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Apple Park employees revolt over having to work in open-plan offices

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Re: Apple Park employees revolt over having to work in open-plan offices

#21

Post by wpietri »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #14
amalag wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cubicles were considered the worst of both worlds. No proper privacy because there is not enough sound blocking and the faux walls isolate people and prevent collaboration.

I wonder why. I think they provide enough privacy for a workplace (as long as you're allowed to use headphones for extra sound blocking, and as long as the entry is to your side, not behind you) - the only way to get even more would be closed-door offices, but that takes much more floor space. As for "collaboration", at this point I consider talking about it as a negative thing about a place. I mean, frankly, I know…

Having worked for years in a pair programming environment, I am pretty sure you can get a lot of code written collaboratively. Indeed, even though I'm an introvert, pair programming teams with frequent pair rotation (pairing with 2-3 people per day) is my favorite way to work because I think we end up with better code.

Re: Apple Park employees revolt over having to work in open-plan offices

#23

Post by dilemma »

heisenbit wrote: post #4

Steve Jobs is said to have poured in a lot of thought on how the architecture of the building is supporting work. Steve also had some architectural experience from Pixar. On the macro level the alignment of the architecture with the organization as it was explained always made sense to me. On the micro level changing from offices to open floor is a huge change. How was that supposed to preserve and foster the enginee…

What is it that makes sense to you on the macro level? That the building is donut shaped?

Re: Apple Park employees revolt over having to work in open-plan offices

#25

Post by seanmcdirmid »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #17
bjourne wrote: post #10

> "Judging from the private feedback I've gotten from some Apple employees, I'm 100 per cent certain there's going to be some degree of attrition based on the open floor plans, where good employees are going to choose to leave because they don't want to work there," Gruber said. But where are they going to go? Is there a single company left that hasn't adopted the open floor plan ideology? If so, are they hiring beca…

This. I so strongly wish companies would start including their office arrangement in the job description. It would make it easier for me to avoid open-plan places, and it would let those who like them avoid offices/cubicles - thus making it more likely employees will feel good and thus work at peak productivity. It would also let the industry gather some real feedback about people's preferences. I don't really see a…

Microsoft did this when they promoted their private offices in the 80s. Unfortunately, I can't find a copy of this newspaper job ad on google, but I saw it internally on Yammer.

Re: Apple Park employees revolt over having to work in open-plan offices

#26

Post by amelius »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #17
bjourne wrote: post #10

> "Judging from the private feedback I've gotten from some Apple employees, I'm 100 per cent certain there's going to be some degree of attrition based on the open floor plans, where good employees are going to choose to leave because they don't want to work there," Gruber said. But where are they going to go? Is there a single company left that hasn't adopted the open floor plan ideology? If so, are they hiring beca…

This. I so strongly wish companies would start including their office arrangement in the job description. It would make it easier for me to avoid open-plan places, and it would let those who like them avoid offices/cubicles - thus making it more likely employees will feel good and thus work at peak productivity. It would also let the industry gather some real feedback about people's preferences. I don't really see a…

Or better yet, offer both styles of workplace.

Re: Apple Park employees revolt over having to work in open-plan offices

#27

Post by seanmcdirmid »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #18
mirekrusin wrote: post #11

In EU all those glass doors would have to have matt texture/stickers around eye level so you don't enter them by accident - I'm surprised in US there's no such requirement?

As someone who managed to crash into a glass wall by accident (someone was really good at cleaning them), I second the suggestion - such stickers are a good idea.

I went to a mall in Manila, walked into a glass door that had just been cleaned really well. I felt like a bird for awhile.

Re: Apple Park employees revolt over having to work in open-plan offices

#28

Post by TeMPOraL »

amelius wrote: post #26
TeMPOraL wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. I so strongly wish companies would start including their office arrangement in the job description. It would make it easier for me to avoid open-plan places, and it would let those who like them avoid offices/cubicles - thus making it more likely employees will feel good and thus work at peak productivity. It would also let the industry gather some real feedback about people's preferences. I don't really see a…

Or better yet, offer both styles of workplace.

That would be best, sure, but not every company can (and owners can subscribe to their own philosophies of workplace). All I'm saying is that providing this information would help potential candidates self-select to environments they find comfortable, which is beneficial both for employees and the company.

Re: Apple Park employees revolt over having to work in open-plan offices

#29

Post by amelius »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #22

Open plan “offices” need to go away. I’m a professional and the products I develop make my company lots of money. Telling me if I need quiet I should put on headphones is insulting and is treating me like a child.

Yes, open workspaces make me feel like I'm back in college.

Re: Apple Park employees revolt over having to work in open-plan offices

#30

Post by amelius »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #28
amelius wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or better yet, offer both styles of workplace.

That would be best, sure, but not every company can (and owners can subscribe to their own philosophies of workplace). All I'm saying is that providing this information would help potential candidates self-select to environments they find comfortable, which is beneficial both for employees and the company.

True. But perhaps different types of people like different styles of workplace. E.g. "creatives" could prefer the open style, whereas programmers could prefer the office style.

An alternative solution is to allow employees to freely move between workspaces.

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