The place I'm interviewing for apparently has a "no music" policy. Is this common? Music is a huge part of programming for me. It helps me get into a rhythm and ignore all the little distractions like people tapping their feet, etc. that drive me absolutely crazy. Am I expecting too much here???

It doesn't surprise me that much, but if it's something you can't do without, you are definitely in your right to go elsewhere.

Also, your slug is suicidal.

@Jilano I'm not gonna say that I *can't* do without it, I guess it just really surprised me that they wouldn't allow just like one earbud or something.

What is no music policy ? Never heard of it !! Can't you use earphones ?

@nash87 Nope. No listening to music while working.

I wonder how many other stupid rules they have. Sounds like a place to avoid.

@electrineer Obviously can’t comment specifics, but quite a few. The logic is that “we aren’t paying you to listen to music.”

@MySlugLikesSalt try to explain that it helps you concentrate, so you will perform better on the work they are paying you for.

It also sounds like a place that doesn't give a shit about employee wellbeing. At least that's the first impression they give.

@electrineer Yeah I’m not sure how interested I am in trying to get an exception made for me. I feel like I’m probably going to just run into that same attitude in other areas of the job.

@MySlugLikesSalt This statement is an attitude and it's very unlikely that it would be different in other areas. What's more, your colleagues probably have the same approach. "They don't pay me to argue with my manager about unreasonable deadlines, nor to do overtime, so I'll do what I can (or what I must) and not worry about the rest."

@MySlugLikesSalt

> No listening to music while working.

WTF? If you have headphones, how would they know?

@PaperTrail See my reply to electrineer. It’s not even about disturbing others. They also “don’t want you to be isolated, they want communication between employees.” Well I’m sorry, but that’s kinda how I program — by being able to actually think without frequent interruptions.

@MySlugLikesSalt So does this mean that they actually want to create a productive environment through tyranny and think that forcing devs to be constantly available for questions is a step in that direction? I would suggest to run.

@MySlugLikesSalt see the thing about the “we aren’t paying you to do x” argument is that what you are paying me to do is solve problems. And if they want to be so involved in the problem solving process you should solve those problems themselves.

They sound like morons.

Wear your headphones, but don't plug them in...put the end of the cord in your pocket or something. Then when they come to harass you show them it's not plugged in and say your ears are cold. Eventually they'll stop asking you about it and you can plug them in and listen to music.

This is called red flag. If I heared that in an interview, I go "really?". If the answer is "yes". I stand up, give them my hand and say "sorry, it doesn't make any sense to waste more of your and my time from here on. This doesn't feel right to me.". The one important thing is, it's easier to search a job while having one. If you are jobless take the job and directly start searching for a new one. This is how I will decide on that situation.

@MySlugLikesSalt
I don't know about you, but like the others said, that's a red flag that most likely will hide other ones (e.g. "we don't pay you not answer to (stupid) questions from disrespectful non-techies").

You're better off not going forward with them, especially since like me, you're more productive when listening to music.