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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

#231

Post by kerkeslager »

s73v3r_ wrote: post #212
kerkeslager wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right, it's the extroverts who are thrusting their preferences on the introverts. So what? Which would you rather do, get revenge on the extroverts, or come up with a solution that's amenable to both introverts and extroverts? If all the introverts are doing is complaining about open offices and demanding private offices, they're turning this into a zero-sum game where in order for introverts to win, extrovert…

No, don't try to put this on the introverts. And don't try to paint this as trying to "get revenge." I'm fine with having mixed spaces. But the extroverts are the ones in charge, and they're the ones that are, again, forcing their preferences, instead of asking. They are the ones that need to come to the middle and meet the rest of us.

I genuinely hope that introverts get a solution that works for them without asking for it. I just don't think it's likely to happen.

> They are the ones that need to come to the middle and meet the rest of us.

Does it occur to you that I'm an extrovert trying to do exactly that?

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

#232

Post by gascan »

nathanaldensr wrote: post #2

They want an office that matches their personality. And apparently, that means beer on tap and lots of it. The office looked like the lobby of a hipster hotel. Over the next few weeks, we showed up each day and tapped away on MacBook Airs to the sounds of Portuguese house music and old-school hip hop piped in through speakers. (“Rap is urban, and so is WeWork,” the company explains online. “But more profoundly, the c…

Rap is urban, and so is WeWork

What do you call it when real life looks like satire? Maybe Silicon Valley will pick up on this.

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

#233

Post by whataretensors »

softawre wrote: post #175
creep wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes! Men and women actually work better together than groups composed of just men or just women [1] [2] The thinking is, men prefer taking risks, while women prefer to limit risks. In cooperation, men can push women to see the benefit of a risk (and in turn she gains more experience of risk), and women can push men to hold off of risks that might be detrimental. Women are good at synchronizing group thought, in that…

Downvoters care to explain? We always say diversity is good, but when somebody provides an example of why it is good, they get downvoted?

I didn't downvote, but maybe because it was a gender-based classification of behavior backed up by two opinion pieces?

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

#234

Post by amatecha »

kerkeslager wrote: post #52
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! Having worked in a number of shared workspaces: while this does s…

Heck yeah, even the most trivial chatter "by the water cooler" can result in surprising door-opening, whether intended or not. :)

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

#235

Post by bunderbunder »

scaryclam wrote: post #135
reificator wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll gladly face those consequences. I don't drink. You're not going to pressure me into drinking. You're sure as hell not going to threaten my livelihood for not drinking and then act like I'm the one in the wrong.

I drink. I like Friday beers. I absolutely stamp down on any of my team who attempt to pressure others to drink or ostracise others in the company for not drinking. Friday beers is meant to help colleagues bond, so behavior that excludes some people or makes them want to leave isn't OK. Luckily the companies I've worked at have all been non-drinker friendly as well as drinker friendly. There's always a non-alcoholic…

Friday beers is something that can exclude people, though, even if they're not being pressured to drink. Alcohol is a sort of culturally fraught thing that's important to some people, but for others - members of some religious groups, recovering alcoholics, and victims of drinking-related abuse come to mind - simply being in the presence of someone who's consuming alcohol can be an uncomfortable experience.

I don't think that companies are under any obligation to avoid having traditions like Friday beers altogether, but, if you're looking to be inclusive, you should probably strive to ensure that there are also plenty of social activities where there is no alcohol present.

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

#236

Post by isostatic »

tachyoff wrote: post #219
woolvalley wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

At this point I’m about to start my own anti-coworking company called MeWork. It’s like WeWork, except every office is private. ;)

I have one of those, it's called a study, far more productive than in the company office (when I go in on occasion). Because I live 50 miles from a large city, the 4 bed house is about the same price as a 1 bed apartment in London or 2 bed house in Manchester, so we actually have two studies at the moment (kids prefer to share a bedroom), one for my wife, one for me.

Last week I was in Kenya for business purposes setting up a new office, again far more productive sat on my own in the apps room plugging various things in, than sat with the PM and some other engineers in another part of the office.

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

#237

Post by mourner »

kerkeslager wrote: post #52
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! Having worked in a number of shared workspaces: while this does s…

Hey, any recommendations for a conversation starter in a coworking kitchen?

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

#238

Post by icebraining »

thatfrenchguy wrote: post #157
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,…

> * The kitchen area, despite being an office staffed with supposed professionals, is always a mess. How does this happen? Have you ever had roommates ? I've never had a clean kitchen and roommates, and never had a dirty kitchen and no roommate (and by my own actions as well !).

I'm the opposite; if I share the area I keep it clean, if I'm by myself it's a mess on the first day. Guilt is the only thing that beats my laziness :|

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

#239

Post by isostatic »

uhtred wrote: post #70
sputknick wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No one talks to anyone from other companies, to the point of awkwardness. Can you share what part of the US/world you are in? I'm curious if this is cultural.

I'd probably be guilty of this, but it's not because I am rude or anti-social (I love talking to people one on one or in very small groups), I am just socially anxious and struggle to talk to people in an open office environment where a "private" conversation is really a conversation with everyone in the room. Could be the same reason some people don't talk in a shared kitchen that is in the middle of a shared office…

A few weeks ago I was abroad with a group of people from my company, I knew 3 of the 10 others. We went out to dinner - Awful time, very stressful. Later in the week it had dropped to 3 other people, only 1 whom I knew, far better.

(The other nights I had room service - that's the best situation, I can actually relax)

That said, I'm happy to Make grunting noises and guesticulatr at milk bottles to the occasional stranger in a shared office kitchen. I guess part of the problem is it takes me a long time to remember a person's face - when watching tv I rely a lot on context. My wife often says "no that's not xxx, he's got the wrong colour hair". I've been known to get skin colour and sex wrong too, but most of the time context works. Took me about 2 seasons to remember the names of the 6 main characters in "friends".

When making tea, there's no context to build on. At university I wrote down names of people on my floor in halls, which mostly helped. At school I'd learnt the names of everyone in the class by the middle of the second year, and by year 6 knew about 80% of the c. 120 people in the year group. My children's friends are mostly a blur but I can get 4 or 5 of them with a little confidence - that's after 16 months.

In person conversations are far too draining, especially without context, and when there's nothing to gain what's the point?

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

#240

Post by tachyoff »

gascan wrote: post #232
nathanaldensr wrote: post #2

They want an office that matches their personality. And apparently, that means beer on tap and lots of it. The office looked like the lobby of a hipster hotel. Over the next few weeks, we showed up each day and tapped away on MacBook Airs to the sounds of Portuguese house music and old-school hip hop piped in through speakers. (“Rap is urban, and so is WeWork,” the company explains online. “But more profoundly, the c…

Rap is urban, and so is WeWork What do you call it when real life looks like satire? Maybe Silicon Valley will pick up on this.

Nothing quite as urban as grapefruit water and side parts, right? ;) I haven’t caught up on Silicon Valley, but I do hope this makes it in. I live in a rather “urban” city and I’m sorry, but other than the zip code, there is nothing urban about WeWork.
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