Re:Google doesn’t want employees working remotely anymore
by midoridensha on Thursday June 08, 2023 @03:35AM
(#36238482)
Cubicles obviously aren't soundproof of course, but they're normally made with cloth-covered walls that do a pretty good job of absorbing sound, so offices filled with cubicles tend to be fairly quiet, and conversations don't travel far.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:Google doesn’t want employees working remotely anymore
by data_maan on Thursday June 08, 2023 @03:56AM
(#36238610)
Maybe in Japan...
Re:Google doesn’t want employees working remotely anymore
by midoridensha on Thursday June 08, 2023 @04:25AM
(#36238831)
If you think the laws of physics are different in different countries, I can't help you.
Re:Google doesn’t want employees working remotely anymore
by sanitycheck on Thursday June 08, 2023 @09:20AM
(#36241413)
I think it's a reference to acceptable behaviour in different cultures. Tokyo station in rush hour is surprisingly quiet even though it's a sea of bodies.
Re:Google doesn’t want employees working remotely anymore
by midoridensha on Thursday June 08, 2023 @08:24PM
(#36251363)
Maybe, but my open-plan office here in Tokyo is much, much noisier than the cubicle farms I used to work in back in the US (back when cubicle farms were the norm).
It's not culture, it's physics. With a room full of a maze of cloth panels (which are specifically designed to absorb sound), sound is absorbed and can't bounce around the room, leading to much lower overall ambient noise levels.