If you choose to do contract work again or free-lance (a much easier transition, I think), your best bet is negotiating your needs up front. Free-lancers have less of a chance of getting their own office in most cases, but unlike your last experience, many places can at least find you privacy if you don’t mind some small cubbyhole off in the boonies. Plus, you can discuss working from home on occasion as part of the negotiation. It’s something I always try to get included if at all possible. (In fact, I have it now.)
And the good thing about returning to non-permanent work as your next move is it provides a wonderful explanation of why you left the last job…you can simply say you realized you are much happier as a contractor or free-lancer. Many people have that preference, and this makes total sense to most interviewers.
If you do decide to try for a full-time job, one approach is to tell them that you liked the work itself and hated leaving, but the conditions wound up being something other than you expected. Then add a little about why this job is an even better fit - and then stop.
If they ask you specifically what conditions didn’t work for you, you have nothing to lose by being honest. Again, no need to bring up a “condition” or go into too much detail, but since you won’t settle for less now, no harm explaining as sincerely and as matter-of-factly as possible that you need your own space when you work, even if it is a tiny space no one else wants! (Smile here.) Also tell them, as an alternative if that’s not possible, you could work from home one or two days a week. Then you just stop, look the person in the eyes, and politely ask “Is this at all possible? I really think I could do well here and hope it’s something you’d be open to.”
If they say no…you wouldn’t be happy there any way. You might as well find out now.
But I would definitely explore the urge to have your own free-lance business. From what you tell me, you may be well suited to it. You say ” I see my biggest obstacle as being comfortable asking people for money. I’m a ‘happy helper’ sort of person”. My question to you is…why don’t you see yourself happily helping yourself get what you need?
When you ask for what you deserve, you are merely offering yourself at a fair price to a company who is getting a superior worker. Do you know what some companies pay for consultants??? You can price yourself fairly and still make really good money. If you can, check around and find out what consulting firms charge employers for consultants that do similar work and set your fees somewhere below that, especially when you’re first starting out on your own. In some cases they pay consultants (or the firms) more than double what I make, and I still do REALLY well! (You can figure out a reasonable fee for yourself once you have some figures to compare it to. Remember to factor in enough for your own health insurance, self-employment tax, etc.)
Trust me Liz…after you do the fee negotiation a few times and establish a set price, it gets easier. My first time I was nervous too, but I asked for the advice of people I knew; and then when the time came, I took a deep breath (quietly to myself), looked the person straight in the eyes, and asked for more than I ever imagined…and she said YES! After that I actually chose to lower my rates a little, which turned out to be a smart move because I got lots more work in other areas at the same place by being affordable - even though what they considered affordable was still more than I ever earned before!
And back to the issue of sensitivity…I like that you are thinking about employing new coping strategies no matter what type of work you decide to pursue. Even though earphones annoy me, I’ve found certain music - especially gentle new age stuff I’d probably never consider in my personal time - helps me stay relatively sane when the noise is too much. It kind of provides what psychologists call “white noise”. And I also do deep breathing and meditation exercises.
But in the end, your best ally here is YOU…and learning to put yourself and your needs - whatever they are - into the negotiations. You deserve to work in conditions that work for you. Everyone does!
I wish you all the best, Liz. Please let us know what you decide and how it turns out.

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