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Open-plan offices make employees less productive, less happy, and more sick

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Re: Open-plan offices make employees less productive, less happy, and more sick

#61

Post by bentcorner »

fernly wrote: post #29
mcphilip wrote: post #14

I really struggle to get in the 'zone' where I can do the creative aspects of software engineering (e.g. researching graph databases like neo4j and determining if our startup can benefit from it) when I'm in an open environment. I have been diagnosed with ADD for the past 8 years, but am working towards a medication free approach to dealing with it. Open spaces really hurt my productivity because my mind naturally tr…

Could you use headphones, noise-cancelling ones perhaps, and music to isolate yourself?

I've also used noise cancelling/isolating headphones without music and they're effective.

Headphones are also a useful social signal that you're not to be interrupted.

Re: Open-plan offices make employees less productive, less happy, and more sick

#62

Post by raverbashing »

endianswap wrote: post #27
mcphilip wrote: post #14

I really struggle to get in the 'zone' where I can do the creative aspects of software engineering (e.g. researching graph databases like neo4j and determining if our startup can benefit from it) when I'm in an open environment. I have been diagnosed with ADD for the past 8 years, but am working towards a medication free approach to dealing with it. Open spaces really hurt my productivity because my mind naturally tr…

I hate to sound like I'm trivializing your disorder, but have you tried a good pair of closed-ear headphones? I sit in a room of 40 or 50 chatty computer folks, and everything is silent when I put on my Sennheiser headphones. It lets be effectively choose whether or not I want to be distracted by sound, which I do sometimes (hearing conversations I want to be a part of it quite important to me).

This

With noise cancelling for when someone decides to vacuum the office or finds out it's a nice day to use a power drill

Re: Open-plan offices make employees less productive, less happy, and more sick

#63

Post by davesims »

DanielBMarkham wrote: post #43

I've worked in every possible configuration, and I've watched teams work in every possible configuration. I don't like open-plan, but it tentatively appears to be most effective for organizations as a whole. Some initial conclusions: - We'd be wise to distinguish what we'd all like to have as an office from what actually functions best in a larger system. It is erroneous to think that simply because you like somethin…

Couldn't agree more. What people complain about is not necessarily an indication of what's not working.

My last two gigs have been open-plan, and I prefer it much more than closed-cube spaces. If your team is working as it should, and is in close proximity to project/product management, with a good process and a healthy level of trust between the stakeholders and between the various engineers, then in my experience open-plan is far better, because the quality of communication is high, the general focus of the team is high, and there's less background noise "distraction", because the cross-talk is usually relevant and on-task, and has a higher likelihood of being pertinent to the job at hand. Open plan offices work well when the team is already working well.

However, if there's broken processes, unfocussed coworkers, and a general level of distrust between team members or across teams, then the background chatter becomes exponentially more distracting and frustrating. Unfortunately most teams tend towards the latter and not the former.

In other words -- in my limited, anecdotal experience (last 5 years, two large open-plan teams; 10 years before that in closed or hybrid), high-functioning teams tend to thrive on the cross-talk and constant communication that open plan creates organically. Lower-functioning teams on the other hand have done better when the natural barriers of walls and closed doors limit unnecessary distractions and create healthier boundaries.

So it's not surprising to me that the study shows more instances of teams unhappy with open plans; it's certainly not for everybody. But the best teams I've been on have absolutely thrived in that environment.

Re: Open-plan offices make employees less productive, less happy, and more sick

#64

Post by monkeynotes »

endianswap wrote: post #27
mcphilip wrote: post #14

I really struggle to get in the 'zone' where I can do the creative aspects of software engineering (e.g. researching graph databases like neo4j and determining if our startup can benefit from it) when I'm in an open environment. I have been diagnosed with ADD for the past 8 years, but am working towards a medication free approach to dealing with it. Open spaces really hurt my productivity because my mind naturally tr…

I hate to sound like I'm trivializing your disorder, but have you tried a good pair of closed-ear headphones? I sit in a room of 40 or 50 chatty computer folks, and everything is silent when I put on my Sennheiser headphones. It lets be effectively choose whether or not I want to be distracted by sound, which I do sometimes (hearing conversations I want to be a part of it quite important to me).

In addition I think practicing meditation would be an excellent alternative to medication. Meditation can help the mind learn how to focus and compartmentalise your senses.

