Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

dezeen.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 177 posts

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

#131

Post by R_haterade »

maxxxxx wrote: post #44
codyb wrote: post #31

Good. Apple is one of my favorite companies. I just absolutely love what they're doing and have done in terms of personal privacy. I'm really disheartened that they've moved to an open office layout. It's a surefire way to lose huge amounts of productivity from their engineers. Open office layouts are a travesty. They make literally no fucking sense. As engineers we're expected to maintain abstractions in our minds w…

I work in cubicles but the noise is also driving me crazy. There is always some conversation going on somewhere. In the office I am having more and more trouble holding on to a complex thought and in the evening I am totally exhausted. On the other hand working from home feels like paradise. It's quiet and I can look out the window when I need a break. Because of the office environment I am now looking for a new job,…

Our company is setting to renovate their offices. I guess I'll know whether it's time to start polishing my resume when they announce what the new configuration will look like.

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

#132

Post by zebraflask »

dleslie wrote: post #85
andrewflnr wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> raw animal insecurity of having things going on behind your back Finally, someone else who gets it. When I've mentioned this, people tend to assume it's just about what's on your screen, but that's really not the heart of it.

I once was placed with my back to the entrance doors of the office, which frequently had people coming and going. HR and IT were both in arms when I rotated my desk around.

Why would HR get upset over that? Aside from the obvious answer that it's HR.

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

#134

Post by pier25 »

nfriedly wrote: post #64

If you really want a private office, there are a couple of spaces available right next to mine for $225/month each - http://www.klopferbuilding.com/ ;) Obviously you'd need to live nearby (Northwest of Dayton, OH), but houses here go for ~ $120k - https://www.redfin.com/city/16281/OH/Pleasant-Hill You could literally retire here and work on whatever you what with a few year's worth of bay area salary. (Which is, more…

Woah that looks awesome.

Wish I could join you.

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

#135

Post by sah2ed »

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…

I guess ex-employees could be nudged to volunteer info on open plan arrangements in their Glassdoor reviews.

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

#136

Post by tetraodonpuffer »

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…

some companies do, one company I see openings for on the local job board puts something like "on your first day you will come in and go to your own private office" in all their ads. I have thought of working there just based on that...

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

#137

Post by tetraodonpuffer »

I cannot believe how short sighted companies can be when it comes to these things, but I don't think it's malice per se, it's usually a variation of the person who makes the decision does not have to live with it and so doesn't have any incentive outside of spending as little as possible.

It's like how in many cases the desktops/monitors for developers come out of the IT budget, so the IT department tries to buy the crappiest things possible (24" single 1080p monitors, because they can't find anymore the 22" 900p they had before, 500 gig hard drives, etc.) because it does not impact them if developers are happy or not or are hampered by having to work with substandard tools.

In several past companies when we moved offices or had an office redesign, it was always up to the facilities department to deal with this, and developers were involved only at the very end when it was time to pick the seating and by that time all the design was locked, contractors hired and so on and so there was no way to change anything of significance anymore.

If I ever had a company I would make it a rule that any decision has to be made by the department / people affected by it. Other departments can offer support as needed, but I would never have IT control which hardware the developers get, or facilities decide for open office/cube height/chairs, or the CTO decide for the code review tool, etc. etc.

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

#138

Post by sogen »

nfriedly wrote: post #91
sogen wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hi, what's the crime rate there? Does it snow a lot?

The crime rate is so low that the town closed the police department a few years ago. (Now we contract with the sheriff.) I think I've locked my house twice in four years. We do usually get a couple of good snows each winter.

Thanks!, last question, how's the tech employment in there?

Which TBH doesn't really matter since i like to work remotely.

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

#139

Post by mailshanx »

rndmswethrwawy wrote: post #130
flachsechs wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> (hint: it's not when taking taxes, commute and accomodation into account) this is important to keep in mind. the people who are the true high earners are making 500k+, sometimes married to someone else who also does. the real outliers make millions. they are the ones buying multi-$million houses in the bay area, LA, NY, etc. it's not mysterious overseas chinese and arab buyers. it's high earning americans taking ho…

As a software engineer, a moderate amount of luck (passing the bar at Google, Microsoft, Facebook, etc.) combined with an aggressive stance toward your comp can absolutely take you from the $100k to $500k+ range. You will have to work for it, AND you'll have to ask for it, but it can be done. I am the typical "leaned to program as a kid in the 80s/90s" engineer. Knew C when starting college, went to a state school fo…

That's an inspiring story. Do you advertise yourself as a generalist or a specialist? When it comes to the actual role, how important do you feel is raw engineering ability versus managerial and political skills?

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

#140

Post by closeparen »

amelius wrote: post #29
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.

I'd take a significant pay cut to have a permanent desk in something like a university library (expectation of quiet on the floor, no conference rooms around the edges with booming teleconference speakers, go to another floor if you need to collaborate).
Post reply on HN