Over the next year or so, Google will try out new office designs • Hacker News Board

Re: Over the next year or so, Google will try out new office designs

#81

Post by neilv » Sat, May 01, 2021, 10:37 PM UTC

Now I want to see that creative design bubble wall snap up instantly, like Zodiac inflatable commando boats do in action movies.

Though the pacing of the bubble wall does have great comedic potential for holding attention awkwardly, as you're signalling you suddenly want a barrier between you and a coworker. Optional is to also maintain intense eye contact, as they can see the barrier rise between you, initially in their peripheral vision. For the labor-saving eyes-free option, maybe accompany inflation with some milquetoast elevator music.

(If one could move to Google without months of test-prep, someday I'd be happy to share additional perspectives on technology and office dynamics.)

Re: Over the next year or so, Google will try out new office designs

#82

Post by olliej » Sat, May 01, 2021, 10:50 PM UTC

throwawaygler1 wrote: post #16

As a Googler, I'm pretty disappointed with this plan and I think many colleagues are as well. The office that's being pitched right now has no resemblance whatsoever to the one we left. I just don't see why someone would go through 1+hr commute just to social distance/wear masks, use balloon walls and hotdesk. By now, many of us have gotten a good setup at home and are pretty productive. Even the hybrid model isn't i…

while I was there I detested the open plan cube farm horror of their offices (at least the SF ones) they weren't even full cubes, being only half height so constant visual distraction, and they didn't completely surround you so you had people always moving around behind you.

Changing how the open plan is arranged is just pointless, accept that you have made an unpleasant work environment and leave it alone so at least people don't have to track whatever new fad you're on. Hotseating makes it even worse, so I can't see why anyone who respected their employees would consider it.

Re: Over the next year or so, Google will try out new office designs

#83

Post by neilv » Sat, May 01, 2021, 10:52 PM UTC

brandmeyer wrote: post #77

thoweryo2i344 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> By now, many of us have gotten a good setup at home and are pretty productive. It might be okay for people who've been at Google for a while, but it's really not a very good experience for a Noogler. Google's infrastructure, while amazing, is also one-of-a-kind, which means that you need a lot of internal resources to get up to speed on things, which would go much faster from a face to face interaction. It's nightm…

> (who I find are always rather disinterested with us plebs in "shit-hole" India) It probably doesn't make you feel any better, but I ran into this attitude frequently when working from a satellite office in the US. Teams worked in constant fear of a defrag (read: their jobs got impactful enough to pull the work into MTV), and we regularly referred to ourselves as a "vassal" office. Teams in the vassal would get assi…

Do you know whether people based out of the Cambridge/Boston site would be considered second-class citizens today?

And if there is a second-class dynamic, would it be in a way that adversely affected the work, directly, or the impact was more about individual treatment?

(For example of affecting the work... when collaboration across sites is needed, for the benefit of the org, would there be difficulty getting it to happen, because some were second-class... such as not being taken as seriously, or working with second-class didn't fit well with promotion strategies, etc.)

Re: Over the next year or so, Google will try out new office designs

#84

Post by stevenicr » Sat, May 01, 2021, 10:57 PM UTC

okareaman wrote: post #58

> The company will encourage — but not mandate — that employees be vaccinated I wouldn't want to spend a good part of the day indoors with people who aren't vaccinated

[flagged]

Re: Over the next year or so, Google will try out new office designs

#85

Post by mattm » Sat, May 01, 2021, 10:58 PM UTC

gpm wrote: post #59

novok wrote: post #21

Those balloon walls seems the worst possible solution. Noisy, obnoxious, slow, fragile and doesn't create any sound privacy from whatever you will be talking about.

And makes it blatantly obvious that you're setting up to talk about things in private... Seriously, just have some rooms with doors. Even if that's not the majority of the space.

I know cubicles were previously mocked but a private space with walls where I'm not distracted by people walking all around me doesn't sound too bad.

Re: Over the next year or so, Google will try out new office designs

#86

Post by rokob » Sat, May 01, 2021, 10:58 PM UTC

throwawaygler1 wrote: post #16

As a Googler, I'm pretty disappointed with this plan and I think many colleagues are as well. The office that's being pitched right now has no resemblance whatsoever to the one we left. I just don't see why someone would go through 1+hr commute just to social distance/wear masks, use balloon walls and hotdesk. By now, many of us have gotten a good setup at home and are pretty productive. Even the hybrid model isn't i…

I am in the same boat as you and I agree with all you say here.

I have a lot opinions on this and continue to say them internally. I encourage you to say this internally as well.

Re: Over the next year or so, Google will try out new office designs

#87

Post by throwaway3699 » Sat, May 01, 2021, 11:00 PM UTC

kazen44 wrote: post #64

ghaff wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course, the vast majority of employees in the tech sector manage to get by without shuttle buses, free cafeterias, etc.

the sillicon valley bubble of HN is sometimes hilarious. the concept of a company providing shuttle bus service instead of just having proper public transport to bussiness parks is very weird when one thinks about it.

It is a bubble, but I get it because the default infrastructure is so bad. Everybody hopping in a car is just not a good solution.

Re: Over the next year or so, Google will try out new office designs

#88

Post by throwawaysea » Sat, May 01, 2021, 11:01 PM UTC

No thanks. Masks indoors are a no go. I find them inconvenient and stifling, and am eager to rid them from my routine entirely. Beyond a certain point either the risk is low enough and we ditch masks or we just ditch offices permanently. I’m not sure who these designs are for.

Re: Over the next year or so, Google will try out new office designs

#89

Post by ghaff » Sat, May 01, 2021, 11:05 PM UTC

okareaman wrote: post #58

> The company will encourage — but not mandate — that employees be vaccinated I wouldn't want to spend a good part of the day indoors with people who aren't vaccinated

I'm sure a lot of companies are thinking about it. The question is how many employees you lose based on what you decide--and what your policies around exemptions are (which you need to have).

Certainly the path of least resistance is to encourage but not require because that way someone who doesn't like that policy can just quit rather than require the company to fire people who don't have the right docs (or submit fake ones).

Re: Over the next year or so, Google will try out new office designs

#90

Post by ThrowawayR2 » Sat, May 01, 2021, 11:06 PM UTC

fasteddie31003 wrote: post #34

I want to see what statistics management are looking at where going into an office is better than the current WFH arraignment. Tech stocks are at all time highs with the current work situation. I'm personally never working full time in an office again. I can only see an office being good for junior engineers.

> "Tech stocks are at all time highs with the current work situation."

The logical conclusion to draw from tech stocks being at all time highs is "the general public being isolated at home forced a huge increase in tech usage and purchases", not "WFH is great for tech companies".