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CEOs Want Their Offices Back

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Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#401

Post by varelse »

erobbins wrote: post #311
hotsauceror wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cargo Cult is exactly right. Our organization is selling us this right now. "We're creating a more collaborative atmosphere! Facebook does it, this must be what IT people want." (Any discussion of paying IT staff like FB, though, is "well, we're not an IT company, and besides we're mission driven!") Because they don't think we're mature enough to accept that they want to squeeze more bodies unto a smaller space, for…

I work at FB. A LOT of us hate the open plan.

So can I assume that the perks, the projects, and the pay outweigh the annoyance of the floor plan?

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#402

Post by valuearb »

eeZah7Ux wrote: post #203
bluesnowmonkey wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 99% of people had headphones on through all parts of the day. Yes I've found that to be true as well. I myself typically wear expensive noise cancelling headphones all day and blast music, damaging my hearing, in order to drown out distractions. Fuck open offices.

Buy passive insulating headphones, they usually work better.

Unfortunately no headphones eliminate visual distractions.

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#403

Post by ericd »

s73ver wrote: post #361
ericd wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You might get exactly your way with environmental preferences, but you miss out on the collegial atmosphere of working in the same space with a few other people you really like. I love that aspect of small shared offices, and was one of the things I really enjoyed about working on a small startup.

I don't think I would miss out that much. For one, that environment, especially with a place called "The Oven" sounds absolutely awful to me. Second, it's not like people would lock themselves in their offices and never see each other. Third, and I may not like to admit this, but I'd complain quite a lot about the setup in a place nicknamed "The Oven". It might start grating on other people, and ruining the atmospher…

Different strokes :-)

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#404

Post by Aeolun »

coffeeski wrote: post #8

Why do CEO's think they're alone in the need for quiet spaces where they can focus? Sure some people can work in the noisy space where interruptions abound. The only thing in my office that works well with interruptions is my CPU. I'd rather have a Cube farm, but better yet, a small tiny phone booth as an office.

Everyone can work in a noisy space where interruptions abound. They're just going to be hella unproductive.

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#405

Post by throwanem »

cr0sh wrote: post #307
throwanem wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The noise is from bottoming out. Put spacers on the keycap stems, and it stops being a problem, no matter what kind of switch you use. This is easy to do and only a little time-consuming. It's easier and faster when you take a cheap Bic pen, pull out the tip and ink tube, and use the body tube to press the spacers down on the stems - it's just the right diameter, and makes the job much faster. The spacers are cheap,…

> The noise is from bottoming out. Not with my Model M! /buckling springs ftw...

I remember my Model Ms with fond nostalgia. I have no desire whatsoever to give up my MX Blues and return to them.

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#406

Post by pseudalopex »

ericd wrote: post #316
pseudalopex wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Team rooms are better than open plan, but 8 is enough for irrelevant discussions, mechanical keyboards, and crunchy snacks to reach critical mass.

Fair, maybe 4-6 is a better max. You can also shame the mechanical keyboard user mercilessly for bothering everyone else.

Only if the majority are on your side.

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#407

Post by therealdrag0 »

tradesmanhelix wrote: post #166

For over a year, our dev team has been begging management to fix our open-office. It's loud, distracting, and negatively impacts our productivity. The team wants 1/2 height cloth cubicles that would provide a limited measure of privacy and personal space while also helping to dampen the noise. Their response: Buy on-desk semi-transparent plastic partitions that just provide another noise-amplifying hard surface... Th…

I hope you mention the dissatisfaction with the environment in your exit interview.

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#408

Post by EliRivers »

MockObject wrote: post #398
EliRivers wrote: post #358

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked somewhere that did waterfall, hardcore. For everything, requirements came first (sometimes, since moving on, I've even found myself suggesting in meetings that if we don't know what we're meant to be making, the odds of getting it right are pretty slim - obvious yet somehow it needs stating out loud more than it should be). Sometimes literal months were spent on getting them right. Then the design. Full on d…

> implementing the design, coded up in literal programming style What sort of pseudocode were you using for this?

Here's something I wrote about it before: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10070549

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#409

Post by blablabla123 »

loco5niner wrote: post #396
blablabla123 wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If single offices were the optimum, why aren't we all working from home in single apartments anyway? I think the more open the place, the better. We are social animals. If people choose solitude, it's likely for wrong reasons. (Not saying that there aren't ever reasons for that, (almost) everybody needs some privacy every now and then.) But yeah, all people must also think of others, people who don't do that are like…

Not all of us are social animals, especially not 8 hours a day. Also, often the problem I'm working on requires focus. For example, how much talking has occurred during ANY math test you have ever taken?

One of the best tests I took in university, Theoretical Physics (E-Dynamics, QM, Thermo), was due to collaborative preparation. I learned together with another guy for 2-3 months. Interestingly he had a weaker background but we scored very well.

This test was oral by the way, but took about an hour (or more?), professor and protocol person. Sure there was writing but also a lot of talking.

I think constraining our industry on solitude is also a reason for the low diversity.

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