Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

nytimes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

111–120 of 189 posts

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

#111

Post by imgabe »

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #101
imgabe wrote: post #93

All of these are just half-assed, incomplete attempts to solve problems that were already solved by private offices. You don't have to worry about a sick person sitting 3 feet away from you if you have a private office. You don't need to wear a mask sitting at your desk all day if you have a private office. You don't need specialized "focus rooms" if you have private offices. You don't need specialized break-out room…

> But, it's not like Google couldn't afford private offices if they wanted to. Google employs in some of the most expensive real-estate in the world. It's hard and takes years to build more, larger office buildings.

They don't need to build brand new office buildings from the ground up. They can renovate existing spaces, lease new space and renovate. That could be done in 6 months, tops, if they really wanted to.

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

#112

Post by hoppyhoppy2 »

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #101
imgabe wrote: post #93

All of these are just half-assed, incomplete attempts to solve problems that were already solved by private offices. You don't have to worry about a sick person sitting 3 feet away from you if you have a private office. You don't need to wear a mask sitting at your desk all day if you have a private office. You don't need specialized "focus rooms" if you have private offices. You don't need specialized break-out room…

> But, it's not like Google couldn't afford private offices if they wanted to. Google employs in some of the most expensive real-estate in the world. It's hard and takes years to build more, larger office buildings.

The point is that they could move toward a system with private offices if they wanted to. Sure, it might be hard and take years to make progress, but they do hard things all the time and are an established and rich-beyond-compare company with plenty of time and money -- and yet they haven't gone that route.

Instead they're announcing their plans to use shared desks, chairs with built-in white-noise speakers, and balloon walls for office spaces as people return from working at home. Perhaps this is Phase I of their super-secret long-term plan to transition to private offices, but I somehow doubt it.

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

#113

Post by throwawaygler1 »

rokob wrote: post #86
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.

I've been meme-ing about it, but I don't think leadership cares anymore. Instead, I just told my manager that there's 99% chance I'm leaving over the summer, it's a good excuse to take some time off after this crazy year anyways.

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

#114

Post by kingsuper20 »

lol. It's brilliant.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/the-googleplex-of-the-...

Maybe a whole grid of inflated condoms in jolly colors is just the ticket.

Really, I wonder how much better telepresence needs to be before there's really no point. Low latency, full duplex audio, largish monitors. The Veldt doesn't seem like much of a stretch.

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

#115

Post by caturopath »

secfirstmd wrote: post #60

A balloon wall? Hahahahaha, is this an episode of Silicon Valley? Forcing people to commute in order to wear masks at their hot desk? Google needs to admit reality that WFH is a reality, rather than trying to lever people into the office.

Amazon came up with a similar technology first, I believe. They have been including it in my shipments for years.

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

#116

Post by hpoe »

Animats wrote: post #43
jdhn wrote: post #19

Why would I want to come back into the office if I have to wear a mask?

As soon as a coronavirus vaccine gets full FDA approval (expected soon for Moderna and Pfizer), companies should require immunization for employees. Then they can stop requiring masks. Every vaccine that has ever had serious side-effect problems has shown them in the first few months.[1] The FDA requires six months of data for full approval. Those six months have passed. [1] https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns…

I have concerns with employers requiring a vaccine to allow you to return to work because of the dangerous precedent it can set that employers have some valid need to suddenly start knowing your medical status, and once they get their foot in the door I don't see them quietly giving up that power.

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

#117

Post by barrkel »

kingsuper20 wrote: post #102
jeffbee wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We were all nostalgic for the half-height cubes of Google SF after it was all converted to no-height non-cubes, just desks on the floor (and they kept making the desks narrower, an inch at a time!).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS5WLkb_Cxk

https://youtu.be/tSY1VnNUJzQ?t=110 may be better for folks who can't view this video in their geography.

(I, for one, can't see it, but I reckon it's the fight over the desk in Brazil.)

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

#118

Post by summerlight »

imgabe wrote: post #111
AceJohnny2 wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But, it's not like Google couldn't afford private offices if they wanted to. Google employs in some of the most expensive real-estate in the world. It's hard and takes years to build more, larger office buildings.

They don't need to build brand new office buildings from the ground up. They can renovate existing spaces, lease new space and renovate. That could be done in 6 months, tops, if they really wanted to.

AFAIK, it's what they're already doing; Google is one of the largest real estate purchaser in the bay area, consistently spending billions of dollars each year on office spaces. The problem is their growth of workforce has been consistently outpacing their real estate expansion. Probably Google can simply slowdown their speed of hiring, but this might be a deal breaker; office space already has been a major constraint for many team's headcount pre-COVID.

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

#119

Post by saalweachter »

AceJohnny2 wrote: post #101
imgabe wrote: post #93

All of these are just half-assed, incomplete attempts to solve problems that were already solved by private offices. You don't have to worry about a sick person sitting 3 feet away from you if you have a private office. You don't need to wear a mask sitting at your desk all day if you have a private office. You don't need specialized "focus rooms" if you have private offices. You don't need specialized break-out room…

> But, it's not like Google couldn't afford private offices if they wanted to. Google employs in some of the most expensive real-estate in the world. It's hard and takes years to build more, larger office buildings.

I'd love to see giving employees an option for either permanent WFH or a private office, with the reduced in-office headcount being leveraged to make room for private offices.

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

#120

Post by andrewnc »

nzrf wrote: post #106
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…

Fully agree with return to office in line with mask mandate. I’m not sure if you tried talking to someone over hangouts/zoom/teams while they where a mask. It’s next to impossible to understand what they are saying with it on. If we are looking at hybrid most chances someone will be remote. Next marketable item is masks with Bluetooth microphones I guess… I am so glad I found a new fully remote job to skip going back…

I haven't admitted this publically, but I am actually really looking forward to Project Hazel masks [0] which look like a crazy futuristic n-95, but have microphones and clear portions to help with communication.

[0]https://www.razer.com/concepts/razer-project-hazel

ps. They have been approved from concept phase, so they are being built as we speak

Post reply on HN