21–30 of 123 posts
This isn't really new, we known about issues regarding open office plan since the 1980s. I think it's mentioned in Peopleware at least. So why is it that companies keep building open office spaces? Are people really so focused on short term savings that they do not care that it will cost more in the long run?
The biggest benefit for me when it comes to having a private room to study is that I can do light physical activity while I'm taking a break, which most often invigorates me. This is much more convenient, and a supplement to, "properly" working out by donning clothes to sweat in, perhaps going to the gym and the like. I can't really take these breaks when I'm around other people because I'm too shy, and doing pushups while in such a context makes me feel that people think I'm trying to show off (and no one would be impressed anyway).
Sure, less noise and less visual distractions of other people walking by is great, but I most often listen to music anyway. The article claims that this is suboptimal, but it is what I prefer, and I sometimes listen to music without vocals if the music is too distracting.
Thankfully there are a fair amount of places I can study at my university, most places with other people and sometimes places where I can be alone (if I feel like being alone).
On a slightly other note: I wonder how much of the hatred of cubicles (which I have the impression of not being thought of as truly 'open' office) is disliked because of the noise and such around them, and how much it has to do with perceived status and feeling like a 'corporate drone' without the privilege of having one's own door?
Why does it have to be either/or? Is it really that hard for an employer to offer both? If each team (of 7-10 people) has a scrum room/war room, plus some number of cubes (4-5) available on an as-needed basis, wouldn't that meet the needs of employee happiness, collaboration, etc? Need to make a call? Go to a cube. Deadline to meet? Go to a cube. Mid-project, lots of design/analysis occurring? Stay in the open room.…
Also your plan requires that everyone work primarily on laptops (unless you expect to lug your desktop and monitors to a cube when you need to concentrate). And you've basically allocated double the space (cubes for half the team plus a room big enough for the whole team). Why not just cut the space up more efficiently and give everyone a private space?
This seems like a bad deal for everyone. Workers still feel like they have no privacy and are constantly distracted, and the company is paying for a lot of extra space.
Being in my late 20s and having only worked in open-office environments, the thought of having my own office seems archaic and counter-intuitive to productivity and communication. If I have my headphones in, I'm busy. If I don't, I can answer questions or talk to my colleagues about something. Projecting how I would feel in a "closed office" environment, I can honestly say I'd feel trapped and isolated. My experience…
> If I have my headphones in, I'm busy. If I don't, I can answer questions or talk to my colleagues about something. This comes up every time people discuss open floor plans. Inevitably someone says that the solution is headphones. Except that a lot of people don't want to wear headphones all the time. I find it uncomfortable, and I also find that music significantly reduces my productivity (unless I'm doing somethin…
Why does it have to be either/or? Is it really that hard for an employer to offer both? If each team (of 7-10 people) has a scrum room/war room, plus some number of cubes (4-5) available on an as-needed basis, wouldn't that meet the needs of employee happiness, collaboration, etc? Need to make a call? Go to a cube. Deadline to meet? Go to a cube. Mid-project, lots of design/analysis occurring? Stay in the open room.…
Also I've seen this tried and inevitably rules have to be put in place because no one wants to sit in the big room and everyone wants to sit in the cubes to do work. So you get people arguing about who's work is important enough to require the cubes. Which is not terribly motivating to people demoted to working sullenly, silently, in the big room.
And so the story goes: The same foolish idea keeps on popping up and popping up, I guess because every now and then a business magazine for managers writes how wonderful the idea is ....
And so the tailor keeps on sewing The Emperor's New Cloth!
Why does it have to be either/or? Is it really that hard for an employer to offer both? If each team (of 7-10 people) has a scrum room/war room, plus some number of cubes (4-5) available on an as-needed basis, wouldn't that meet the needs of employee happiness, collaboration, etc? Need to make a call? Go to a cube. Deadline to meet? Go to a cube. Mid-project, lots of design/analysis occurring? Stay in the open room.…
Lack of psychological territoriality. Still unhappy, but better. Oh if only I had a job where my boss thought I was important enough that I could have a picture of my kids in my cube, you know, a Real job. Also I've seen this tried and inevitably rules have to be put in place because no one wants to sit in the big room and everyone wants to sit in the cubes to do work. So you get people arguing about who's work is im…
Bingo.
The next time you see an open floor plan office, look at the 'quiet area' or the 'heads down space' or whatever they call it. Dollars to doughnuts the most senior person that doesn't have an office has claimed it as their personal domain.
You end up needing someone to go around and evict people, or a big shared calendar where everyone has to schedule their important work time, or...
The best solution is for the company to provide a private office for everyone and enough space for teams to work in one room as needed. Unfortunately it's also the most expensive solution.
Being in my late 20s and having only worked in open-office environments, the thought of having my own office seems archaic and counter-intuitive to productivity and communication. If I have my headphones in, I'm busy. If I don't, I can answer questions or talk to my colleagues about something. Projecting how I would feel in a "closed office" environment, I can honestly say I'd feel trapped and isolated. My experience…
> If I have my headphones in, I'm busy. If I don't, I can answer questions or talk to my colleagues about something. This comes up every time people discuss open floor plans. Inevitably someone says that the solution is headphones. Except that a lot of people don't want to wear headphones all the time. I find it uncomfortable, and I also find that music significantly reduces my productivity (unless I'm doing somethin…