It's having to hear other people's negativity at all, and dealing with the revelation that people you'd like to respect, are actually fucking horrible.
Even if they aren't ganging up on you, hearing them gang up on other people behind their back, knowing that they're two-faced, and having to continue to work with them is, well, kind of awful. In an open office, you sometimes find out unceremoniously, that everyone is backstabbing everyone else.
Sure, let's lend some perspective to that. A silver lining. Better to know who the sociopaths are right? That's life, yes? Deal with it like an adult? Or maybe not.
Maybe, if everyone's a backstabbing two-faced piece of shit, then hey, maybe it's okay to just betray anyone, because everyone's awful.
If everyone's smug on twitter and facebook, is seeing it and knowing about it worse for some of us?
If no one has any integrity anymore, it leaves you with no allegiance.
Sometimes, there are things you'd just rather not know.
If I'm ever in the situation you describe, I'd want to be seeking help from a trusted person immediately. Not to discuss "noise problems" but these questions: Am I paranoid? If not, how do I get out?
The scenario of being surrounded by backstabbers raises so many questions that there is no point of discussing noise problems.
