Google got it wrong. The open-office trend is destroying the workplace
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Google got it wrong. The open-office trend is destroying the workplace
1–10 of 148 posts
Re: Google got it wrong. The open-office trend is destroying the workplace
#2The author's argument is basically "I don't like open offices, so they're bad." Yawn.
I would have liked to see some studies on actual productivity level fluctuations based on these moves.
Otherwise, it's simply another variation of "I'm not used to it, so it's bad."
Re: Google got it wrong. The open-office trend is destroying the workplace
#3The author's argument is basically "I don't like open offices, so they're bad." Yawn. I would have liked to see some studies on actual productivity level fluctuations based on these moves. Otherwise, it's simply another variation of "I'm not used to it, so it's bad."
Find a copy of Peopleware.
Re: Google got it wrong. The open-office trend is destroying the workplace
#4I truly dislike open offices. The constant sound of mechanical keyboards clacking really gets to me, and I'm not sure why. I wear headphones listening to loud music to cancel out the sounds of these damn keyboards.
Re: Google got it wrong. The open-office trend is destroying the workplace
#5Everybody needs a balance between productive alone time and creative brainstorming time. Most companies I've seen achieve this with an open space and plenty of WFH for all employees.
Basically we meet 2-3 times a week to organize and share ideas, and spend there rest of the week heads down at home, coding in whatever pace and setting we like.
Closed private offices enable people to slack at work and pretend to work 80h week while actually dozing off most of the day. I'm not saying everybody does that, but it's certainly a possibility and something I have observed few times. Once I was tasked with "doing something about" a manager who played competitively StarCraft at work.
In reality that's a symptom of a larger issue, where we are (consciously or not) evaluated on how long we stay at the office over how productive we are. IMO it's nobodys business if I play StarCraft at work, as long as it helps me, or doesn't prevent me from achieving my objectives.
Re: Google got it wrong. The open-office trend is destroying the workplace
#6The author's argument is basically "I don't like open offices, so they're bad." Yawn. I would have liked to see some studies on actual productivity level fluctuations based on these moves. Otherwise, it's simply another variation of "I'm not used to it, so it's bad."
Study after study show that open distraction office plans are bad for productivity, and increase stress and sick days -- even among those who like open office plans.
Re: Google got it wrong. The open-office trend is destroying the workplace
#7I truly dislike open offices. The constant sound of mechanical keyboards clacking really gets to me, and I'm not sure why. I wear headphones listening to loud music to cancel out the sounds of these damn keyboards.
Keyboards, random conversations, people getting up etc. so much noise and so many distractions. I also do the earphones thing, but it seems to be contributing to long-term hearing loss.
Re: Google got it wrong. The open-office trend is destroying the workplace
#8The author's argument is basically "I don't like open offices, so they're bad." Yawn. I would have liked to see some studies on actual productivity level fluctuations based on these moves. Otherwise, it's simply another variation of "I'm not used to it, so it's bad."
As pointed out: "Peopleware" by Tom DeMarco.
I would like to see the studies that show ANY positive benefit from open office plans, other than: "They are cheaper to built and run".
Re: Google got it wrong. The open-office trend is destroying the workplace
#9The author's argument is basically "I don't like open offices, so they're bad." Yawn. I would have liked to see some studies on actual productivity level fluctuations based on these moves. Otherwise, it's simply another variation of "I'm not used to it, so it's bad."
Study after study show that open distraction office plans are bad for productivity, and increase stress and sick days -- even among those who like open office plans.
Sure. It is intuitive that this would be the case. However those aren't the only important factors in a workplace. Team cohesion, collaboration, minimising politics etc. It also seems intuitive to me at least that these would be improved by an open plan office.
Personally I have seen private and public ways of working succeed for different styles of projects which seems to be the newest trend i.e. having mix use spaces.
Re: Google got it wrong. The open-office trend is destroying the workplace
#10I truly dislike open offices. The constant sound of mechanical keyboards clacking really gets to me, and I'm not sure why. I wear headphones listening to loud music to cancel out the sounds of these damn keyboards.
Keyboards, random conversations, people getting up etc. so much noise and so many distractions. I also do the earphones thing, but it seems to be contributing to long-term hearing loss.
Wear a good pair of ear defenders over your earphones so you can turn down the volume greatly while still blocking out all external sound.