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Ask HN: Which companies give programmers offices?

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Re: Ask HN: Which companies give programmers offices?

#221

Post by colanderman »

orange_bear wrote: post #129

Thanks for the info! At my last workplace (Apple), the department had brought in a ton of H1B visa workers from body shops and I'm skeptical about if it was legal. They were all crammed elbow-to-elbow in bullpen cubicles. As a contractor at the time, I sat on a bench in the hallway because there were no free bullpen cubes!! The bathroom urinals always had pools of urine beneath them, due (in part) to excessive use. T…

> The toilet seats were always urinated on.

I don't get this; this happened at my workplace too, until we installed a coded lock on the restroom (which was otherwise accessible to anyone in the building). What kind of boor has a professional job but can't piss in a foot-diameter hole and is too lazy to clean up when he does so?

Re: Ask HN: Which companies give programmers offices?

#222

Post by muzani »

mindcrime wrote: post #148
msluyter wrote: post #28

On the general question of open vs. private offices, my views have tempered over time. The first time I worked in an open office, I hated it. But I've come to realize that a lot depends on the layout of the office and that there are better and worse ways to configure one. The first case -- the one I hated -- had a) long rows of desks, b) bright overhead fluorescent lights, c) a lot of noise due to being in a large ro…

a) my desk faces the wall, for fewer visual distractions I'm sitting here feeling stunned that anybody could ever want their desk facing a wall, as the implication (in terms of any "open plan" environment) is that their back is facing, well, nothing. IOW, somebody can walk up behind you unnoticed. Me personally, I hate that with a passion. I'd pay money to have my desk facing out with my back to the wall, just so nob…

I thought I was the only one! It seems to be some primal fear that while I'm concentrating on something, someone will pounce me. So it discourages me from focusing too deeply into a problem.

Re: Ask HN: Which companies give programmers offices?

#224

Post by bousaid »

kuharich wrote: post #23

Old Microsoft: it was a BillG ethic: anyone touching software got an office: software design engineers, PM's, QA, even admins ... it allowed one to be quiet and focus. And signaled to co-workers - do not disturb ...

Microsoft intern here. Got my own office for the summer.

Re: Ask HN: Which companies give programmers offices?

#225

Post by yvhhjbb »

colanderman wrote: post #221
orange_bear wrote: post #129

Thanks for the info! At my last workplace (Apple), the department had brought in a ton of H1B visa workers from body shops and I'm skeptical about if it was legal. They were all crammed elbow-to-elbow in bullpen cubicles. As a contractor at the time, I sat on a bench in the hallway because there were no free bullpen cubes!! The bathroom urinals always had pools of urine beneath them, due (in part) to excessive use. T…

> The toilet seats were always urinated on. I don't get this; this happened at my workplace too, until we installed a coded lock on the restroom (which was otherwise accessible to anyone in the building). What kind of boor has a professional job but can't piss in a foot-diameter hole and is too lazy to clean up when he does so?

Indians?

Re: Ask HN: Which companies give programmers offices?

#227

Post by programmarchy »

I worked for a successful medium sized business called SpeakWrite early in my career that specialized in voice transcription for the legal industry. The company was founded by a former lawyer, and the office culture was very traditional. The software team was treated with respect, paid well, and everyone had their own office. It was great! Having worked in tech/startup culture since then, I much prefer the traditional office culture. Now I work remotely as a consultant and have my own office, but miss working on a closely knit team.

Re: Ask HN: Which companies give programmers offices?

#228

Post by fygwtclub »

mindcrime wrote: post #148
msluyter wrote: post #28

On the general question of open vs. private offices, my views have tempered over time. The first time I worked in an open office, I hated it. But I've come to realize that a lot depends on the layout of the office and that there are better and worse ways to configure one. The first case -- the one I hated -- had a) long rows of desks, b) bright overhead fluorescent lights, c) a lot of noise due to being in a large ro…

a) my desk faces the wall, for fewer visual distractions I'm sitting here feeling stunned that anybody could ever want their desk facing a wall, as the implication (in terms of any "open plan" environment) is that their back is facing, well, nothing. IOW, somebody can walk up behind you unnoticed. Me personally, I hate that with a passion. I'd pay money to have my desk facing out with my back to the wall, just so nob…

It's a mindcrime (just kidding)

Re: Ask HN: Which companies give programmers offices?

#229

Post by bdavisx »

djmobley wrote: post #177
bdavisx wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's your employer, they should be paying for the entire cost of your office.

If you're hired as a remote employee, basing yourself in one of the most expensive cities in the world is your choice, not your employer's.

Good point, and I guess it would be up to the employee to negotiate more $ for their office (if possible).

Re: Ask HN: Which companies give programmers offices?

#230

Post by copenja »

thehardsphere wrote: post #39
krageon wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can hope that that's the case, but that doesn't mean that it is. In my experience, it is emphatically not the case.

Do you work at a company whose core business is software?

I do. We have an open floor plan for all employees.
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