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Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

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Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#161

Post by s73v3r_ »

kerkeslager wrote: post #98
cup-of-tea wrote: post #17

I "work" in an open office type space. My ears are filled with people on the phone or just talking about work they could do. In my peripheral vision is a colleague and various other movements. I'm here to do only very simple work because I can't think very deeply. Any serious work is done at home where I am many times more productive. For some work this type of setup might be fine, but for anything resembling enginee…

I've worked as a software engineer for over a decade and most of that time was spent in open office spaces. I am most productive in that environment. I don't doubt that you are more productive in a different environment, but it's a pretty big leap to assume that every engineer is going to be productive in the same environment. Different people work different ways, and the answer is to find a workspace that suits you,…

The problem is, workspaces are all trending to cater to you.

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#162

Post by generallee5686 »

kerkeslager wrote: post #48

There's a bias toward the negative in writing, which I think comes from the fact that people write as an attempt to solve problems. So you're always going to see more negative reporting on shared offices than positive. But I'm old enough to remember when private offices were still common, and there was a lot of negative writing about those too. As someone about to enter the software industry, I was very concerned tha…

I agree with you on employers needing to create workspaces conducive to introverts and extraverts.

I've seen one attempt at this and I think it was basically an extraverts attempt at making introverts happy. It was basically "we made these 3 'private' office things that you can use when you need to". This doesn't help me at all. Can I use these 90% of the time I'm at work? If not, what's the point?

I think the unfortunate thing that makes this virtually impossible in this day and age are two things:

1. It seems to be vastly more expensive for introvert-friendly spaces where square footage is expensive. Stacking people on top of each other is more economical. 2. Introvert-friendly workspaces are generally seen as "uncool" and unable to attract young and cheap talent.

Sucks being an introvert in tech right now. I'm either working in a noisy space, forced to wear headphones and listen to music all day long or working from home where there are other distractions. I just want to see a workspace that has SOME kind of attempt at catering to introverts. Have yet to see one though...

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#163

Post by redm »

My experience working in a co-working space vs. working independent/remote.

1) I have more meaningful conversations with my team, more organic thought and creativity occurs, and we grow closer as a team.

2) I get less work done because the distractions are much greater.

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#164

Post by tomatohs »

LandR wrote: post #27

I work in a shared office / coworking space. We have 3 desks in a large open plan office with a kitchen area. It's about 10 feet from my desk. Most of the time it's just me from our company as the other devs work from home or work out the main office. My experience of working in this shared space: * It's noisy. I mean really noisy, noise cancelling headphones are a must. Like I said the kitchen area is near my desk,…

Similar experience at WeWork. At 5pm everyone beelined to the exit. I imagined what it would be like to work with four other people crammed into one of those small glass offices and thought, "yeah, I'd want to get out of there as fast as possible too."

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#165

Post by woolvalley »

tachyoff wrote: post #143
beejiu wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People are noisy, people whistle, walk around talking loudly on their phones. In my experience of coworking spaces, it is the same one/two people that ruin the space for everybody else. What is missing from co-working spaces is some kind of housekeeping rules and enforcement (in lieu of mutual respect).

> What is missing from co-working spaces is some kind of housekeeping rules and enforcement... What’s missing is simple walls. Four walls with a door. What’s missing is privacy and silence, which we have apparently collectively decided is not necessary for all tech work.

You can rent private offices at wework, they just cost more ;)

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#166

Post by k_bx »

LandR wrote: post #27

I work in a shared office / coworking space. We have 3 desks in a large open plan office with a kitchen area. It's about 10 feet from my desk. Most of the time it's just me from our company as the other devs work from home or work out the main office. My experience of working in this shared space: * It's noisy. I mean really noisy, noise cancelling headphones are a must. Like I said the kitchen area is near my desk,…

> * No one talks to anyone from other companies, to the point of awkwardness. I often see two people in the kitchen area from different companies and it can be a bit like a comedy sketch as they try to get their kitchening done without acknowledging the other person exists. Absurd, why don't people talk to each other. Especially people you see every day!

This is gold.

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#167

Post by dasmoth »

Marazan wrote: post #133
izacus wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was advocating for more old Microsoft-style layout, with a few smallish private offices (2-4 people IIRC) and common spaces for debates/planning/socializing between them.

I find the small private offices (say 4 people) the worst of all worlds.

Very much depends on the people. Two people can work okay, the chance of adding someone incompatible increases rapidly from there.

There seems a lot of reluctance to give the worker bees privacy. I don’t know if it’s a status thing or a “how do I know whether they’re goofing off on HN” thing. Maybe it amounts to the same issue.

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#168

Post by [deleted] »

silverbax88 wrote: post #59
ramphastidae wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Drinking at work is one of the absolutely worst traits of tech. Not only is it totally unprofessional, but things like ‘Friday beers’ are actually presented by companies as a benefit, and you face major social and professional consequences for not participating. It’s obscene.

You show me any company with beer on tap, and I'll show you a company that I will run over if we are competing against each other.

[deleted]

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#169

Post by rdiddly »

ramphastidae wrote: post #36
ryandrake wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also alcohol flowing at work? I’m no teetotaler but isn’t that a recipe for trouble? Assuming we’re not just talking about sharing a few beers after hours. I’ve worked with people who drank on the job to the point where they were working totally shitfaced, and it’s not pretty. If they’re meeting with other teams or customers, they’re going to be an embarrassment, and if they’re checking in code... let’s not even go t…

Drinking at work is one of the absolutely worst traits of tech. Not only is it totally unprofessional, but things like ‘Friday beers’ are actually presented by companies as a benefit, and you face major social and professional consequences for not participating. It’s obscene.

You know what I don't like about "Friday beers" in the workplace? It's not the beers. It's the fact that it's a company-scheduled and company-sanctioned event. The company is trying to (pick your favorite interpretation)...

...paternalistically manage our social lives

...tone-deafly intrude on them

...desperately be a part of them

...co-opt something cool and make it corporate

...do the adult equivalent of turning children's unstructured play time into a scheduled, paid-for playdate/lessons/"extracurriculars"

I'll pick and choose my friends and invite them to beers myself. In a bar. Away from the company offices. So we can talk shit about the management and people we don't like! What fun is life without the hating? (Well whatever, I just betrayed myself as a Gen Xer by being so forthright and gauche as to admit that I recreationally hate on people.)

My employer is not my friend. My friends, I will defend if they're in trouble for the next 40 years. My employer, I will ditch at the very first sign they're in trouble, or making trouble for me. Therefore I think maintaining a separation of "work life" from the private realm is appropriate. Of course, the more your "work is your life," and/or the more the company is actually yours, this applies less. But even in that case I would still recommend a healthy (hygienic) separation of concerns just like with any software system.

Re: Why It’s So Hard to Actually Work in Shared Offices

#170

Post by [deleted] »

jaymzcampbell wrote: post #99
skellera wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My office has multiple kitchens that are always pretty clean. Everyone washes what they use and clean up after themselves. I don’t see why it should be different anywhere else. Some people just aren’t good at being responsible.

I've had this problem in almost every office I've worked at. It shouldn't be different but for whatever reason, people seem to think it beneath them. I often wondered what state some of my co-worker's houses were in.

[deleted]
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