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The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

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Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#301

Post by abledon »

electricslpnsld wrote: post #245
ss2003 wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I (previously) had the worst of both worlds, sharing a windowless closet with 5 other people.

Sounds like our offices! No natural light, but open seating, but it is only 'open' in the sense that the workspace is in an open area, so we have assigned seats. My assigned seat happens to be about 6 feet from the men's bathroom... Also, the managers and high ups do have private offices, private office with glass walls that face into the open work area so they can watch everyone work all day. It is pretty sketchy!

Questions : What programming language tech stack do you use ? Is it a better gig than previous one ? Can you hear people farting and shitting in the bathroom ? How do you decompress after work and are you currently searching for another job?

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#302

Post by abledon »

beat wrote: post #220
jwr wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, music is more distracting than people think. Its effects can be subtle: it engages your creative brain, so you end up working like crazy, only to notice afterwards that the work was not needed at all (there was a better solution, but your creative abilities were busy processing music). Don't listen to music while doing creative work. Use noise, like sounds of the sea (I use an app called "Naturespace" for high-q…

I'm a musician, so I find most music to be almost ridiculously interesting. Leads me to thinking about the music rather than the work I should be doing. And I find headphones to be physically uncomfortable very quickly.

Haha same! Any melody at all totally refocuses me into the song, how the fingering and chords would be played on a guitar , what riffs they are reusing and Which audio effect pedals are being used for the music (mostly rock / indie / pop )

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#303

Post by abledon »

beat wrote: post #241
nikofeyn wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that's an overly hard and fast rule. i find that instrumental electronic music is amazing for work. it focuses rather than distracts, providing nice mental bumpers. i actually can't stand unnatural or played back sounds of the sea or nature and other such sounds, as i find it too distracting. it doesn't provide any focusing structure and allows my mind to wonder and relax. and people complaining about headphones don'…

I can't wear even the Beyerdynamics for more than a couple of hours (I've owned them for years, they're excellent). My ears get too warm.

Wearing earphones for long periods also increase bacteria breeding ground potential in hot crevices of ear . Yum

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#304

Post by Sileni »

Ocerge wrote: post #219
Sileni wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I will never work in an open plan building again. It left me absolutely brain dead and begging the clock to go faster because I couldn't think at work anyway.

I feel the same way, but I'm just not sure I'm to the point where I can demand to not work for an open plan company; it's how it is pretty much everywhere I've interviewed. I'd be curious to see percentages in terms of tech companies that still have office rooms for their engineers.

Admittedly, I'm in something of a hybrid situation at the moment, and I have the benefit of being a chemist, not a programmer. My lab has a few desks in it, and technically it's "open", but since we're constantly moving in and out of the office and I can always go for a walk outside to think during the day, it works for me. Look for compromises and suss out the absolute most important point. For me, that's not having people moving around behind me. I have a large set of shelves behind me, and you can only enter my desk area from ahead-left of me.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#305

Post by driverdan »

jimmy1 wrote: post #234
s73v3r_ wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems absolutely ridiculous that we have been forced to such lengths just to get some quiet working space.

It absolutely is, but I am a firm believer in not worrying about things I cannot change, and focusing on things I can change, I guess. If I think about how absurd it is, I just get mad and can't focus.

You can change it by finding a workplace that respects you.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#307

Post by rconti »

PascLeRasc wrote: post #263
leesec wrote: post #258

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're probably well aware of this, but Vitamin D supplements have been life changing for me. There was an article a while back pleading to the FDA to fix the recommended daily limit, suggesting it might be 10x too low. I take 10,000 IU a day and the difference is very noticeable.

I get pretty significant SAD and 5000 IUs of Vitamin D helps a lot, but it's not enough for me. I'm planning to move to somewhere else in a year or two, maybe Seattle.

Moved from Seattle to California, in large part because I realized how much happier I am when it's sunny.

Was a great choice for me.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#308

Post by mrexroad »

gambiting wrote: post #71

Oh yes please. I work as a games programmer at a massive studio and it looks like 90% of people here prefer complete darkness during the day, to the point where they have these umbrella-like covers above their desks to cover any light from the lamps that somehow miraculously are still on. Me and few other people occupy a little corner next to a window that we stubbornly refuse to close the blinds on, despite bi-weekl…

I get near daily migraines from an open office layout with excessive glare from natural light. Polarized sunglasses help a bit, but not enough.

It’s not a preference for me, it’s a disability. I love light, but glare is physically painful and results in migraines.

The strongly contrasting glare, from just a single blind being open, sounds horrible for others else in your area with sensitivities.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#309

Post by markc »

I highly value a good view, and lucked into a lovely space on the 8th floor in a corner with large picture windows on 2 sides, and views of MIT and East Kendall Square nearby, and Central and Harvard square in the distance. The bottom half of my view is very green, mostly trees, with a few buildings nestled among them. The top half is blue sky, white clouds.

I watch the slow progress of several buildings under construction. A huge tower near Central has appeared, the stairway core apparently. Two big projects to the north also, near the cinema and Donnelly field.

Soon I'll see the first yellows, reds and oranges of fall.

I enjoy the view so much that I brought in binoculars to see more detail. I have a sort of hobby of identifying landmarks visually and then finding them on google maps. This can be surprisingly difficult to do. The relative scale of things is surprising. Things that loom large in my view don't look big on the map, and vice versa.

I can visually trace a good portion of my bike path to work, as I live near the top of a distant hill. I identify the landmarks on that route.

Despite these treasures I only remember to look up at the view a few times a week. I sometimes forget to open the blinds for days at a time. Very sad! I'm happy that this article reminded me of this great pleasure. It's trite, but life is short; enjoy the view.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#310

Post by billforsternz »

beat wrote: post #212
bstar77 wrote: post #199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My solution was to buy a pair of headphones with good sound isolation. The building could be burning down and I'd wouldn't give a shit.

I find it difficult to work while wearing headphones. Music is very distracting. I just spent two and a half years working from home, where I could leave the tv on in the background. That was awesome. A little motion out of the corner of my eye, some noise, but nothing structured in a way I cared about. Loud reality shows about mechanical stuff were my noise-companion. I could just ignore them. Music is full of struc…

I did a gig last year in an open plan office with music playing all the time. Some shitty Spotify playlist. A stupid song about masturbating in San Diego apparently every 30 minutes (the song not the...oh never mind). Arrggh it's crazy making even remembering it.
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