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Open offices are a dead end

nytimes.com

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Re: Open offices are a dead end

#101

Post by NewsAware »

umvi wrote: post #23

Unpopular opinion, but I actually think open offices make me more productive. When I'm in a private office, the temptation to watch YouTube, or otherwise read/do unrelated work stuff is much higher. However, I do like having a private office to eat lunch.

Same for me. See the point of the sibling comments though. So maybe I prefer an open office because I don't procrastinate (which would leave me with a feeling of unproductive guilt in the evening) to a private office, even though the latter might be actually more productive.

Re: Open offices are a dead end

#102

Post by trentnix »

TheMerovingian wrote: post #59
sytse wrote: post #31

I think offices are a dead end. With 4G, Slack, Zoom, and Google Docs we're able to work from anywhere. No need to commute anymore. And no need to constrain your team to the city you have an office in. The only thing is that remote should not be an afterthought but you should organize for it https://about.gitlab.com/company/culture/all-remote/ just like you invest time to run an office.

I agree to an extent. I think remote work is a swing in the opposite direction of open offices, but it can go too far. Remote work does not allow developers to collaborate easily; sometimes getting several people at a white board is necessary and efficient. Offices or very small cube farms (of 4-6 people in an enclosed area) seem an ideal middle ground where people working on the same thing can talk while not being b…

Remote situations are also difficult to manage. I'm in management role at a new (to me) company and despite having a virtual meeting with one of my reports virtually every day, I've got a better understanding of the psychology of people that I see around the office casually even though they are in a completely different and unrelated department. Those interactions are unscheduled, have no agenda, and have no goals. And I'm realizing those interactions are invaluable at understanding what makes people tick.

And that's not even opening the can of worms regarding remote productivity. To be Captain Obvious for a moment, it seems much easier for remote employees to hide a lack of productivity, especially in roles where productivity is hard to quantify (like software development). Sure, people like Nilay Patel (who was mentioned in the story) work from home with great success because it allows them to control their environment. But people like Nilay Patel are extremely unique in their motivation, commitment, and aptitude. Companies should be extremely cautious to extrapolate success stories like his onto their own resources.

We moved to open workspaces because of success stories and consultant pitches and hip office trends despite its obvious flaws. The move to everyone being remote has the ingredients of a fad, too.

Re: Open offices are a dead end

#104

Post by arminiusreturns »

At one point in ~2009 I put together a business plan for a wework-esque office space company that was centered around each worker having their own most self-sustaining space, minus restrooms, but including sinks. I still like the idea, because the more I have worked in unicorns the more I have hated their push for open office spaces.

Re: Open offices are a dead end

#105

Post by HelloNurse »

umvi wrote: post #23

Unpopular opinion, but I actually think open offices make me more productive. When I'm in a private office, the temptation to watch YouTube, or otherwise read/do unrelated work stuff is much higher. However, I do like having a private office to eat lunch.

The temptation to slack off depends on the quality and quantity of work to do, not on your office.

You are probably more productive at slacking off (for example, reading fast and with full concentration), in addition to more productive at actually working when you get around to it.

Re: Open offices are a dead end

#106

Post by scarface74 »

joshypants wrote: post #74
scarface74 wrote: post #16

If I could craft the perfect job for me, the one I work at would be it - an intelligent straightforward manager who will speak his mind bluntly and can take it just as well as he can dish it out. He’s mostly concerned with results not whether you kiss his ring. - small company without a lot of bureaucracy -- I have full access to our entire AWS infrastructure - relatively generous PTO - a decent free family health pl…

Please be mindful of the pronouns you use in hypotheticals like these. Your intelligent straightforward manager may not use he/him.

"If I could craft the perfect job for me, the one I work at would be it".

Seeing that neither my company nor my manager are hypothetical, the term "he" is appropriate.

Re: Open offices are a dead end

#107

Post by DoingIsLearning »

slackfan wrote: post #85
m_mueller wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you own noise cancelling headphones? Mine are worth their weight in gold to me (Sony W-something 1000x Mk2).

I can't do 'em, because of the constant pressure in my ears when I have them on.

I never saw this discussed before but I experience the same.

I tried different noise cancelling cans and the effect is more or less the same:

Audio wise they are great but it feels like I am on a airplane with the need to 'pop' my ears.

Like you describe as if there is a stationary positive pressure wave.

Anyone know the reason for this? Can it be eliminated?

Re: Open offices are a dead end

#109

Post by vishnugupta »

scarface74 wrote: post #16

If I could craft the perfect job for me, the one I work at would be it - an intelligent straightforward manager who will speak his mind bluntly and can take it just as well as he can dish it out. He’s mostly concerned with results not whether you kiss his ring. - small company without a lot of bureaucracy -- I have full access to our entire AWS infrastructure - relatively generous PTO - a decent free family health pl…

It's interesting to note that I had all except "easy commute" job for ~3 years before the company acquired (I made decent money). It was amazing to see the company go through a dramatic cultural shift (terrible manager and co-worker mostly). Ended up quitting within a year after. It was a while ago but I still fondly look back to those days :-)

Re: Open offices are a dead end

#110

Post by acd »

There is a Harvard study which says "Your Open-Plan Office Is Making Your Team Less Collaborative". Open office plans lead to more email less collaboration.

So it is better to have traditional office setup with collaboration areas than open office spaces.

link to study: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rstb.201...

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