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Open offices are bad for us

bbc.com

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Re: Open offices are bad for us

#241

Post by maxxxxx »

whatever_dude wrote: post #215
garrettdimon wrote: post #149

A lot of the comments here seem to focus on socialization and feeling like you're in a community, but closed offices don't preclude this. I work at Wildbit (the company referenced in the article), and we have family-style lunches around a big table and plenty of common areas where socialization happens in the mornings, during lunch, when people make coffee, and plenty of other times. The key is that when folks are wo…

People seem to assume that the solution to lack of socialization is forced socialization. Hey, employees don't talk enough? I know, let's make sure they hear each other all the time ! Personally, I strive for balanced contact. I love locking myself in a corner to get something done, but once I'm done, I actually have the desire and the energy to socialize. Differently from when I'm actually forcibly socializing while…

"People seem to assume that the key to lack of socialization is forced socialization. Hey, employees don't talk enough? I know, let's make sure they hear each other all the time!"

It's exactly the same when the big shots think there is not enough innovation. Let's just hang up a few banners "We are innovative" or run some off-hours, unpaid "hackathons" while shortening deadlines even more.

Re: Open offices are bad for us

#242

Post by grokas »

kdamken wrote: post #5
grokas wrote: post #3

"Nearly 50% of people working in open offices are dissatisfied with their sound privacy" Should be: Nearly 50% of people working in open offices don't have good over-ear headphones.

No. Fuck that. I don't normally curse on here, but I think it's warranted. I own a great pair of over ear, noise cancelling headphones. But I shouldn't have to risk damaging my hearing because management thinks having developers sit in the middle of a bunch of salespeople and project managers is a good idea.

Sorry your management sucks?

Re: Open offices are bad for us

#243

Post by grokas »

kedean wrote: post #6
grokas wrote: post #3

"Nearly 50% of people working in open offices are dissatisfied with their sound privacy" Should be: Nearly 50% of people working in open offices don't have good over-ear headphones.

That only looks at one side of the picture. Sound privacy is partially inbound, yes, and that can be solved with quality headphones. It's also outbound, though. If I'm on a conference call, I'd really rather not have to worry about other people listening to what I say. Also, not everyone wants to listen to music/podcasts/video/anything while they work. The solution shouldn't be "just isolate your ears!"

Most of the time I'm not actually listening to anything, I just have my cans on as a sound buffer, and they're ready when/if I play something with audio.

Re: Open offices are bad for us

#244

Post by mixmastamyk »

bobochan wrote: post #235
mixmastamyk wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not walk around the office, sit in the commons with a laptop, collaborate in a conference room, etc? The office with a door is for when you need to focus, not meant to be a jail.

Because then people say, "I stopped by your office and you were not there!" It is a big campus so there is a benefit to people being able to track me down.

IM, email, calendar, mobile could help, no? If people are stopping by often, perhaps you are not so isolated.

Re: Open offices are bad for us

#245

Post by sssilver »

I do my best work after everyone has left and the floor is completely empty.

I hate distractions, and my brain is wired in a way where it processes every word spoken by a human to somehow be more important than abstract thoughts about an engineering problem.

I wish I had a quiet room with blank walls void of decorations, and sound isolation. I'd be so much more productive.

But alas, that is not hip.

Re: Open offices are bad for us

#246

Post by grokas »

VLM wrote: post #88
grokas wrote: post #3

"Nearly 50% of people working in open offices are dissatisfied with their sound privacy" Should be: Nearly 50% of people working in open offices don't have good over-ear headphones.

To quote a former VP at a former employer, wearing headphones in the open operations center is direct and intentional insubordination and discipline will be applied as such, because the company is spending a lot of money to foster coordination and interoperation between teams. Its interesting that they had the will and the money to enforce architectural changes in the literal sense but not in the internal organizatio…

I take it this a (one, not the only) reason the employer was described as "former"?

Re: Open offices are bad for us

#247

Post by chinathrow »

Arizhel wrote: post #196
chinathrow wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not all, but some achieve very nice results. E.g. Bose Quiet Comfort 20 are indeed good also for blocking more quiet conversations. https://www.amazon.com/Bose-QuietComfort-Acoustic-Cancelling...

The only way NC headphones block conversations is because they are also acoustically isolating. That is, they would block conversations even with the NC feature turned off. The headphones you link to look like this: they're basically earplugs with headphones built in. Earplugs block conversations because they physically block sound waves from entering your ears. The same principle works with the big over-the-ear cans…

I own them so I can assure that having them plugged in without NC does not block conversation voices. Turn them on and they are gone or way quieter.

Edit due to downrate: I own or owned multiple over ear medium size NC models and the mentioned in'ear ones win by large.

Re: Open offices are bad for us

#248

Post by grokas »

bigmanwalter wrote: post #14
grokas wrote: post #3

"Nearly 50% of people working in open offices are dissatisfied with their sound privacy" Should be: Nearly 50% of people working in open offices don't have good over-ear headphones.

Except prolonged exposure to headphones makes you go deaf. I've got enough hearing loss as it is.

Prolonged exposure to unhealthy volume levels makes you go deaf.

FTFY

Simply taking headphones out of the box they came in doesn't make you go deaf.

Re: Open offices are bad for us

#249

Post by zzgo »

GFischer wrote: post #195
garrettdimon wrote: post #149

A lot of the comments here seem to focus on socialization and feeling like you're in a community, but closed offices don't preclude this. I work at Wildbit (the company referenced in the article), and we have family-style lunches around a big table and plenty of common areas where socialization happens in the mornings, during lunch, when people make coffee, and plenty of other times. The key is that when folks are wo…

The Christopher Alexander solution described in Peopleware sounds like a good compromise, having both individual and group spaces. "People cannot work effectively if their workspace is too enclosed or too exposed. A good workspace strikes the balance." "fashion space explicitly around working groups. Each team needs identifiable public and semiprivate space and each individual needs protected private space. The team…

> space counselor

Does anyone have a "space counselor" how is not their manager? I've always taken my "space counselor" issues to my direct manager.

Re: Open offices are bad for us

#250

Post by grokas »

xenihn wrote: post #182
grokas wrote: post #3

"Nearly 50% of people working in open offices are dissatisfied with their sound privacy" Should be: Nearly 50% of people working in open offices don't have good over-ear headphones.

I don't like to listen to music when concentrating on anything, with the exception of driving.

I use mine without anything playing about 70% of the time I have them on.

They can block out ambient/office noise pretty well and can help concentration.

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