Phone calls are part of business, and we never discourage that. What we do say is that if the call is expected to be loud, lengthy, or private, then take it to another space (another room, hallway, phone booth, or boardroom), otherwise a short, quiet, or business-related call at one's desk or couch is perfectly fine. One of our members has a voip phone on his desk and takes a team call every day for nearly an hour, but he's a relatively quiet talker, so it doesn't bother others, even those sitting right next to him.
I say to people, "we don't need to hear about your wild weekend, your personal finances, or if the person on your call can hear you now" and am quick to add that most people tune out other people's average phone calls and conversations, be they in the workspace or kitchen or lounge or boardroom with the door open and that some volume in the space is not only unavoidable but is necessary to know that there are others working around us, and that's what I've seen in most spaces I've visited. I also tell folks that coworking isn't ideal for the extremes, those that want absolute quiet and those that are on the phone constantly, and that most people fall somewhere in the middle. r. *____________________ rachel young *[email protected] On 31 January 2012 12:40, Angel Kwiatkowski <[email protected]> wrote: > >>>>What happens to those co-workers that need to take in a random skype > call or a phone call but need to be in-front of the machine OR maybe > you are one of those programmers who talks to himself why dissecting > on code. How is the noise level treated then? > You can't really expect coworkers of such nature to move into a > private room. > > I think you're underestimating people with the above statement. Noise > isn't just a push issue where some people create noise and the other > people have to tolerate it. Noise is push/pull. So, you help the > community learn how to create noise in a way that is acceptable and > not disruptive. Most of our members have laptops so they can remove > themselves for a skype call and yes, we anticipate some level of > mumbling from ANY member during periods of deep concentration. We also > say as part of the tour that Cohere doesn't work for people who need > to be on the phone more than 2 hours/day. As for the pull aspect, > members can be conditioned to work in a noisier environment by > bringing headphones, moving to a different room or staying home if > they need total quiet. It may also be that a certain member just isn't > a great fit for the noise (or non-noise) level in your space and they > can be encouraged to find a space that's a great fit for their needs > and preferences. > > Angel > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en.
