Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices
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Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices
#2They want an office that matches their personality. And apparently, that means beer on tap and lots of it.
The office looked like the lobby of a hipster hotel.
Over the next few weeks, we showed up each day and tapped away on MacBook Airs to the sounds of Portuguese house music and old-school hip hop piped in through speakers. (“Rap is urban, and so is WeWork,” the company explains online. “But more profoundly, the common themes of rap are in tune with the company’s mission.”) While we created, cleaning crews in WeWork T-shirts quietly restocked the citrus water and wiped up our spilled drinks.
If this is the future of tech work, then I guess I'd better find another career--perhaps gardening or wood-working?
Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices
#3> WeWork offers freelancers a chic workspace and beer on tap—but are people productive?
Not really. That was my experience at a WeWork space in London. It was not quiet (glass walls), it was hard to focus, social events starting at 4pm (who finishes work at that time?), and if you end up being close to the common spaces, near the kitchen… well, I suggest you get a good pair of sound cancelling headphones.
Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices
#4They want an office that matches their personality. And apparently, that means beer on tap and lots of it. The office looked like the lobby of a hipster hotel. Over the next few weeks, we showed up each day and tapped away on MacBook Airs to the sounds of Portuguese house music and old-school hip hop piped in through speakers. (“Rap is urban, and so is WeWork,” the company explains online. “But more profoundly, the c…
I mean really, developers tapping away on MacBook Airs?
... Don’t let Jony catch wind of this, he'll use it as fodder to abolish MacBook Pros and their ungainly fan noises
Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices
#5They want an office that matches their personality. And apparently, that means beer on tap and lots of it. The office looked like the lobby of a hipster hotel. Over the next few weeks, we showed up each day and tapped away on MacBook Airs to the sounds of Portuguese house music and old-school hip hop piped in through speakers. (“Rap is urban, and so is WeWork,” the company explains online. “But more profoundly, the c…
I can't imagine worse environment for a tech job than the one where you have music playing out of speakers. Also - working on your laptop? Without proper monitors and upright sitting position? Nope, thank you.
Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices
#6That's not a shared office, it's a coworking space or something.
I've shared an office with a teammate before, and it was very productive. It was a great mix of heads-down work and the ability to discuss issues/design as needed.
OTOH, someone I know started a coworking space a few miles away from my home. I popped in there a couple of times to check it out and decided it was very much not for me. Too much "collaboration" and background noise for me personally, though some thrive on that. The clincher for me was one time there was supposed to be a presentation that sounded interesting, and well after it was supposed to start someone announced that it had been canceled last minute. "Well, I'll do a little work then," I thought. Then they announced that since the presentation wasn't happening they'd be playing talks from YouTube. Great, no work after all, big screen video and blaring audio of something I can watch myself at any time, because why? I dunno. Just not for me.
Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices
#7This is definitely the most common response I hear to shared/open offices ... but dang it, I love them (part time)!
I go into a co-working space once or twice a week, and wfh the rest of the time. When I'm there, I enjoy being around people who can relate to what I'm doing (even if it's just as simple as a knowing nod when I comment on a tough bug I'm troubleshooting). And if I need to focus, headphones easily place me in my own acoustic palace.
I totally get that everyone is different, and thrives in different environments ... but don't crap on this type of shared experience as if it's universally hated by everyone, because it's not.
Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices
#8> WeWork offers freelancers a chic workspace and beer on tap—but are people productive? Not really. That was my experience at a WeWork space in London. It was not quiet (glass walls), it was hard to focus, social events starting at 4pm (who finishes work at that time?), and if you end up being close to the common spaces, near the kitchen… well, I suggest you get a good pair of sound cancelling headphones.
Noise cancelation does nothing for kitchen noises. They only silence things like fans or HVAC systems.
Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices
#9They want an office that matches their personality. And apparently, that means beer on tap and lots of it. The office looked like the lobby of a hipster hotel. Over the next few weeks, we showed up each day and tapped away on MacBook Airs to the sounds of Portuguese house music and old-school hip hop piped in through speakers. (“Rap is urban, and so is WeWork,” the company explains online. “But more profoundly, the c…
> If this is the future of tech work, then I guess I'd better find another career--perhaps gardening or wood-working?
Exactly. I can't imagine working in an environment like that.
You don't want to hear me playing Smooth by Neil Cicierega[1], and I don't want to hear you playing rap.
A work environment is not the place to be playing music for everyone around you. Constant generic music is the worst part of retail, and that's saying something.
If your goal is to foster creativity and productivity, but all I hear is thump-thump-thump drilling into my head, I'm not going to be either. Even when it's music I love (or music I love working to) I'll still pause it when I'm trying to really understand what's going on in a complex system.
Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices
#10"People don't buy products, they buy better versions of themselves."
$500/month is a lot of money for a chair at a noisy table. On the other hand, $500/month is easier to stomach if it comes with the feeling of being successful.