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Open offices are a dead end

nytimes.com

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Re: Open offices are a dead end

#131

Post by reroute1 »

goatinaboat wrote: post #95
scarface74 wrote: post #16

If I could craft the perfect job for me, the one I work at would be it - an intelligent straightforward manager who will speak his mind bluntly and can take it just as well as he can dish it out. He’s mostly concerned with results not whether you kiss his ring. - small company without a lot of bureaucracy -- I have full access to our entire AWS infrastructure - relatively generous PTO - a decent free family health pl…

If it’s the perfect job why do you want to pad your CV with junk? Why not pick some stable tech and take the opportunity to get really deeply into it? The only reason to chase buzzwords is if you plan to leave soon!

Why did it become padding junk? Why can't it be valuable experience to put on your CV? He never mentioned anything about flash in the pan tech or buzzwords. Despite having a great job it's still totally relevant to build your resume. What if you get let go, the company undergoes changes, or you become unhappy?

Re: Open offices are a dead end

#132

Post by BurningFrog »

ivl wrote: post #57

I think I'd have a less negative reaction to open offices if it weren't for the attempt to sell it as a productivity booster . The article even mentions how they're "sold to workers as a boon to collaboration — liberated from barriers, stuffed in like sardines, people would chat more and, supposedly, come up with lots of brilliant new ideas". Thankfully the author also quickly refuted that. Yet the insanity remains,…

Well, the fair comparison is to an wall separated space using the same area.

If you compare an open space office with a walled office that 3x the size, of course the bigger office will win out. An open office 3x the size would also be a big improvement.

Re: Open offices are a dead end

#133

Post by djhaskin987 »

At my first job space was at a sort of premium, and we all worked at a bench with computers on it. But, there were walls that separated about 6-8 workers. I think this is a very nice happy medium. I can openly collaborate with my "pizza-sized" team, but there's enough separation from other teams that I have a modicum of privacy. That said, I quite appreciate my 6'x7' cube my current company has me in.

Re: Open offices are a dead end

#134

Post by kerkeslager »

tombert wrote: post #67
umvi wrote: post #23

Unpopular opinion, but I actually think open offices make me more productive. When I'm in a private office, the temptation to watch YouTube, or otherwise read/do unrelated work stuff is much higher. However, I do like having a private office to eat lunch.

Even if you're an outlier, the overwhelming evidence suggests that the overall output of an open office is substantially less for virtually everybody. People get sick more frequently, and lots of time is lost in non-work-related conversations. This has been measured, and I don't know that it's really up for debate.

I think it is very much up for debate.

Let's hypothesize that 60% of people work better in private offices, and 40% work better in open offices. You force everyone to work in a private office, and they perform slightly better than if you force everyone to work in an open office--that perfectly explains the results of the studies.

But obviously if this hypothesis is true, then the best solution would be to let the 40% who work better in open offices work in open offices, and let the 60% who work better in private offices work in private offices.

Sure, if you're going to force everyone into one style of office, the evidence probably says we should force them into private offices. But why are we forcing everyone into one style of office?

Re: Open offices are a dead end

#135

Post by ping_pong »

utf985 wrote: post #123

I get a bit bewildered every time I see someone complaining about open offices as it always begs the question - what kind of alternative do they demand exactly? I have addressed this on many threads and comments but somehow I never gen an answer. Only thing I can think of are cubicles but to me they seem a lot worse than the open office and they're definitely not a thing here in Europe. Out of all the companies and i…

> The other thing I suppose is where literally every employee gets their own office. But is that really a thing? Because I've never heard of something like that.

This used to be the case. Companies like Microsoft gave everyone their own office (I'm not sure what the current policy is, I would assume they kept it the same).

I for one hate cubicles the most. They have none of the privacy but also none of the social collaboration, you can't lean over and talk to your coworker.

Re: Open offices are a dead end

#136

Post by [deleted] »

pmlnr wrote: post #90
scarface74 wrote: post #16

If I could craft the perfect job for me, the one I work at would be it - an intelligent straightforward manager who will speak his mind bluntly and can take it just as well as he can dish it out. He’s mostly concerned with results not whether you kiss his ring. - small company without a lot of bureaucracy -- I have full access to our entire AWS infrastructure - relatively generous PTO - a decent free family health pl…

> - up to date with technology and great chances for resume building. Resume driver development is bad for the planet, you, for everything. Java programmers still find jobs; COBOL programmers are still needed; FORTRAN is still alive, so I'd rather find something that will not go away in my lifetime than trying to keep up with trends.

[deleted]

Re: Open offices are a dead end

#137

Post by FineTralfazz »

haditab wrote: post #15
andreygrehov wrote: post #3

I hate open offices. What software companies offer at least cubicles?

Last I heard Microsoft still have it's engineers individual offices.

I'm not sure how widespread it is (it might just be a few teams), but I've seen a few Microsoft engineers complaining about moving to open offices over the past few weeks. Ex: https://twitter.com/NerdPyle/status/1174732849699704833

Re: Open offices are a dead end

#138

Post by reroute1 »

utf985 wrote: post #123

I get a bit bewildered every time I see someone complaining about open offices as it always begs the question - what kind of alternative do they demand exactly? I have addressed this on many threads and comments but somehow I never gen an answer. Only thing I can think of are cubicles but to me they seem a lot worse than the open office and they're definitely not a thing here in Europe. Out of all the companies and i…

Cubicles, working remote, conference rooms. You ask for alternatives but automatically rule out the largest alternative (cubicles)? Feels like your expectations are the odd ones

Re: Open offices are a dead end

#139

Post by awinder »

big_chungus wrote: post #33
sct202 wrote: post #14

In the four years at my current company we went full cubes -> half cubes (you get like 2-3 regular walls and one baby wall) -> open office -> open office no assigned desks. I can't wait to see the next iteration on this.

We're gonna get those pods they have in Tokyo hotels, next. Screen right above you, integrated keyboard/mouse on your legs, your hands just rest on that as you lie down. Get slotted into a rack and work... It's the future!™

oooo but all that neck tension should finally get addressed

Re: Open offices are a dead end

#140

Post by dawg- »

scarface74 wrote: post #16

If I could craft the perfect job for me, the one I work at would be it - an intelligent straightforward manager who will speak his mind bluntly and can take it just as well as he can dish it out. He’s mostly concerned with results not whether you kiss his ring. - small company without a lot of bureaucracy -- I have full access to our entire AWS infrastructure - relatively generous PTO - a decent free family health pl…

Hey! I actually have all of the things on your list. But with one catch: I work for a community nonprofit in a small town of 15,000 people in the deep south, and make probably a very small fraction of what you do.

I guess life is all about compromise :)

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