The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light • Hacker News Board

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#201

Post by egypturnash » Wed, Sep 05, 2018, 2:53 PM UTC

toomanybeersies wrote: post #85

I really wish it was possible to somehow use my laptop outside when it's sunny. It's a shame to spend the prime hours of the day inside, and then spend all your spare time in the dark at night. I get really jealous of the construction workers when it's a nice sunny day outside. I've worked a few different outdoor jobs, and there's nothing quite like working on a sunny day, it really lifts the spirit.

I have a shade for my laptop I made out of black illustration board and tape. It sticks to the magnets in my Mac’s lid. I have done a lot of work outside in the park.

There are commercially made shades too. Look around.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#202

Post by DenisM » Wed, Sep 05, 2018, 2:54 PM UTC

Rarely discussed is the fact that professional phography lighting has high CRI and is not that expensive. There are plenty of LED panels on Amazon that can be rigged to work as desk lights.

Also, you can buy a professinal CRI meter so that you can get an idea of what you’re buying here.

Outside LED there are also high-CRI CFL lights which are easier to fit into overhead lights compared to LED. Still they need to be measured.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#203

Post by Tomte » Wed, Sep 05, 2018, 2:58 PM UTC

dsfyu404ed wrote: post #101

morsch wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Note that a "passive weapon" is not a weapon. It's odd legalese for defensive equipment, including helmets, gas masks amongst other things. So a passive weapon is not a weapon at all, and pillows might be included because of their property to shield yourself, not because of the damage they can cause others. "Passive weapons" are not illegal; it is illegal to bring them to a demonstration with the intent to use them t…

So it's illegal to bring things that help you defend yourself to a situation where you, without personally doing anything wrong, may be attacked? Sounds great. /s

Yes, because it's a sign that you want to fight and it enables you to fight much harder.

I realize it's not the only reason possible to take body armor to a demonstration, but it is the reason for most people wearing them.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#204

Post by noir_lord » Wed, Sep 05, 2018, 3:00 PM UTC

l33tbro wrote: post #113

Currently working alone in my own windowless office in an almost completely windowless building. Compared to the previous 'open-plan' gig where I sat opposite opposite Jill-from-Comms and Sales-bro Bryan, it rules so hard. So yeah,"the #1 office perk" for me is not getting interrupted with inane shit every ten minutes.

Also have a (huge) windowless office to myself and it's awesome.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#205

Post by pbhjpbhj » Wed, Sep 05, 2018, 3:02 PM UTC

mooss wrote: post #27

sarabande wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which countries?

I did an internship last year which consisted in writing unit tests for a raytracing library that was among other things - I was told - used to determine if buildings were on paper getting enough sunlight according to european standards. I'm not sure whether they were talking about EU regulations or about the regulations of specific european countries. Edit: typos

There are planning regulations in the UK preventing new developments from "stealing" light from existing buildings, there's also a Right to Light.

Eg http://www.right-of-light.co.uk/services/calculations-and-re...

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#206

Post by AnnoyingSwede » Wed, Sep 05, 2018, 3:05 PM UTC

Working in a beautiful glass building with very much natural light i still have to claim our bar/free booze is what gets me to work every day.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#207

Post by gjhicks » Wed, Sep 05, 2018, 3:08 PM UTC

betterworldb wrote: post #171

ehnto wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trees and greenery in general take a space from "concrete wasteland" to "human living space" for me. I have no idea why we build plazas as big concrete slabs. Who thought that was what people wanted? Who has every thought to themselves, gee, I sure wish there was more flat concrete to look at.

It's modernist design. And it sucks.

Maybe bad modernist design or the out-of-favor brutalist design. Modernist design does not favor large slabs of flat concrete. Really, no form of design does. So, it's really just bad design.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#208

Post by iamdave » Wed, Sep 05, 2018, 3:09 PM UTC

bstar77 wrote: post #199

l33tbro wrote: post #113

Currently working alone in my own windowless office in an almost completely windowless building. Compared to the previous 'open-plan' gig where I sat opposite opposite Jill-from-Comms and Sales-bro Bryan, it rules so hard. So yeah,"the #1 office perk" for me is not getting interrupted with inane shit every ten minutes.

My solution was to buy a pair of headphones with good sound isolation. The building could be burning down and I'd wouldn't give a shit.

New job has me sitting next to a 20U rack cabinet with my network "lab" humming away all day long in an office I share with one other person (plenty of space for the two of us). Support is right down the hall. I don't hear a thing except every now and then someone running the ice maker but it's well buffered by the three Dell blade servers lol.

It's awesome.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#209

Post by nitrogen » Wed, Sep 05, 2018, 3:12 PM UTC

WalterSear wrote: post #198

siruncledrew wrote: post #191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It makes sense considering the lesser sunlight hours certain countries receive (especially parts of UK, Iceland, Germany, Scandinavia): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Europe_sunshine_hour... Sunlight is not only good for morale, but also good for health.

The direct physiological benefits are blocked by glass, which is naturally UV opaque, fwiw.

There is some physiological benefit just from the eyes being exposed to very bright and/or blue light at the right times, too.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#210

Post by dijit » Wed, Sep 05, 2018, 3:16 PM UTC

Sileni wrote: post #183

l33tbro wrote: post #113

Currently working alone in my own windowless office in an almost completely windowless building. Compared to the previous 'open-plan' gig where I sat opposite opposite Jill-from-Comms and Sales-bro Bryan, it rules so hard. So yeah,"the #1 office perk" for me is not getting interrupted with inane shit every ten minutes.

I will never work in an open plan building again. It left me absolutely brain dead and begging the clock to go faster because I couldn't think at work anyway.

I'm with you, it's like my brain turns off when I'm there, no amount of noise-cancelling headphones can stop me noticing movements in my periphery or the feeling of possible immediate jarring interruptions if I have my back to the room.

I get all my day-work done in the evening, when I'm in the office I just browse reddit or read HN because; unless I'm in a meeting or talking to a colleague- I cannot possibly be productive.

(I _really_ did try to avoid Reddit/HN but after 2 years of doing basically nothing above a 10 minute task I couldn't do it anymore, I was bored.)

And my company still trucks on with an open office policy. :(