Use Your Inside Voice

Summary

The article discusses the challenges of working from home, particularly the issue of noise disturbance between the author and their spouse due to the lack of sound-absorbent features in residential spaces and the use of headsets and Zoom meetings.

Abstract

The author, who works from home alongside their spouse, highlights the difficulty of maintaining a quiet work environment due to the design of residential spaces, which lack the sound-absorbing features of traditional offices. The use of headsets and participation in Zoom meetings without proper vocal feedback leads to individuals speaking louder to compensate for perceived hearing difficulties. This has resulted in the author having to wear earphones to block out the noise from their spouse's calls, despite being separated by two closed doors and a bookcase. The article is a response to a previous piece on work-related pet peeves and references other related stories.

Opinions

The author expresses frustration with the lack of sound insulation in their home office setup.
There is an evident annoyance with the behavior of talking louder when using headsets and Zoom, as it disrupts the author's work environment.
The author implies that the design of home offices should be improved to better accommodate remote work scenarios.
The article suggests that vocal feedback from telephones is superior to digital communication tools for maintaining appropriate speaking volumes.

My work-related pet peeve

My husband and I now both work from home. Currently, our offices are right next door, in bedrooms #2 and #3 of our house.

Offices are designed to minimize sound. They have sound-absorbent ceiling tiles. Cubicles are lined with sound-absorbent cloth padding.

Houses are not.

We learned to communicate at a distance with clients and coworkers using the telephone. With a telephone, we can hear our own voices, and modulate the sound based on that feedback.

Now, we use headsets and Zoom meetings. We get no vocal feedback. If it’s hard for us to hear someone, we assume they can’t hear us. And talk louder. AND LOUDER. AND LOUDER.

I have to wear my own earphones because two closed doors and a wall of bookcases isn’t enough to block the sound of his calls.

A response to:

My favorite Brain is a Noodle story from last week:

One of mine that needs more love:

Use Your Inside Voice

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