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Open Office Layout is Bad for Brain

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Re: Open Office Layout is Bad for Brain

#61

Post by ghusbands »

LiveTheDream wrote: post #38
jamesbkel wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>ideally albums I have heard many times before I find this to be true also. Additionally, I've noticed that during the planning stage music is less helpful/possibly distracting. However, once I've more or less decided what to do and am focused more on implementation music can help me focus.

Music is distracting when you need to be creative, because your creative brain is effectively distracted by the music. I read about a study[1] recently that presented a programming problem to two groups; one group listened to music while they solved it and the other group had silence. While each group performed acceptably with regards to creating a solution that conformed to the spec, the music-listening group neglec…

I don't disagree with your point, but the 'study' is essentially an anecdote about two incidents, in which the difference could just as easily be about the group members involved; I think one cannot draw significant conclusions from it, as described.

Re: Open Office Layout is Bad for Brain

#62

Post by LiveTheDream »

Goladus wrote: post #41
LiveTheDream wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Music is distracting when you need to be creative, because your creative brain is effectively distracted by the music. I read about a study[1] recently that presented a programming problem to two groups; one group listened to music while they solved it and the other group had silence. While each group performed acceptably with regards to creating a solution that conformed to the spec, the music-listening group neglec…

Pretty sure that study was mentioned in Peopleware, but didn't include a citation reference.

I believe you are correct.

Re: Open Office Layout is Bad for Brain

#63

Post by dredmorbius »

pasbesoin wrote: post #46
humbledrone wrote: post #4

I wonder if many of the same drawbacks of an open office layout affect cubicle farms as well. I have worked in both situations, and I have not found that cubicle walls significantly dampen office noise. Cubes probably lessen other kinds of distractions, but visual distractions are easy to ignore anyway.

I think many people regard cube farms as "open space". Especially with the ever shrinking wall sizes and square-footage per person.

Having seen start-up occupying warehouse-sized spaces with plastic foldable tables set up next to one another filling the whole space, there are values of "open space" greater than your typical cube-divided office space.

That office layout, and some technical problems (said shop's first Google result was of a quarter-million passwords compromised by way of a developer's poor password choice, neglecting to use RSAkey auth, and, well, cleartext storage of user passwords), were chief among reasons I declined any further interest in the opportunity. It still ranks high among horror stories I've personally witnessed.

Re: Open Office Layout is Bad for Brain

#64

Post by dredmorbius »

pasbesoin wrote: post #45
gaustin wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here. Nobody believes me when I tell them I can feel others' presence in a visceral way. I have lesser but still significant problems in cube environments. Would love to get out of the cube farm...and I believe I'd produce a lot more value if I weren't stuck in an uncomfortable place.

Nobody believes me This is a very frustrating aspect of the experience. After being coaxed/coerced for years to "be like everyone else", I finally learned to take this as a sign -- as a mandate -- to GTFO. Such an environment will wear you down and eventually destroy you. The sooner you leave it, the better. (And, if we are indeed that good, leaving may be the best way of counter-acting such attitudes, as the institu…

I concur.

What's telling too is that people who want to get work done in such an environment stay home to do it.

Including the zealots.

Re: Open Office Layout is Bad for Brain

#65

Post by pasbesoin »

dredmorbius wrote: post #63
pasbesoin wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think many people regard cube farms as "open space". Especially with the ever shrinking wall sizes and square-footage per person.

Having seen start-up occupying warehouse-sized spaces with plastic foldable tables set up next to one another filling the whole space, there are values of "open space" greater than your typical cube-divided office space. That office layout, and some technical problems (said shop's first Google result was of a quarter-million passwords compromised by way of a developer's poor password choice, neglecting to use RSAkey…

"That office layout, resulting in some technical problems..."

Fixed that for you. ;-)

Re: Open Office Layout is Bad for Brain

#66

Post by dredmorbius »

pasbesoin wrote: post #65
dredmorbius wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Having seen start-up occupying warehouse-sized spaces with plastic foldable tables set up next to one another filling the whole space, there are values of "open space" greater than your typical cube-divided office space. That office layout, and some technical problems (said shop's first Google result was of a quarter-million passwords compromised by way of a developer's poor password choice, neglecting to use RSAkey…

"That office layout, resulting in some technical problems..." Fixed that for you. ;-)

I suspect ultimate causality was sloppy thinking resulting in both the office layout and the multiple security issues, though it's also quite likely that this was something of a cascade failure.

Re: Open Office Layout is Bad for Brain

#67

Post by Zigurd »

Interesting but all anecdotal. The office layout productivity study that sticks in my mind showed that any change in office layout improved productivity for a short time. More light, dimmer light, higher cubicle walls, no cubicle walls, etc. It all improved productivity. And then there was a return to mean.
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