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The open-office trend is destroying the workplace (2014)

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Re: The open-office trend is destroying the workplace (2014)

#181

Post by cyberferret »

randycupertino wrote: post #165
cryptica wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had my own office once for a contract role I did. It was great. It makes employees feel more valued and reduces stress levels. I find that when you're constantly around people, you are less reflective/creative and more prone to getting caught up in hype cycles and group-think. My biggest problem with open offices is the constant stress that comes with people walking behind my back every few minutes. It's paranoia-i…

Workers cortisol levels raise when they don't face the door: http://cheryljanisdesigns.com/why-sitting-with-your-back-to-...

It's totally bad Feng Shui. I always ensure that I face, or am side on with the door in any office I have worked in. Plus I guess it also goes back to our primal nature - you don't want to have your back to the only point of access for potential enemies or carnivores looking for lunch...

Re: The open-office trend is destroying the workplace (2014)

#184

Post by grzm »

perseusprime11 wrote: post #183

Why are we posting articles from 2014?

The "News" of Hacker News is misleading. Any topic that might appeal to HN community members, regardless of age, is appropriate.

That said, this particular article was on HN 20 days ago and generated 116 comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13425159

It's been featured on HN quite a few times in the past:

https://hn.algolia.com/?query=The%20open-office%20trend%20is...

Kinda amazing that this submission already has over 170. I guess people have a lot to say on the topic.

Re: The open-office trend is destroying the workplace (2014)

#185

Post by stmfreak »

Ralfp wrote: post #103
facepalm wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The place you are looking for exists: it is called home :-)

That may fly if you are single. Otherwise everybody will assume that if you are at home, you are here to go shopping, take care of kids, let in guests, cook meals, do cleaning, take out trash, etc. ect, and lets not start about other household members distracting you with loud noises.

This.

WFH always seems appealing from my open office station with my back to twenty other people and a walkway next to my desk.

Then I work from home and in the middle of presenting during a conference call, one of the kids gets home and starts ringing the doorbell incessantly, the dog starts barking and my spouse doesn't come answer because they know I am home.

The only time I can get work done if from 8am until 10am in either location.

Re: The open-office trend is destroying the workplace (2014)

#187

Post by xkcd-sucks »

tps5 wrote: post #26

My office is switching to an open design. And none of the people who work there are happy about it. It was decided by the folks who own the company, several thousand miles away. I think the real allure of open offices is how they look. Open offices look modern . They look like the kind of working area a hip, young, collaborative, industry-disrupting company would favor. But that's all bullshit. It's just a fairy tale…

>Open offices look modern

They look like "open plan" offices from the late 19th-early 20th century [0].

[0] http://www.officemuseum.com/photo_gallery_1900s.htm

Re: The open-office trend is destroying the workplace (2014)

#188

Post by hoodwink »

abecedarius wrote: post #106
hoodwink wrote: post #24

The open versus closed office debate feels new, but it's a pendulum that has swung for decades from one extreme to the other. The reality is that most modern workers need access to a multitude of workspaces: open, social areas for collaboration and closed, private areas for concentration. A progressive company recognizes this and sets its people free to choose the workspace they need for the work at hand.

I started in the 80s, and the trend this whole time seems unidirectional.

The pendulum swings slowly. Here's what offices looked like for many white-collar workers in the 1950s/1960s:

http://sites.psu.edu/leadership/wp-content/uploads/sites/806...

The 1980s represented "peak cubicle". The tech industry ushered in open plans in the 1990s.

Re: The open-office trend is destroying the workplace (2014)

#189

Post by kylehotchkiss »

SomeStupidPoint wrote: post #145
enraged_camel wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do all of those things when I work from home. Just like people at the office dick around in a hundred different ways while they work.

I think the point was family would expect that from you, because you're home, not that it takes too much away from work. I had to have that talk with my roommates when I worked from home. No, I won't be solely responsible for the dishes because I'm "home all day" when Im working 50-60 hours a week and you're working 40.

Beats having a roommate who keeps the tv on all day, loudly laughs constantly and walks around the house making car sounds

Re: The open-office trend is destroying the workplace (2014)

#190

Post by [deleted] »

SomeStupidPoint wrote: post #145
enraged_camel wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do all of those things when I work from home. Just like people at the office dick around in a hundred different ways while they work.

I think the point was family would expect that from you, because you're home, not that it takes too much away from work. I had to have that talk with my roommates when I worked from home. No, I won't be solely responsible for the dishes because I'm "home all day" when Im working 50-60 hours a week and you're working 40.

[deleted]
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