For remote workers, if you live in an apartment complex do your neighbors ever hear you during your meetings and what do you do to minimize the sound?

Anonymous

March 10,2023 at 8:42PM UTC

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For remote workers, if you live in an apartment complex do your neighbors ever hear you during your meetings and what do you do to minimize the sound?

Asking as I recently moved to a new apartment which has some decent instillation but apartment life is apartment life. I say as one can still hear footsteps above, music from the floor if one puts it loud enough, and I can even hear people talking outside and closing their car doors in the parking lot if they talk loud enough. Sharing all of that to set the stage.

I have been vigorously looking for work in my field again after a recent layoff and my furniture has still not arrived so all I have is a desk, chair, and air mattress serving as furniture right now so you can imagine what that does for sound absorption...*hint hint* it's nonexistent at the moment!

I can't let that stop me though... so I have been carrying out my remote interviews in my home in my barely furnished living room and I have noticed my upstairs neighbor's footsteps would step right over where I'm sitting to conduct my interviews. I have made sure to lower my voice but I have a full-bodied voice so it's going to carry especially if I relax and speak from my diaphragm which is the healthy way to speak as opposed to one's throat can you imagine how it would appear if the interviewee were to look like if they were whispering? [insert cringing smiling face].

I have even noticed them slamming their front door and stomping into the hallway as if to see if they can hear my voice from outside. I recorded myself and NOPE, my voice doesn't travel.

This experience makes me wonder though if anyone else has experienced this with neighbors while working remotely?

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AnonymousMarch 10,2023 at 9:21PM UTC
Home Depot sells sound proofing foam you can hang on the adjoining wall to further muffle the noise.
Annetta MosesMarch 11,2023 at 1:09AM UTC
I recommend using a good headset with a microphone. At the beginning of the interview ask if they can hear you clearly. If they say yes, do not be concerned with background noise.
Good luck.
Alexis GladstoneMarch 11,2023 at 1:57AM UTC
A great headset can go a long way!
My upstairs neighbor walks hard and talks loud. I know him well enough that when I have a virtual speaking engagement or am recording a podcast, I ask him to keep it down. Other times I still use the same headset but don't give him a heads up and I rarely hear him.
Good luck with the interviews!
AnonymousMarch 11,2023 at 1:56PM UTC
Is there a local library or office share with a phone room that you can use for interviews?
AnonymousMarch 12,2023 at 4:22PM UTC
I live in a prewar building, so most of the time, it’s pretty quiet, minus my upstairs neighbor and his cement shoes, the teen who runs like an elephant down the stairs, and the super from the building next door who loves to move his huge, clanking metal cart or use a saw the second I get on a call and have my window open, lol (what is he sawing?? We live in Brooklyn!)
I occasionally hear loud music/tv, but I don’t feel like talking carries at all unless it’s a party.
AnonymousMarch 13,2023 at 1:51PM UTC
I live in an apartment and I can hear all the things you mentioned, my neighbor’s footsteps above, slamming of doors, loud music at times, etc. But unless someone is talking right outside my window or door, I can’t ever make out anything they’re specifically saying. It might be that you’re feeling a bit insecure over nothing. I honestly wouldn’t worry about it. You have every right to conduct your business from your apartment. And if they were to overhear something, I wouldn’t care. As long as you’re not planning to rob a bank or some other type of criminal activity, it really doesn’t matter. I do like all the other suggestions about getting a headset. Maybe that would be less distracting and offer you more peace of mind.
Julie EMarch 13,2023 at 5:13PM UTC
When I lived in an apartment I would do I interviews in the apartment’s business center. They had a room we could reserve. Public libraries do as well or you can rent a work share space. I blew an interview several years ago during the pandemic when landscapers decided to trim trees in the middle of it. Noise can be distracting.
Carolyn HipkinsMarch 14,2023 at 3:43PM UTC
I wear a headset for video calls mostly to reduce background noise. I don't worry about my neighbors hearing me on calls. The walls in this place are so thin that you can hear a loud sneeze.
Diane Frances Lesley-NeumanMarch 15,2023 at 5:59PM UTC
Get cardboard egg cartons and fasten them to the walls. Even the pros use them when needed.
Carolyn HipkinsMarch 16,2023 at 6:06PM UTC
Does that dampen the sounds coming into your apartment?