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Open-plan offices reduce face-to-face interactions (2018)

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Re: Open-plan offices reduce face-to-face interactions (2018)

#71

Post by mercer »

matz1 wrote: post #70
mercer wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apologies for being a bit snarky, but I found your comment to not really add much to the conversation because it just pointed out that you do not personally suffer from the problems that the person you responded to does. That, combined with the fact that you don't seem to care how your open-office talk might affect others, reminded me of the various "that guys/gals" that I've encountered in my open-office experiences…

>They'd regularly annoy or interrupt everyone else in the room by having no consideration, self-awareness and/or sensitivity, and usually they'd do so for the worst reason: talking about themselves I understand that, the trick for me is to not let myself to be negatively affected by that, in other words, I make myself to filter out/ignore all those stuff. Its a useful skill to have.

I'm happy for you that that works (really), but I'm probably one of many people, perhaps even the majority, who lacks that skill, and who is significantly affected by 'those guys/gals' to the point of giving up office life for the most part (because I can afford to, though).

I strongly believe that respecting other people means taking into account that they might not possess my particular skill-set, and especially when said respect doesn't cost me much effort but causes others significant stress/discomfort, not showing this respect is just being an asshole.

(Of course, that's assuming that I'm aware of all this. The other side of this 'transaction' is for the other to express whatever problem they might have with my behavior)

Re: Open-plan offices reduce face-to-face interactions (2018)

#72

Post by breakpointalpha »

I'm considering an offer that would introduce a 30+ minute commute and an open office plan back into my life.

I've been working 100% from home for the last 8 months and rather enjoy it.

Should I just hold out for another remote job? I have about 10 months of burn left in my bank account...

Re: Open-plan offices reduce face-to-face interactions (2018)

#73

Post by nimrody »

awestroke wrote: post #6
docker_up wrote: post #4

I'm probably an outlier, but I love open-office. I've worked in all the different environments over the last 25 years, single office, shared office, cubicle, remote and open office. Open office was weird at first, but I find it much more social. I don't get distracted by noise or movement so that could be a big factor, so I can code without any problems. The least social for me was the single office. I would stay in…

Some people can work even though they get interrupted and disturbed all day, others are very averse to being distracted and try to reach deep work or get in the zone. The problem with an open office is the first group.

The effect also depends on the type of work you are currently doing. Some work requires more concentration and is more easily disturbed. Other, more routine work, can tolerate more noise (be it audible or visual.)

Re: Open-plan offices reduce face-to-face interactions (2018)

#74

Post by dijit »

johnchristopher wrote: post #66
dijit wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chiming in to say I also disagree with the opinion and to make the same request to downvotes==disagree button. I would like to ask another question though, how does the community feel about people who talk to themselves when they're focused? I find myself doing that at home a lot when working and I really do perform focused tasks significantly better. "Aha, this is a bit stupid" "So, if I move this here it'll be more…

> I would like to ask another question though, how does the community feel about people who talk to themselves when they're focused? There's a special place in hell for those people :). Even worse when they are whispering or mumbling. It's really the same as talking on the phone: my brain is hijacked because it only has a side of the conversation.

Well, that's not nice.

it happens automatically once I'm above 80% invested into something, so in order to be safe I don't let myself get any more than 50% invested because I'm worried about disturbing others.

I'm not sure what I can do here, I have to be in an office which has no sound barriers of any kind between anyone.

Re: Open-plan offices reduce face-to-face interactions (2018)

#75

Post by philpem »

pwinnski wrote: post #69
philpem wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of my previous employers had an open-plan office, and after a management change introduced mandatory hotdesking. You had to move desks every day -- management checked every morning and wrote people up if they sat at the same desk for two consecutive days. Then they introduced a mandatory uniform and a complete ban on personal items -- all the Wallace and Gromit coffee mugs, the photos of family disappeared overni…

Did you work in a Terry Gilliam movie? Was this in the USA? It sounds dystopic.

UK actually. A FTSE-listed company.

I've mentioned some of the other stuff they did in my other comments so I won't dig it up here. I left at the end of last year and at that point I was doing the job of four engineers (who'd all left).

These days, I sleep through the night (first time in about five years), I've massively cut down my coffee intake (from four cups of espresso-strength to a couple of lattes), and I'm working on my own projects in the evenings again. I still have about a stone in weight (put on through comfort-eating) to burn off, but I'm working on that.

Re: Open-plan offices reduce face-to-face interactions (2018)

#76

Post by johnchristopher »

dijit wrote: post #74
johnchristopher wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I would like to ask another question though, how does the community feel about people who talk to themselves when they're focused? There's a special place in hell for those people :). Even worse when they are whispering or mumbling. It's really the same as talking on the phone: my brain is hijacked because it only has a side of the conversation.

Well, that's not nice. it happens automatically once I'm above 80% invested into something, so in order to be safe I don't let myself get any more than 50% invested because I'm worried about disturbing others. I'm not sure what I can do here, I have to be in an office which has no sound barriers of any kind between anyone.

Well, you can try the rubber band thing around the wrist for reinforcements.

Re: Open-plan offices reduce face-to-face interactions (2018)

#77

Post by jklinger410 »

loco5niner wrote: post #60
jklinger410 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The open office format has increased our face-time 10 fold. Not sure what the point of doing studies on this is? It's incredibly cultural and business/job specific.

Because so many people HATE the open office?

HN crowd hates open-office. So, mostly devs?

Someone commission a study on developers take on open office vs other roles, STAT!

Re: Open-plan offices reduce face-to-face interactions (2018)

#78

Post by dijit »

johnchristopher wrote: post #76
dijit wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, that's not nice. it happens automatically once I'm above 80% invested into something, so in order to be safe I don't let myself get any more than 50% invested because I'm worried about disturbing others. I'm not sure what I can do here, I have to be in an office which has no sound barriers of any kind between anyone.

Well, you can try the rubber band thing around the wrist for reinforcements.

What rubber band thing?

Re: Open-plan offices reduce face-to-face interactions (2018)

#79

Post by loco5niner »

jklinger410 wrote: post #77
loco5niner wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because so many people HATE the open office?

HN crowd hates open-office. So, mostly devs? Someone commission a study on developers take on open office vs other roles, STAT!

Yes, good clarification. Likely mostly devs. It really depends on the kind of work you do.

But, when it matters, it REALLY matters.

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