Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction • Hacker News Board

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#21

Post by adestefan » Thu, Sep 19, 2013, 1:20 AM UTC

mathrat wrote: post #15

I used to think this. And then I went to work in an open plan office... and discovered I love it! The office is surprisingly quiet, considering there's about 50 people in the open plan. When conversation does spring up, it's often really interesting and worth listening in on. When it's not, I find I have no trouble tuning it out. Other people seem to more trouble, and they bring noise-canceling headphones. Not saying…

I was working at a place that switched to an open office plan with desks in groups of three or four. I was looking forward to it thinking that would foster much needed communication between two teams that shared the space. Instead, I found that I hated it and quit the job based largely on the open office plan.

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#22

Post by niels_olson » Thu, Sep 19, 2013, 1:20 AM UTC

What's up with that abstract? Can you imagine a medical abstract where N and key parameters of the results aren't in the abstract?

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#23

Post by jyrkesh » Thu, Sep 19, 2013, 1:21 AM UTC

fishtoaster wrote: post #18

I don't think open offices are necessarily bad, but that they're harder to get right. What you need is: - A a decent cultural protocol around it. One place I worked had the very strong rule that you start all non-emergency communication asynchronously (usually text chat), even if the person is right next to you. Another place I worked at strongly respected headphones as the "don't bother me" signal. - A reasonable nu…

But if you implement all of that perfectly, doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of having an open office? (I.e. to stimulate more spontaneous collaboration)

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#24

Post by ThomPete » Thu, Sep 19, 2013, 1:21 AM UTC

Its not the open space per se that is the problem but rather the ratio of the number of people occupying how much space.

I have now had 15 years of experience with different plans, 6 of those with my own 60 people agency and a lot of time spent trying to figure out the optimal space.

Its really simple. Size vs. number of people is the defining factor.

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#25

Post by debt » Thu, Sep 19, 2013, 1:23 AM UTC

aspensmonster wrote: post #2

>An open plan workplace, in which enclosed rooms are eschewed in favour of partitioned or non-partitioned desks arranged around a large room, are supposed to promote interaction between workers and boost teamwork. Instead, everyone's too busy maintaining social facades for the entirety of their day, day after day, rather than focusing on their work.

My lord this is truth. I don't care what you did yesterday, what you're doing tonight, what you're doing this weekend, why you're wearing what you're wearing, who got you that thing, when you got in, when you leave, why you hate brad, why you hate brad but love donna, why donna's nice but you'd prefer to be home studying. did you get an extra $30 deducted from your paycheck? doesn't that suck? it only takes me 20 minutes to get work, it use to take me 15.

I don't care. I've come here to work.

I enjoy interacting socially, but I really honest-to-goodness would rather talk about work at work. I really truly don't care about your personal life at work. I would feel so relieved if I never had a conversation about something personal at work.

It doesn't have to be Nazi Germany, but it doesn't need to be constant chatter.

Yes I'm an engineer.

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#26

Post by seanmcdirmid » Thu, Sep 19, 2013, 1:24 AM UTC

jyrkesh wrote: post #23

fishtoaster wrote: post #18

I don't think open offices are necessarily bad, but that they're harder to get right. What you need is: - A a decent cultural protocol around it. One place I worked had the very strong rule that you start all non-emergency communication asynchronously (usually text chat), even if the person is right next to you. Another place I worked at strongly respected headphones as the "don't bother me" signal. - A reasonable nu…

But if you implement all of that perfectly, doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of having an open office? (I.e. to stimulate more spontaneous collaboration)

The main purpose of open offices is to save on real estate costs, stimulating more spontaneous collaboration is just a flimsy excuse.

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#27

Post by SCdF » Thu, Sep 19, 2013, 1:24 AM UTC

RogerL wrote: post #20

SCdF wrote: post #10

You know, I've never worked in nor seen an office that wasn't "bullpit" style with people grouped onto many desks. Maybe this is just NZ. Is having your entire development team each having their own private office something that actually happens in America (bar the amazing fantasy land that Spolsky's office sounds like). Also, it's worth mentioning that this is just a survey, and just addresses how people "feel", not…

Yes. I am in my own office. I've more or less been in a single office since, oh, 95 or so. It's impossible to think in bullpen/cubes. Well, that's hyperbole, but it is both wearying and distracting. I'm sure there are personality types that thrive in that situation, but it is just really hard for me to be in an environment like that for long. There's a reason there's a "no talking" rule at libraries, after all.

That's what my closed cans headphones are for :P

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#28

Post by loceng » Thu, Sep 19, 2013, 1:24 AM UTC

jyrkesh wrote: post #23

fishtoaster wrote: post #18

I don't think open offices are necessarily bad, but that they're harder to get right. What you need is: - A a decent cultural protocol around it. One place I worked had the very strong rule that you start all non-emergency communication asynchronously (usually text chat), even if the person is right next to you. Another place I worked at strongly respected headphones as the "don't bother me" signal. - A reasonable nu…

But if you implement all of that perfectly, doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of having an open office? (I.e. to stimulate more spontaneous collaboration)

I think one benefit is the cost savings? More people in smaller area + large area for group chats when needed, etc?

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#29

Post by jacques_chester » Thu, Sep 19, 2013, 1:24 AM UTC

jyrkesh wrote: post #23

fishtoaster wrote: post #18

I don't think open offices are necessarily bad, but that they're harder to get right. What you need is: - A a decent cultural protocol around it. One place I worked had the very strong rule that you start all non-emergency communication asynchronously (usually text chat), even if the person is right next to you. Another place I worked at strongly respected headphones as the "don't bother me" signal. - A reasonable nu…

But if you implement all of that perfectly, doesn't that defeat the whole purpose of having an open office? (I.e. to stimulate more spontaneous collaboration)

The actual purpose of open offices is to save money.

The collaboration stuff is marketing nonsense managers tell themselves to try and ease the cognitive dissonance of lying about it.

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#30

Post by mahyarm » Thu, Sep 19, 2013, 1:24 AM UTC

mathrat wrote: post #15

I used to think this. And then I went to work in an open plan office... and discovered I love it! The office is surprisingly quiet, considering there's about 50 people in the open plan. When conversation does spring up, it's often really interesting and worth listening in on. When it's not, I find I have no trouble tuning it out. Other people seem to more trouble, and they bring noise-canceling headphones. Not saying…

This really is organization dependent. Do your managers look over your shoulder and micromanage you? Would they get upset if they see HN in your web browser more than once or twice a day? Do you worry about them 'catching' you? Are you surrounded by 4 dozen people with multiple loud passionate discussions guaranteed to happen per day? Possibly in a language you don't understand most of the time? And whenever they do this making it very difficult to concentrate? Do they ignore your social requests to move it to a conference room, since they only last a few minutes and they're hunched over someones desk looking at something?

Do you know some people get a minor feeling of background anxiety when their back is to an open space with people talking and walking around? Their peripheral vision and senses conflict with the deep concentration required for software work.

Those noise cancelling headphones are meant to take out droning noises, such as AC system fans or jet engines in airplanes. Conversations with their lack of repetitiveness and human vocal ranges are not filtered out well, if at all. The music they will have to listen to filter you out is distracting in its own right.

Open Offices also decrease the barriers for interruption. Managers like it because they make their jobs a lot easier, because they get to hear what is happening and get status on their workers progress passively.

This is what open office means to many people.