So, to be clear, your suggestion is—having no personal space, no quiet area, a constantly shifting work environment, for what is presumably a programming profession in a field dominated by introverts, and the poster stating this is a problem to the extent that escape seems a viable alternative—that the source of his or her stress is some unmentioned, unrelated personal problem.

I'm suggesting it's a possibility worth considering.

Since he's also permanently annoyed outside work, non work factors fit the data.

Not a source but a huge multiplier of the effects of stress is a lack of sleep.

It is also not uncommon for overcrowding to cause stress and irritation. Some people really do need lots of quiet personal space and time alone.

Can you provide some research that backs up your claim here? Quiet, distraction-free spaces (libraries) for studying / working have been around roughly forever. Are you suggesting that these spaces provide no tangible benefit, and the millions of people who utilize quiet spaces for concentration are somehow mentally invalid?

I commend you on the achievement of reaching a state of mental nirvana that allows you to concentrate equally in chaotic and quiet environments - very impressive. I would venture to say that the vast majority of the population will never reach this state.

You seem to have read my disclaimer "There is a fair chance that..." as "It is absolutely certain that...".

Or it is actually the noise. For some people that is really how it is - I am one one of them

I don't think that's true to be honest; sensory overstimulation is a thing with a lot of people, and workspaces should adjust to it accordingly. (there's also sensory processing disorder where it can get so bad people have a breakdown in the grocery store) However, there is also understimulation - some people can't work in a quiet office, as the article itself also points out.

Long story short, a workspace has to cater to multiple different people - shocking, I know.

> There is a fair chance that your core annoyance is something else.

People desiring quiet places or isolation to think isn't a particularly new phenomenon, so there's a good chance that this is the core problem.

That said there's a lot of things that can add stress and in isolation this one particular one might not be too bad. But then it becomes an optimization problem, there are many sources of stress that are hard or difficult to solve but the work environment is low hanging fruit and easy to solve so we focus on that.

This is why touring the office is an important part of a job interview, the places with a good environment will be happy to show you around. Fortunately some companies are so clueless they'll even advertise their modern open plan office, you don't even need to apply to those.

YMMV. I can relate. When I'm stressed for various non-noise related reasons, I am more easily irritated by noises, and I usually, initially, assume it's the noise.

On the opposite note, I can perform extremely well in noisey environments if I am enjoying what I am doing - like I am able to just tune it out.

Circumstance and other stressors may be a main factor, or it could just be the noise. I imagine it really depends on the person.

In my case, the underlying core annoyance is the lack of deep understanding of my tools. But that isn’t possible to solve without sustained attention.