says this is an easier request than asking to work from home, making it more difficult to refuse.