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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

#141

Post by matwood »

Raphmedia wrote: post #111
ryandrake wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also alcohol flowing at work? I’m no teetotaler but isn’t that a recipe for trouble? Assuming we’re not just talking about sharing a few beers after hours. I’ve worked with people who drank on the job to the point where they were working totally shitfaced, and it’s not pretty. If they’re meeting with other teams or customers, they’re going to be an embarrassment, and if they’re checking in code... let’s not even go t…

I've been to many "beer flowing" companies and every time it was reserved for the Friday extra paid break. Those taps are there to offer quality beer at a low cost during happy hour on Friday when there's no more work to be done for the day. I find it hard to believe that any company would allow daytime drinking.

> I find it hard to believe that any company would allow daytime drinking.

Allow? In some cultures a beer or glass of wine at lunch is perfectly normal. There is also a big difference between having a beer and downing a 6-pack.

I personally would avoid a beer at lunch because it makes me tired, but I wouldn't think much of it if someone had a beer with their lunch.

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#142

Post by tachyoff »

debt wrote: post #138
LandR wrote: post #27

I work in a shared office / coworking space. We have 3 desks in a large open plan office with a kitchen area. It's about 10 feet from my desk. Most of the time it's just me from our company as the other devs work from home or work out the main office. My experience of working in this shared space: * It's noisy. I mean really noisy, noise cancelling headphones are a must. Like I said the kitchen area is near my desk,…

"No one talks to anyone from other companies, to the point of awkwardness. ... Especially people you see every day!" Ugh, you clearly don't get some people. It's probably one of the reasons why they have the coworking space to begin with: they don't want to interact with people! Ain't nothing wrong with that! They want to get their shit done and go home and do other shit. Also, if they're halfway competent at their b…

Precisely this. I escape to a coworking space for some peace and quiet, which isn’t always possible because the high-pitched cackling from our glass-wall neighbors cuts through most building materials. I don’t want to talk to strangers, I want to get my shit done. If I want to talk to strangers I’ll go to a bar, or the internet.

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#143

Post by tachyoff »

beejiu wrote: post #109
LandR wrote: post #27

I work in a shared office / coworking space. We have 3 desks in a large open plan office with a kitchen area. It's about 10 feet from my desk. Most of the time it's just me from our company as the other devs work from home or work out the main office. My experience of working in this shared space: * It's noisy. I mean really noisy, noise cancelling headphones are a must. Like I said the kitchen area is near my desk,…

> People are noisy, people whistle, walk around talking loudly on their phones. In my experience of coworking spaces, it is the same one/two people that ruin the space for everybody else. What is missing from co-working spaces is some kind of housekeeping rules and enforcement (in lieu of mutual respect).

> What is missing from co-working spaces is some kind of housekeeping rules and enforcement...

What’s missing is simple walls. Four walls with a door. What’s missing is privacy and silence, which we have apparently collectively decided is not necessary for all tech work.

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#144

Post by usrusr »

uhtred wrote: post #70
sputknick wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No one talks to anyone from other companies, to the point of awkwardness. Can you share what part of the US/world you are in? I'm curious if this is cultural.

I'd probably be guilty of this, but it's not because I am rude or anti-social (I love talking to people one on one or in very small groups), I am just socially anxious and struggle to talk to people in an open office environment where a "private" conversation is really a conversation with everyone in the room. Could be the same reason some people don't talk in a shared kitchen that is in the middle of a shared office…

Add to this that everybody there would fall into the uneasy middle ground of being too close for the idle pleasantries reserved for random strangers and too distant and unpredictable to get attached to.

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#145

Post by conanbatt »

ryandrake wrote: post #19
reificator wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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, an…

Also alcohol flowing at work? I’m no teetotaler but isn’t that a recipe for trouble? Assuming we’re not just talking about sharing a few beers after hours. I’ve worked with people who drank on the job to the point where they were working totally shitfaced, and it’s not pretty. If they’re meeting with other teams or customers, they’re going to be an embarrassment, and if they’re checking in code... let’s not even go t…

San francisco has a rampant alcohol culture. I never drink as much as I do in SF.

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#146

Post by nerfhammer »

ryandrake wrote: post #19
reificator wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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, an…

Also alcohol flowing at work? I’m no teetotaler but isn’t that a recipe for trouble? Assuming we’re not just talking about sharing a few beers after hours. I’ve worked with people who drank on the job to the point where they were working totally shitfaced, and it’s not pretty. If they’re meeting with other teams or customers, they’re going to be an embarrassment, and if they’re checking in code... let’s not even go t…

It's mostly for show, like the proverbial dust-covered xbox.

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#147

Post by Cyberdog »

tribune wrote: post #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.

As someone who has worked at co-working spaces in places not urbane enough to have a WeWork, $500 a month strikes me as ridiculous. I'm paying $150 a month at my current place for a dedicated desk (so not just shared table space). I do this because I'm able to be more productive than I would be working from home, so the $150 a month easily pays for itself, but I highly doubt I'd be over four times more productive paying $700 a month for the same thing at a WeWork.

Granted, this place doesn't have beer on tap, but it has free-flowing coffee, and that's all I really need.

You be you, so pay WeWork's prices if the value fits you, but if you're considering joining shared workplaces for the first time, note that you can probably find a much better deal.

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#148

Post by s73v3r_ »

nathanaldensr wrote: post #2

They 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…

"But more profoundly, the common themes of rap are in tune with the company’s mission."

I guess, at least as relates to the tech industry, given the treatment of women, this isn't far off?

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#149

Post by matwood »

ryandrake wrote: post #19
reificator wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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, an…

Also alcohol flowing at work? I’m no teetotaler but isn’t that a recipe for trouble? Assuming we’re not just talking about sharing a few beers after hours. I’ve worked with people who drank on the job to the point where they were working totally shitfaced, and it’s not pretty. If they’re meeting with other teams or customers, they’re going to be an embarrassment, and if they’re checking in code... let’s not even go t…

Comments like your remind me how fortunate I am work with 'adults' at my current company. We don't micro-manage anyone, and only look at results. People who can't handle the responsibility side of freedom are let go, and the rest of us have an amazing amount of freedom to do interesting work. We even have beer in the refrigerator that people occasionally partake in.

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#150

Post by shoover »

ryandrake wrote: post #19
reificator wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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, an…

Also alcohol flowing at work? I’m no teetotaler but isn’t that a recipe for trouble? Assuming we’re not just talking about sharing a few beers after hours. I’ve worked with people who drank on the job to the point where they were working totally shitfaced, and it’s not pretty. If they’re meeting with other teams or customers, they’re going to be an embarrassment, and if they’re checking in code... let’s not even go t…

And not to mention general sleep and mood issues. It doesn't take many days in a row with a couple evening beers for me to get cranky. I'm sure alcohol affects everyone differently, but "flowing" just sounds like a recipe for mass irritability.
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