There's a HUGE difference between a corporate open office plan and a co-working layout. Corporate typically is "here is your desk, don't change anything" combined with the judgmental politics of having to watch what you do. The more informal spaces that you can actually choose where, and what you're doing is far different.
The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies
121–130 of 259 posts
Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies
#122One of the reasons, at least at a startup, why open plans are common is that they're logistically easier to deal with when growing. Rearranging the furniture to make space usage a bit more efficient doesn't involve a sledgehammer. Similarly, it's hard getting a custom buildout (office a-la-Joel) for a short term lease.
Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies
#123Suffers from the same flaw as most critiques of open plan: it focuses on individual productivity while failing to understand how it contributes to team productivity. Cornell did a study of open plan awhile back that you should all read. I posted it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7507404 The misunderstanding here is that it's just about serendipitously "overhearing" other conversations. 1. Open plan makes…
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Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies
#124One size doesn't fit all [situations]. In my experience, open plans work when active collaboration is necessary by shortening the communication paths. They also work in the short term when everyone is focused on subsets of a common task. However, open plans are abysmal (again in my experience) when you need time to concentrate (most of my day when I'm programming anything non-trivial).
I hear the same tired arguments about fostering communication and the serendipitous meetings that spark great ideas. However, every single day and for at least 50% of the day, everyone in my open office either grabs headphones or runs away to another spot in the building when they need to get work done individually.
When I bring up objections, I'm told that I can work remotely or wear headphones. I don't see how forcing people to seek all sorts of ways to find privacy is any great recommendation for a purely open plan. If you spend the majority of your day talking and listening to others, I don't see how you can actually get programming done.
Edit: At this moment I can overhear conversations about opening day in baseball, April Fools day, SAP, reporting about inventories in Epicor, the weather, CNN, 3 people scheduling meetings and having phone conversations and one person trying to talk to our network provider. Not to forget, there are 2 people in the hallway complaining about personal issues and getting coffee. And an elevator that keeps beeping every few seconds. I can't wait to see what great idea all this is going to generate in my head.
Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies
#125Suffers from the same flaw as most critiques of open plan: it focuses on individual productivity while failing to understand how it contributes to team productivity. Cornell did a study of open plan awhile back that you should all read. I posted it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7507404 The misunderstanding here is that it's just about serendipitously "overhearing" other conversations. 1. Open plan makes…
Unless working is a constant stream of asking silly questions then no this is a stupid idea. You can irc someone, look through their office window to see if they are busy or not.
> Those are "disruptions", yes
But that is a huge deal. I would say disruptions many time outweigh the benefits of open spaces.
> the company benefits from a balance of personal and team productivity.
Without individual productivity there can be no company success. If someone is constantly interrupting others then they probably need more focused training or a class.
Imagine you are surgeon and while you perform surgery you doctor buddy from across the hall comes in and asks you some question about how to hold a scalpel or something like that.
Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies
#126I used to work in an office with a much more experienced programmer. It was great for me, but not so good for him to be peppered with the questions that I could have looked up in a reference manual(before Google).
Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies
#127Earlier quoted context omitted.
Agreed. Also, trying not to listen to others conversations about the latest TV shows, etc. whilst trying to code negatively affects productivity and can generate some hostility towards the chattier folks in the office. Good, closed-ear headphones are a must.
know thyself. If proximity distractions are too much, go somewhere else where you can have privacy if you need heightened focus for some block of time - a couch, stay at home, the library, a conf room, etc.
"Let them eat cakes"
Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies
#128Aren't they just cheaper? Seems to me that is the biggest reason why. Although there always seems to be money for the managers to have an office with a door.
Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Maybe one or two in ten people have trouble working in that environment because they're too distracted." How do you know? Did you actually ask everyone "Do you have trouble working in this environment because of the distractions?" People are afraid of being seen as "anti-team" and "anti-open plan", and they won't tell you the truth. And others fake it, even if they really hate working in such an environment (I'm one…
Did you actually ask everyone Yeah, I did communicate with people about the efficacy of the working environment. Plus, for the past 12 years or so, everyone I've worked with has had a laptop that they could always (and did at times) take to quiet places when they needed alone time. They self-identified as needing quiet. Most others self-identified as liking the more collaborative working spaces. I'm one of them If yo…
"Take your laptop to a quiet space" is insane unless that "quiet space" is setup with a decent desk, external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. In fact, it's a great invitation for a lawsuit. I think I'd file it myself the moment I heard that, just to scare the HR and legal department into explicitly banning such an absurd excuse from ever being used again.
Re: The inexplicable rise of open floor plans in tech companies
#130Has anyone studied open plan offices and choice of programming language? Does an environment with a high chance of interruption lead to languages where you have to write a lot to do a small task, because you can write simple code between interruptions, and over time get enough code to do the task - and if you get interrupted well you only lose one minute's thinking. Contrast with a powerful language where you need ha…
I hope someone takes the time to answer or at least speculate the answers to your questions. The task does seem really important in the analysis.