Ask HN: Of Introverts, the Open Office, and ADHD

6 pointsalansmitheebk9y ago10 comments

I am one of those people who detests the open office. I find them noisy and distracting. Even with headphones on I am distracted by the movement around me and the feeling the I am in a fishbowl being looked at from outside. I've read a lot of articles and rants about the open office posted on HN.

I've recently been reading about ADHD and I', starting to wonder if my difficulties may have more to do with ADHD than being an introvert.I don't know if I have ADHD. I'm 40. I wasn't diagnosed with it as a kid but I don't know if people knew much about it then. I do remember constantly daydreaming, loosing things and forgetting to do my homework as a child.

Can anyone relate to this? Does anyone have any insight on this? I apologize for the incoherent nature of this post.

6 pointsalansmitheebk9y ago10 comments

Can anyone relate to this? Does anyone have any insight on this? I apologize for the incoherent nature of this post.

10 comments

10 comments · 7 top-level

exolymph9y ago· 3 in thread

You don't have to have ADHD to hate open offices and find that setup distracting, but it's certainly a possible factor. I know this is boring / dissatisfying advice but going to a doctor could probably add more context to your self-assessment.

cylinder9y ago

We should start pushing to get private workspaces by seeing ADHD as a disability

alansmitheebkOP9y ago

I think ADHD is actually considered a disability. However, most people probably wouldn't be comfortable telling their boss that they have ADHD. If your ADHD having a negative impact on your performance and you're about to get fired revealing your disability might save you from losing your job. However, I don't imagine being known as the ADHD guy is going to brighten your prospects for future promotions.

alansmitheebkOP9y ago

Thank you. I think I needed to hear that.

dudul9y ago

"I do remember constantly daydreaming, loosing things and forgetting to do my homework as a child."

Oh, you mean you were behaving like a child?

I don't have ADHD and I hate open spaces.

anexprogrammer9y ago

I'd start by comparing yourself against the Adult ADHD scale: http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/ncs/ftpdir/adhd/18Q_ASRS_Engl...

It's more than just distractability.

Hating open offices is pretty common, ADHD or not, extrovert or not, as they tend to kill concentration.

threesixandnine9y ago

I don't have ADHD and am extrovert but still hate open office. When I work I want to work.

samblr9y ago

I agree on open-offices being distractive - had worked on a work-shelf kind of environment where we could easily elbowed adjacent person without moving an inch from chair. And the division was 'research' oriented! This was because it was a prime location. No wonder most wanted to work from home or do most of their design kind of work in conference rooms. Main reasons I see open office environment is - they want to save up on real-estate. So most of times its hidden and given fancy names.

borplk9y ago

Yup I can relate a lot.

Since I started working for myself from home the difference has been night and day.

I hope I can survive on my own for the longterm because the thought of having to go back to yet another office, especially an open one irritates me.

One of the things that I found as an introvert is that being around people all day exhausted me so much that by evening I was just all numb.

I had to isolate myself for the entire weekend just to recharge enough for the next week.

So I would get into this never ending cycle of kind of wasting my weekends.

wingerlang9y ago

I've probably got some mild form of ADHD (and going by the link posted I'm definitely in the area). I'm also an introvert and I work in an open office.

I'm not sure how a normal office would work though, seems like I would go crazy in one of those.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

10 comments

10 comments · 7 top-level

exolymph9y ago· 3 in thread

cylinder9y ago

We should start pushing to get private workspaces by seeing ADHD as a disability

alansmitheebkOP9y ago

Thank you. I think I needed to hear that.

dudul9y ago

"I do remember constantly daydreaming, loosing things and forgetting to do my homework as a child."

Oh, you mean you were behaving like a child?

I don't have ADHD and I hate open spaces.

anexprogrammer9y ago

I'd start by comparing yourself against the Adult ADHD scale: http://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/ncs/ftpdir/adhd/18Q_ASRS_Engl...

It's more than just distractability.

Hating open offices is pretty common, ADHD or not, extrovert or not, as they tend to kill concentration.

threesixandnine9y ago

I don't have ADHD and am extrovert but still hate open office. When I work I want to work.

samblr9y ago

borplk9y ago

Yup I can relate a lot.

Since I started working for myself from home the difference has been night and day.

I hope I can survive on my own for the longterm because the thought of having to go back to yet another office, especially an open one irritates me.

One of the things that I found as an introvert is that being around people all day exhausted me so much that by evening I was just all numb.

I had to isolate myself for the entire weekend just to recharge enough for the next week.

So I would get into this never ending cycle of kind of wasting my weekends.

wingerlang9y ago

I've probably got some mild form of ADHD (and going by the link posted I'm definitely in the area). I'm also an introvert and I work in an open office.

I'm not sure how a normal office would work though, seems like I would go crazy in one of those.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse