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The open-plan office is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea

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Re: The open-plan office is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea

#11

Post by antoineMoPa »

tombert wrote: post #6

The argument of "increased collaboration" that I keep hearing is kind of negated when people have the soccer game on and you're bombarded with constant cheering, which is my current situation. Even when soccer is over, you have to contend with people playing grab-ass all over the office, or jerks (like me) with annoyingly loud keyboards. The modicum of utility of me "jumping into a conversation" really goes out the w…

"the soccer game on and you're bombarded with constant cheering, which is my current situation" You are lying, the game was yesterday.

EDIT: I get the point, that was a joke.

Re: The open-plan office is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea

#12

Post by flax »

andrewfromx wrote: post #7

You really can just put in the headphones and ignore distractions for a few hours. And then, leave. You don’t have to sit there for 8+ hours. Go in in the morning, talk to a few people face to face, sit there with headphones for ~2 hours, and then maybe after lunch, go elsewhere and work from another location you like.

Maybe that works for you, but headphones do nothing for me for the stress caused by having my back exposed to people walking around.

Re: The open-plan office is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea

#13

Post by zeveb »

tombert wrote: post #6

The argument of "increased collaboration" that I keep hearing is kind of negated when people have the soccer game on and you're bombarded with constant cheering, which is my current situation. Even when soccer is over, you have to contend with people playing grab-ass all over the office, or jerks (like me) with annoyingly loud keyboards. The modicum of utility of me "jumping into a conversation" really goes out the w…

> The argument of "increased collaboration" that I keep hearing is kind of negated when people have the soccer game on and you're bombarded with constant cheering

Is there anything less professional than watching a game at work? I really don't get why people do this, and why they think it's okay.

Granted, I don't like sports — but I like TV, and I wouldn't watch TV at work. I like computer games, but I wouldn't play computer games at work. It's just odd that sports fans think it's okay to distract people during work hours.

At least pop off down to the pub or something.

Re: The open-plan office is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea

#14

Post by accnumnplus1 »

RasputinsBro wrote: post #4

> We were already working from in open office, but at least I had a desk facing the wall behind me, so there was a modicum of privacy and psychological safety. Then management decided that it would “look better” if we went to circular desks where several of us would be sitting with our backs to the hallway, so everyone walking past would be looking at our screen as they passed. This seems dishonest to me. Can some bo…

"with backs to the hallway" - depending on how far away the hallway is this can be distracting. In the past I've sat with my back maybe a 1.5m from a wall, and the space between was used as a standard route by countless people - distracting.

Re: The open-plan office is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea

#16

Post by tombert »

antoineMoPa wrote: post #11
tombert wrote: post #6

The argument of "increased collaboration" that I keep hearing is kind of negated when people have the soccer game on and you're bombarded with constant cheering, which is my current situation. Even when soccer is over, you have to contend with people playing grab-ass all over the office, or jerks (like me) with annoyingly loud keyboards. The modicum of utility of me "jumping into a conversation" really goes out the w…

"the soccer game on and you're bombarded with constant cheering, which is my current situation" You are lying, the game was yesterday. EDIT: I get the point, that was a joke.

Ha, yeah, fair point, I was just informed that it's almost over. Don't worry, there always seems to be more sports to watch. They'll probably move onto curling or something today.

Re: The open-plan office is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea

#18

Post by overcast »

aestetix wrote: post #3

"Facebook did it, and we want to be like Facebook..."

We did it before Facebook was even a twinkle in Zuckerberg's eye, and it's still a stupid idea. All that happens is the level of conversation goes up, and they suppress it with white noise generators. Dumb.

Re: The open-plan office is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea

#19

Post by collinf »

My biggest issue with my open floor office is that it seems like everyone just takes calls at their seats. We have private spaces and enclaves for that, but I am just bombarded with 4 people within 10 feet of my workspace on their phone. To counteract I throw on some Ambient music on my headphones, which sort of works but I still find I prefer to work in silence.

Does it not seem like open-office etiquette to take a phone call in a private space when other people are trying to work?

Re: The open-plan office is a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea

#20

Post by tombert »

zeveb wrote: post #13
tombert wrote: post #6

The argument of "increased collaboration" that I keep hearing is kind of negated when people have the soccer game on and you're bombarded with constant cheering, which is my current situation. Even when soccer is over, you have to contend with people playing grab-ass all over the office, or jerks (like me) with annoyingly loud keyboards. The modicum of utility of me "jumping into a conversation" really goes out the w…

> The argument of "increased collaboration" that I keep hearing is kind of negated when people have the soccer game on and you're bombarded with constant cheering Is there anything less professional than watching a game at work? I really don't get why people do this, and why they think it's okay. Granted, I don't like sports — but I like TV, and I wouldn't watch TV at work. I like computer games, but I wouldn't play…

I agree. When I suggested putting on a low-budget 50's monster movie on as background noise (e.g. Gamera, Godzilla, The Giant Claw, something that's amusing to look at for thirty seconds, laugh a bit, but not overly distracting), people act almost offended that I would waste company time like that. But if the TV has some form of ball on it, drop everything.
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