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Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

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Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#71

Post by morgante »

I don't know many people who like their open office plan.

Yet, why are startups trumpeting these as great places to work? Particularly as an engineer, having a door I can close is essential. (That's why I love working on Fridays, when nearly everyone else works from home.)

The biggest stressor for me in an open office is overhearing personal conversations. It's not the noise that bothers me, but the fact that I hear things I really just feel awkward hearing.

My ideal office is just lots and lots of rooms. Maybe you could do an open office if complete silence were enforced on the floor and all meetings were held in adjourning rooms, but that'll never get buy-in.

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#73

Post by needacig »

niels_olson wrote: post #50

Work spaces I have had * High school: desk in bedroom. Unaware there are worse options: Productivity: 9. * College, year 1: dorm with roommate, cop-style desks facing each other. Shut up! Productivity: 4. * College, years 2-4: two roommates, desk under bed. Vaguely cramped, but not bad. Productivity: 6. * First ship: Flight of the Intruder style aluminum desk/dresser/bookcase measuring 24" wide, aligned athwartships,…

This is an amazing chronicle of working arrangements. Thank you.

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#74

Post by vectorjohn »

debt wrote: post #25
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 min…

Well, it sounds like you're mostly just an antisocial kind of person. I mean, if you decide to put an arbitrary wall between you and your co-workers where you are simply not allowed to make friends with anyone, that's a pretty sad existence. I mean, this job takes up ~50% of your waking life, and during that time you can't treat anyone around you as a friend?

If all your co-workers are such uninteresting people, maybe you're at the wrong company.

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#75

Post by kruipen »

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…

At Microsoft a private office for engineers is a rule.

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#76

Post by mindcrime »

jacques_chester wrote: post #56
simplexion wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where's the evidence for these claims though? I know Joel Spolsky makes the argument about "A door that shuts" but it's purely anecdotal. http://www.joelonsoftware.com/items/2008/12/29.html

It seems that the X-shape exists as described, though not for all buildings: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ImageGallery/ImageDetails... Some buildings aren't strictly cross-shaped but still use right-angled wings for a similar effect: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ImageGallery/ImageDetails... Compare STL/SVL: http://www.nfbcal.org/~anordley/IBM/Air/SVL/ IBM published a paper on STL/SVL in 1978; I haven't go…

F%!#, what a ripoff. IEEE want $31.00 for that paper.. and sadly, it's the same price whether you're an IEEE member or not. So much for the idea that one of the advantage of being an IEEE member is that you get better pricing on papers from journals you don't already subscribe to.

Even sadder, IBM used to publish their journal archives online, available to anyone, for free. IBM Systems Journal wasn't always behind some shitty IEEE paywall.

Yet sadder still, the price to subscribe to IBM Systems Journal through IEEE? $1,400 USD for a one year sub.

Frack... I now remember why I'm sometimes ashamed to admit to being a member of IEEE. Guess it's time to get move involved in the elections and leadership stuff... sigh

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#77

Post by orangebox »

aimhb wrote: post #33
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…

> 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. A little bit off topic, but I too have experienced this, and I have to say, it's awful for productivity, team building, and team assimilation. As a new hire, I would send my mentor a question and it might be ten minutes to fifty minutes before I woul…

Great point, I've also experienced that as a new hire.

The best new hire layout I've had was purposely being assigned to share an office with my mentor. Since we were in a physical office, I wasn't afraid to ask any questions, even the dumb-sounding ones that otherwise would be overheard by everyone within ten feet in an open plan.

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#78

Post by twistedpair »

aimhb wrote: post #33
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…

> 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. A little bit off topic, but I too have experienced this, and I have to say, it's awful for productivity, team building, and team assimilation. As a new hire, I would send my mentor a question and it might be ten minutes to fifty minutes before I woul…

Amen. Worked in an open floor plan (30ft long rows with 8 people at each) and now work in an office of cubes (6'x7'), so actual desk space is the same. I found the developer collaboration and communication far better in the open plan than the closed plan. People were always communicating the the former and almost never pop their heads up for air in the later.

Today a coworker was IM'ing me and I then I realized that he was sitting literally 18" from me behind a partition so I just starting talking out loud to him. Seemed to unsettle him. Collaborate damn it!

Re: Open plan offices attract highest levels of worker dissatisfaction

#79

Post by twistedpair »

Osiris wrote: post #65
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…

I'm in a cube farm right now and I don't find that the cubes make the noise any softer than my co-workers in another office that have an open plan. I can still plainly hear everything that people around me are talking about. I still find headphones a necessity.

I can still hear my coworker clipping his toe nails each week two cubes down. Cubes don't help much.
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