Re: Open-plan offices make employees less productive, less happy, and more sick

#65

Post by yajoe »

calpaterson wrote: post #2

This topic is discussed at length in Peopleware: http://www.librarything.com/work/17188 "If your organization is anything like those studied in our last three annual surveys, the environmental trend is toward less privacy, less dedicated space and more noise. Of course the obvious reason for this is cost. A penny saved on the workspace is a penny earned on the bottom line, or so the logic goes. Those who make such a…

Peopleware is among the best books about teams that I encourage all aspiring managers to read.

One point to emphasize is why the authors believe individual offices work: quiet. There is a story about about a programming competition, and in the narrative programmers in quiet spaces performed better than their peers, even controlling for experience and skill.

Back then there weren't headphones or django (I kid, I kid!), but I don't think either work as well as my open-plan colleagues would like us to believe :) My open plan office at Amazon had a gorgeous view of lake union, but sat alongside the Mercer construction and ambulance route -- beyond annoying and distracting.

Perhaps I just haven't had the right quiet open plan experience?

Re: Open-plan offices make employees less productive, less happy, and more sick

#67

Post by AlisdairO »

ladzoppelin wrote: post #10

The noise would drive me crazy. Earplugs would not even work with so many phones so close together. How can people program in that environment?

Depends, I guess. I'm in open plan, but the floor I work on is basically all engineering. We don't get too many phone calls ;)

Re: Open-plan offices make employees less productive, less happy, and more sick

#68

Post by AlisdairO »

I actually like open plan, generally, with one caveat - I work from home one day a week. I like being generally available to help my colleagues with problems (and be helped by them), and I'm mostly-interruptible. This workflow does rely entirely on me having at least one day a week for which I can save up my really hard problems and just think uninterrupted.

Working from home is not a requirement - I'd also be happy with an open-plan arrangement where you could book an office for one day a week. The important factor is that every now and then I need some peace and quiet.

Re: Open-plan offices make employees less productive, less happy, and more sick

#69

Post by rohansingh »

endianswap wrote: post #27
mcphilip wrote: post #14

I really struggle to get in the 'zone' where I can do the creative aspects of software engineering (e.g. researching graph databases like neo4j and determining if our startup can benefit from it) when I'm in an open environment. I have been diagnosed with ADD for the past 8 years, but am working towards a medication free approach to dealing with it. Open spaces really hurt my productivity because my mind naturally tr…

I hate to sound like I'm trivializing your disorder, but have you tried a good pair of closed-ear headphones? I sit in a room of 40 or 50 chatty computer folks, and everything is silent when I put on my Sennheiser headphones. It lets be effectively choose whether or not I want to be distracted by sound, which I do sometimes (hearing conversations I want to be a part of it quite important to me).

If you're listening to music through those headphones, it is definitely having an effort on your creativity that you might net appreciate. The Cornell study about this is referenced in Peopleware.

I summarized it a few years ago if you don't have a copy handy: http://rohanradio.com/blog/2010/08/12/one-song-on-repeat/

Re: Open-plan offices make employees less productive, less happy, and more sick

#70

Post by jasonlotito »

endianswap wrote: post #27
mcphilip wrote: post #14

I really struggle to get in the 'zone' where I can do the creative aspects of software engineering (e.g. researching graph databases like neo4j and determining if our startup can benefit from it) when I'm in an open environment. I have been diagnosed with ADD for the past 8 years, but am working towards a medication free approach to dealing with it. Open spaces really hurt my productivity because my mind naturally tr…

I hate to sound like I'm trivializing your disorder, but have you tried a good pair of closed-ear headphones? I sit in a room of 40 or 50 chatty computer folks, and everything is silent when I put on my Sennheiser headphones. It lets be effectively choose whether or not I want to be distracted by sound, which I do sometimes (hearing conversations I want to be a part of it quite important to me).

As someone who also has ADHD and OCD, close-ear noise-canceling headphones aren't the solution. And they don't work. As someone else mentioned, visual noise is just as much a problem. Couple that with what an open office implies: easy access.

Besides, I don't want to always be wearing headphones while I'm coding. I do enjoy quiet and peace while working, without needing my head and ears wrapped.

Another issue with ADHD isn't just being distracted, but also getting back to work after being disrupted. It's easy to talk about getting into the zone, but for someone with ADHD, it's even more challenging. Since I've started medication, I've seen firsthand the dramatic difference.

This isn't meant to say you are wrong. Closed-ear headphones do help, and they are just one thing I use. But alone, they simply don't come close. Open-offices are a challenge.

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