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Open-plan offices decrease face-to-face collaboration: study

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Re: Open-plan offices decrease face-to-face collaboration: study

#141

Post by mlthoughts2018 »

ericwood wrote: post #125
agentultra wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get it and I totally appreciate my extrovert colleagues. I think the ability to have both is good. Sometimes I do like to work with others. It's just that often open-plan offices are an all-or-nothing affair. It's a weird way to construct a space for people to work and collaborate given how different we all are.

These conversations always seem to be extremely one-sided, and it's frustrating. I wouldn't even classify myself as an extrovert; it's a continuum and people fall all over the place. Ultimately, though, an ideal office needs to cater to everyone. Some of my favorite offices have been ones that have the typical open office structure, but also lots and lots of "hiding places" and different areas. I'm super ADHD and cha…

Workplaces themselves are so egregiously one-sides in the other direction that these discussions have to be one-sided, because by definition it’s the huge, huge majority of people who find the existing actually workplaces to be one-sidesly disergonomic.

You’re worried that the discussion is one-sides. I’m worried that physical workplaces are one-sided, today, for real, to such an extent that it’s deeply cognitively harmful to many people.

Re: Open-plan offices decrease face-to-face collaboration: study

#143

Post by knightofmars »

I realize it's opinion, but I'm amazed that people think cubicles are privacy. I get that you feel more productive and that there is likely a reduction in visual distraction but it's an illusion of privacy, it ends up being a "lesser of two evils" scenario. Providing everyone with an office that has a closing door (while more expensive) has the highest productivity outcome.

Fun dive into history, the guy who invented cubicles regretted doing it[1].

[1] https://www.history.com/news/why-the-inventor-of-the-cubicle...

Re: Open-plan offices decrease face-to-face collaboration: study

#144

Post by b1ur »

0xffff2 wrote: post #115
habosa wrote: post #102

There are definitely problems with the open office but one thing I can say is that there is truly a different energy to the office when it's open and people can chat spontaneously. Some of my best projects have started this way, as have all my office friendships. I'd definitely get more heads-down work done in a private office setting. However in that setting I'd mostly be annoyed I couldn't just work from my home of…

I never understand this line of reasoning. I have my own office. It's right next to most of my team's offices. My door is open 90% of the time. If someone wants to chat spontaneously, I don't think walking 15 feet is going to stop them.

You'd be surprised, it doesn't seem like a lot but there is a big difference between having to stand up and walk over and leaning over, or kicking your chair over.

Re: Open-plan offices decrease face-to-face collaboration: study

#145

Post by [deleted] »

bcrosby95 wrote: post #72

I've worked in a variety of settings, and my favorite is a small team in a conference room/tiny open office. 3-8 people. People tend to be respectful of each other's concentration at that number of people. And since you're in the same team, most interruptions are likely to be useful to other members of the team. But if we wanted to just bother 1 specific person, we would just use instant message. Our manager worked i…

[deleted]

Re: Open-plan offices decrease face-to-face collaboration: study

#146

Post by jcims »

bcrosby95 wrote: post #72

I've worked in a variety of settings, and my favorite is a small team in a conference room/tiny open office. 3-8 people. People tend to be respectful of each other's concentration at that number of people. And since you're in the same team, most interruptions are likely to be useful to other members of the team. But if we wanted to just bother 1 specific person, we would just use instant message. Our manager worked i…

Same, best setup for me was quads of corner desks with high exterior walls, making a sort of open room of four that were faced away from each other but within earshot. The cubes had sliding frosted glass windows between quads that you could open to talk to the adjacent team.

Also high natural light with moderate ceiling lights and good task lighting on ample desk surface.

This was at a premium EDI firm in the 90’s. It was awesome.

Re: Open-plan offices decrease face-to-face collaboration: study

#147

Post by thanatropism »

Much of the contemporary world is driven by how opex and capex accounting.

Open-plan office make perfect sense if you consider how visible real estate costs are, and how subtle and variable productivity it is.

If "Management" micromanaged productivity as some people expect here, they'd fire everyone showing signs of ADHD.

Re: Open-plan offices decrease face-to-face collaboration: study

#148

Post by Hamuko »

joegahona wrote: post #12
monkeynotes wrote: post #7

I am not sure why employees would message and email more if they can just turn their chair around to chat about something they are working on. Does anyone have experience of this? I have worked in open plan offices since 1999 and I've never experienced productivity problems. If anything I'd expect working in a cube would lead to more time wasted cruising websites since your screen is more obscured. I dunno, I've only…

I just recently went from a personal office to an open plan and find the new situation devoid of merit. Noise-canceling over-the-ear headphones are a must, and phone calls are impossible. Since meeting rooms are minimal, that's an issue too. I've done a handful of meetings in my car.

>phone calls are impossible

I've never had any problem making a phone call in an open office.

Re: Open-plan offices decrease face-to-face collaboration: study

#149

Post by beart »

phonon wrote: post #109
brianpayne2 wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was talking with a friend who works at a company HQ'd in NYC and he said that the average cost per person/desk was over 60k/yr. It was a lot higher than I was expecting.

No way...a nice sized cubicle is 100 sqft, and Class A rents in Manhattan are under $100/sqft/y. So the actual office space is something like $10,000 or less per year. Of course there is other overhead, but space itself is in that range. So the max savings, in the most expensive market in the US, is under $10k per year.

But you don't rent by cubicle, you rent by floor or building. So adding a new employee when you have hit your max means you have to figure something out or sink a whole lot of money into a new building for one person.

Re: Open-plan offices decrease face-to-face collaboration: study

#150

Post by turk73 »

dualboot wrote: post #137

The other side of this is that a very large percentage of folks in our industry seem to have social anxiety-spectrum issues. Folks without those don't seem to understand how much energy is being burned through just being out in the open and on display for all of your coworkers. It's not something I, personally, have control over. The time I've spent in "open concept" work places, I finish every day frustrated with my…

Totally agree. Open concept at my place is beyond ridiculous. I'm not a zoo animal.

Zero privacy, bathrooms are disgusting, kitchen is disgusting. I just give up. I work at home as much as possible.

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