I don't even know what to call this thread

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Hmmm...I just did a quick google search and the results from what I could find of research over "people's opinions" seems to be decidedly undecided. There does appear to be evidence that suggests that certain kinds of music can boost both productivity and creativity.

I wouldn't say it's discrimination because some people, me for example, would find the music in the background very irritating and difficult to work with. Thats because of my neurological conditions. I've got an easier solution to this problem for myself though, I either use earphones (as I do need music on the bus) and I work with animals rather than people and they just make squeaking noises!

Yes it can for example in retail it's almost a necessity, but it's task specific, and person specific.

So....it is perhaps possible that you mis-spoke when you said that listening to music was bad for my coworkers...perhaps they are like me?

I have a graduate degree in I/O Psych. Apparently I did not pay close enough attention when they discussed HFE...or maybe I didn't listen to music while studying! LOL!

The only thing that squicks me here is how she "polled" people on how "professional" the music is. A question like that asks mainly what you think OTHERS think about it, and not whether it bothers YOU specifically. I would be way more willing to accommodate people not liking the music (by using headphones) if someone simply stated that music bothered her and she can't close the door for whatever reason, rather than talked about it being "unprofessional!"

It could be that it doesn't bother anyone, yet everyone thinks it does! I would try asking her if the music bothers her specifically, rather than any opinion on third parties.

You should point out to her that many places of business play music on the overhead speakers, even in offices. It's hardly unprofessional. Most places I've worked have had a radio on and many radio stations mention things about playing them at work and many people call in from work and many have give aways during the work day for things like catered lunches to your office for all the coworkers.

Either way it sounds like she's being a b*tch about it. If it's causing a problem because of her, do you think you could use a fan instead? I like to have background noise too and a fan is what I usually keep on.

Also, I've worked in places where people had radios on their desks and played things softly.

As for unprofessional, maybe you should ask her if surgeons are unprofessional because every time I've ever been in the ER, the surgeon plays the radio, CD, etc.

my question in such a situation would be "what does the boss think about it?".

I have worked in many different offices and not once have I seen anyone playing music except with earphones.

I would say it is unprofessional, but if this was already agreed by your co-workers and the boss is fine, then why is this woman making a big deal of it? Perhaps she has issues with the music and maybe she is on the spectrum too?

Regardless of whether or not she should tell you what to do or if she has the right to tell you what to do, the fact is your music disrupts her. You need music to concentrate. A compromise must be reached. Are headphones such a bad thing? You can get a cheap pair of wireless ones so you can still walk around with them on.

If I needed music and I was working in an office, I would automatically use headphones (and in fact I used to when listening to the radio at work). It's just good manners regardless of whether other people have said they don't mind it. They might just be being polite. Her shutting her door is a bigger ask than you playing music, I think. It's boring working in an office on your own. She probably likes being able to communicate with your colleagues, feel part of the office etc.

There's a difference between catering to your needs without ostracising her and ignoring her needs in place of yours. Yes, you have a disability and needs that must be catered to but it doesn't mean her feelings should be ignored.

She is the most typical of all typical people I have ever met. In fact, when I need to "channel" someone else's behavior to help me manage a difficult social interaction, I usually try to model myself after her. And the others choose to listen to music even when I am not there, so I don't think they are just saying it is OK because they want to be nice. Most of the time, it isn't even me who turns on the music.

So, then, it appears that most people posting here feel that even if 4 people want to listen to music, one of whom needs to, and one person doesn't, then the preferences of the one is what matters, presumably because it falls within the "norm" of office behavior? To be honest, I think her issue is not really with the music, but with her insistence that music is "unprofessional" much like having my overhead light off even when no one else is around. She is a very "appearances" oriented person and is very concerned with appearance, sometimes even moreso than content.

I honestly do not understand it, but if that is what most people say, then I must assume there is merit to it. Or is it that most people can empathize with someone being distracted by music, whereas no one can really empathize with my inability to deal with silence?

you ever seen office space?
ever watched milton waddams?
(use headphones to avoid this)

for the music thing, just explain that you can hear sounds constantly, you can't turn it off, it's not that they're *necessarily* louder, it's that every cough, every pin drop, every pattern of sound that everyone in the office makes when writing with their pen, every keytap...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plPNhooUUuc
- explain that that level of sensory input is what you feel in a "quiet" office

and then go on listing listing listing

white noise/predictable audio things, type stuff, you have cat hearing, everything is a distraction

"what do you hear? everything. all at once, constantly, unless a discernable pattern is found I am distracted, music is a discernable pattern"


http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/Sen ... sorder.htm

Auditory problems in autism.
Many people with autism have one or more of these auditory problems. These problems can leave the child unable to concentrate properly as extraneous sounds constantly impinge upon him. Thus when listening to others the child may hear a single word or two or even a simple sentence but longer sentences may be 'broken up' by intruding background noises and the meaning lost: as it is if you try to listen to a badly tuned radio.

Some certainly have hyperacusis as did Georgiana Stehli (diagnosed with autism as a child). She was so badly affected by some sounds that, as she told her mother, 'The sound was the only thing that drove me crazy because I was so scared . . . and sound was going on all the time. It was hard to get away from it. ………….' (Stehli 1990, p.188)

Small wonder that such problems can lead him to avoid, run away from, or block out the noises he dislikes - blocking out many important sounds as well and thereby losing a valuable aid to learning and communication.

Because sound can be heard through office doors.
It's easier for the person who wants music to make sure it's only heard by themselves (headphones) than it is for the person who doesn't want it to block it out.

It don't matter if your co workers workers may need it too. I may need wheel chair parking, don't mean I can until I can get something in writing.

Sorry, but I have to agree with her. I'm extremely easily distracted and need complete silence to get work done. Shutting the door won't make it quiet enough even if the music is low. So you don't wanna hear this, but yeah earphones sounds like a good solution. it won't cost you anything, but she can't work the way it is now.

You still haven't said why you can't use headphones?

Wearing headphones all day can damage your hearing, plus it can interfere with things like knowing when people enter the room, the phone rings, etc. Therefore, if you need to have music on all day to work, headphones probably aren't the greatest idea.

On the other hand, if a neurotypical (I'm not just referring to people without autism, but also without any neurological disability) closes their door, it won't interfere with their hearing at all.