Even in the best of work environments you’re bound to run into a noisy coworker from time to time. Everyone works differently, and what might seem appropriate to some personality types might get on the nerves of others.
Coworking spaces are flexible and provide the amenities needed for professionals all across the board. Most professionals paying for these spaces have an understanding that loud chatting should be reserved for the designated lounge areas, but this etiquette does occasionally slip through the cracks.
If the disturbance only lasts a few minutes, you may be able to just let it roll off your shoulders. However, if your noisy coworker carries on throughout the day there are some tactful solutions you may wish to try out.
In this post, we'll fill you in on some solutions that will help you to keep your cool!
1. Phone Booths
One of the absolute best ways to deal with coworking noise is to solve the challenge with phone booths! If you’re picturing the classic British glass and red paint, that’s often not the case. Phone booths for coworking spaces are typically a little more like this. They’re often specially designed, 1-3 person workspaces made to offer privacy and separation without being a completely separate office space.
They come in many shapes and sizes, from prefabricated booths to DIY projects that can be built into the coworking space alongside any other amenities. Across the board, however, they tend to serve a very similar purpose. Privacy and noise isolation.
Most booths are built with privacy and quiet in mind, so they’re usually soundproof and built to comfortably seat one or two people for things like interviews, private calls, or video meetings. Depending on how advanced the booth is, it may even offer electrical outlets, a ventilation system, or other features aimed at sustaining longer use.
2. Try Politely Talking it Out
If the coworking space you’re working in doesn’t have phone booths available, there are still plenty of other ways you can handle potential noise problems. Here are a few ideas to help out, the first being pretty obvious: just try asking.The idea of confronting a coworker might make you uncomfortable at first, but clear, respectful communication can go a long way. In most cases, it will get you much further than a passive-aggressive approach and you might be surprised by how positively people respond to your request.
Rather than a cold and to the point "could you please be quiet", try offering a more sincere request by giving some detail about what it is that you are doing and why it's important that you are able to focus.
If the distracting conversation doesn’t appear to be directly related to a task at hand, and seems to just be casual, try kindly recommending that they take it to one of the areas designated for socializing.
3. Noise Canceling Headphones
If you're not the type to strike up a conversation with people and prefer to take a more indirect approach - noise-canceling headphones are great to have on hand. They also make a great back up in the event that you've tried to request that people quite down without success.
Plenty of people utilizing coworking spaces take advantage of headphones to improve their ability to focus, or simply because they just enjoy being able to listen to music while they take care of their work, so there is no need to worry about appearing standoffish.
Over-ear headphones tend to be more comfortable and often have superior noise-canceling capacity, but there are plenty of in-ear models that will work perfectly well. After all, you're going to be in a coworking space, so the amount of noise cancellation that you'll need should be minimal.
Just be sure to check out the reviews to ensure that you're investing in a pair that you'll be able to wear for prolonged periods without discomfort!
4. Take Advantage of Private Office Options
Many coworking spaces, like ours, also offer professionals the option of private office space in addition to group work space at super reasonable rates when compared to what a "traditional" private office would cost to rent out. This is a great option if your budget allows for a variety of reasons.
First and foremost, you get your own private space where you don't have to worry about outside stimuli distracting you during your work. Secondly, you can still join the community in the group workspaces when you have projects that have softer deadlines and don't require super strict focus.
A private office within a coworking space truly offers the best of both worlds and optimum control over your work environment.
Coworking at Ranch Office
The people that choose Ranch Office as their coworking space are as varied and active as their careers, but they’re also fairly typically respectful of their coworkers. Common courtesy and a comfortable working environment are critical for successful coworking spaces, so you won’t have to worry about too much excess noise in general!
If you're looking for a space that can provide you with a great atmosphere with a quiet environment when you need one here in the Houston area, look no further. Best of all, when you do finally hit your deadline and can relax and unwind, we have fresh locally brewed beer available to help you celebrate!
All of our coworking memberships allow for 24/7 access to our kitchen space, too. So, you'll even be able to make yourself something to eat between client calls.
To learn more about what we have to offer, and to see more of the perks that come with coworking with us check out this page.