Catchy Converations

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Strolling into the SPR office each morning you don’t quite know what to expect. I find it similar to playing Roulette, it’s anyone’s guess what will happen. Take for example, last Tuesday. It was a peaceful time at the station; it felt like few were in attendance. Then the blackout occurred. With the station without juice for nearly an hour, it was interesting to see how the noise level escalated as people emerged out of their offices, some of which I still have no clue where they're located. Even with the computer monitors turned black and the sound of typing hushed, the noise of multiple conversations still echoed. All the action focused to the lobby and the studios, thanks in part to a generator that kept the lights on. One of the first perceptions I had when I first started interning at the station was the welcoming environment, where it seemed that striking up a conversation was effortless. Now I wouldn't go as far as to say that its like the Who’s in the Grinch Stole Christmas after they all got robbed, but it’s great to see all the interactions that occur each day between staff. I know it’s a consensus that some days it can be distracting and just when you think that nobody will be in for the day that everyone suddenly does arrive and the decibels start to rise. According to a Cornell study just recently released that looked at 40 clerical workers, the impact of low level office noise dramatically reduces productivity (it’s true). Those studied in a noisy environment made forty percent fewer attempts to solve an unsolvable puzzle and made half as many ergonomic adjustments to their workstations. (I always knew Rubik cubes were unsolvable puzzles). One thing the researchers noticed was that the subjects typing wasn’t affected. While a quiet environment would be great, apparently I have no excuses when it comes to typing blog posts. My slowness is probably related more to the archaic hunt and peck method of typing I use.
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As far as my perfect work environment, I wouldn’t have it any other way than to have a sporadic mixture of conversation and noise. It makes every day a new adventure.
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