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The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

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Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#311

Post by jimmy1 »

driverdan wrote: post #305
jimmy1 wrote: post #234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

My workplace, as I am sure almost all workplaces, does a lot of things that are inefficient, but it's not a matter of respect to me. They respect me by paying me a good wage, giving me opportunities to learn new things and solve interesting challenges, and grow my career (promotions + wages).

Call me crazy If my workplace decides they want continue to pay a developer salary and have it be at 20% efficiency, then that's on them to figure it out as long as it isn't effecting my outcomes. At the end of the day, I am there for the exchange of my time for their money. If my workspace begins to interfere with that, then I'll start looking for a new place.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#312

Post by electricslpnsld »

abledon wrote: post #301
electricslpnsld wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

> What programming language tech stack do you use ?

CUDA, C++14, Python.

> Is it a better gig than previous one ?

It is! The office conditions are terrible, but my coworkers are freaking amazing, and I am genuinely excited about the work we do, which is the main reason I'm still there.

> Can you hear people farting and shitting in the bathroom ?

Only if the door is open and my headphones are off. :O

> How do you decompress after work

I hit the gym.

> are you currently searching for another job?

Actively, although the office conditions are mainly a symptom of utterly terrible management, which is my main reason for job hunting.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#313

Post by crunchlibrarian »

artursapek wrote: post #287
devmunchies wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you use avg sunlight per day? Thats takes the avg sunlight per year and maps it onto a daily avg, which is useless as a metric. You want sunny days per year. Which Seattle gets less than 90. Most cities in California get over 200.

Denver/Boulder area gets 300!

Denver/Boulder is the sunniest spot in the USA that actually has a decent job market for everything. Even more sunny days than Los Angeles.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#314

Post by gammateam »

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…

A pair of headphones with good sound isolation doesn't need to play music.

It converts it all into crystalline white noise. You can practically perceive the sound waves convert into a low pass filter, as soon as you turn the noise cancelling on.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#315

Post by Johnny555 »

devmunchies wrote: post #282
Silfen wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a Seattle native and love it here. Unfortunately it is not a good place to get sunlight. We are very far north (for an American city) and overcast for most of the year. Seattle averages about 5.5 hours of sun per day. San Francisco averages nearly 8.5.

Why would you use avg sunlight per day? Thats takes the avg sunlight per year and maps it onto a daily avg, which is useless as a metric. You want sunny days per year. Which Seattle gets less than 90. Most cities in California get over 200.

Climate change is here -- summers in Seattle are much sunnier than they used to be, I think this year we had nearly 90 sunny days just in June-August, September has started off with nice sunny days as well.

Last year was unusually warm and sunny in the summer as too, though I guess a couple years isn't really a climate change, it's just unusual weather.

On the flip side, people that got along without air conditioners 5 or 10 years ago are revisiting that decision, I called around a few places to get a quote for a split unit to be installed, and they were booked up through August.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#316

Post by sushid »

leesec wrote: post #258
jdavis703 wrote: post #254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I don't get enough sun I fall in to depression. It's why I moved to California -- every winter I'd get really down; I'd self diagnosed as having seasonal affective disorder. Since being in California for five winters this hasn't happened yet. I also spent a summer working in a windowless office while my company was preparing for a classified DoD project (we lost the bid, but one of the requirements was "no windows…

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.

That seems to be almost too high. Vitamin D is fat soluble and you're taking way more than the RDA of 600 IU. Even at 6000 IU, which you suggest is optimal, you're taking 2x.

I'm not a doctor either but have you consulted your doctor about this (or is this a short time frame for you to get back up to a health level?).

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#317

Post by silverdrake11 »

I used to sit in a cubicle next to a window in a high rise. I would always get sun shining in my eyes and my face would get red sometimes. I usually ended up with strained eyes and later found out the uvb radiation can cause skin cancer. So I'm not convinced.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#318

Post by LanceH »

mrexroad wrote: post #308
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.

I'm right there with you. Natural light and computer screens don't mix for me at all.

Then there is the uneven heating that natural light brings with it since it is blazingly hot where I live.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#319

Post by binarysolo »

vondur wrote: post #279
PascLeRasc wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I'd think Seattle would not be my first choice for a city with a lot of Sunshine. Something in California would be better, especially SoCal. (I think the Silicon Valley area gets plenty of sun too, the Bay Area can be quite cloudy)

The west half of SF starting Fillmore Street-ish down to Daly City and Pacifica (all the lands alongside the Ocean) basically are known for fog issues, but most of the Peninsula, South Bay, and East Bay are super sunny.

Re: The #1 Office Perk? Natural Light

#320

Post by devmunchies »

Johnny555 wrote: post #315
devmunchies wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you use avg sunlight per day? Thats takes the avg sunlight per year and maps it onto a daily avg, which is useless as a metric. You want sunny days per year. Which Seattle gets less than 90. Most cities in California get over 200.

Climate change is here -- summers in Seattle are much sunnier than they used to be, I think this year we had nearly 90 sunny days just in June-August, September has started off with nice sunny days as well. Last year was unusually warm and sunny in the summer as too, though I guess a couple years isn't really a climate change, it's just unusual weather. On the flip side, people that got along without air conditioners…

I live in Seattle too. I would say the summer is hotter, but the sun still doesn't come out regularly until July.

Not to mention the week of smoke we've had the last 2 summers. ;)

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