Walked into a coworking space in Austin last week and saw 3 people doing phone interviews at the shared table

How is anyone supposed to focus on a career move when the place meant for getting work done sounds like a call center lobby - has anyone else found a quiet spot in one of those places?

3 comments

3 Comments

leo6031mo ago

Does anyone actually get work done in those glass phone booths or are they just for making sure everyone in the whole space can still hear your conversation but now it's muffled and weird? I saw a guy take a zoom call in one of those and he had to hold his laptop up to the glass so the camera could see him through the tint. Coworking spaces need to pick a lane either be a quiet library or a loud coffee shop but this in between thing where you're paying $300 a month to listen to someone's career counseling session is just wild. The phone booth thing works great if you're on a quick call but that's not how people use them they treat them like private offices for hour long interviews. My noise cancelling headphones can only do so much when someone is basically shouting their salary requirements through a glass box ten feet away.

dakotaknight1mo ago

What is it with coworking spaces and turning into phone booth central these days? I swear the last time I tried to focus in one of those places I ended up accidentally mouthing along to someone's awkward salary negotiation like it was my own bad reality show. Found a tiny corner with my headphones cranked to max and somehow still caught the dude two tables over bombing his final round interview.

foster.dylan1mo ago

Dude the phone booth thing is so real. I was in one last week trying to sketch out some notes and this woman basically turned her entire six person team meeting into a vocal performance right next to me. She was doing the whole "I'm not sure that aligns with our quarterly goals" thing and I could literally hear her boss on speakerphone chewing her out about missing a deadline. My noise cancelling headphones were just a suggestion at that point. I ended up packing up and leaving because I couldn't focus on my own work while also accidentally rooting for her to not get fired. Coworking spaces are just expensive eavesdropping hubs now.

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