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Why We Still Believe in Private Offices

blog.stackoverflow.com

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71–78 of 78 posts

Re: Why We Still Believe in Private Offices

#71

Post by darklajid »

abecedarius wrote: post #21

It bums me out some to see the standard-bearer for private offices in our profession showing us floor-to-ceiling glass walls in a panopticon arc, "not as creepy as you think"[1]. The Overton window's shifted so far to the cage-free side that privacy isn't even in our frame? OK, a few companies still believe in offices with walls. I don't doubt that it's a fine place to work, likely nicer than the cubicles I've worked…

Came to say the same thing. That is creepy, period.

People might be able to adopt, but that's actually the worst part of the open floor plan for me: The constant feeling of people in your back.

I don't need a door. I need a wall. Right behind me.

Re: Why We Still Believe in Private Offices

#72

Post by anotherevan »

Phlarp wrote: post #8
JeremyMorgan wrote: post #5

The thing to consider here is Stack Exchange is a company that serves geeks, and is built by geeks. Naturally the culture and values of the company are going revolve around developers. But for a huge chunk of the companies out there everything revolves around sales and marketing. The actual role and importance of developers varies from company to company but very few of them are going to revolve around them in the sa…

This line of thinking becomes even easier to justify internally when the open office answer is generally also the cheapest solution.

That depends by what metric you measure the cost. It may be the cheapest up front in terms of dollars, but hideously expensive in terms of lost effectiveness of employees.

Re: Why We Still Believe in Private Offices

#73

Post by bane »

magsafe wrote: post #28

Am I the only one that considers lunch to be a sacred, personal time that I don't want to spend on small talk with coworkers? I need my lunch break to recover from the day's stress and pace, so I can come back refreshed and ready to code for 4-5 more hours. As an introvert, I find the team lunches to be waay more stressful than actual work, and that eliminates any benefits of a nicely cooked meal. If I end up in a te…

I used to scarf down lunch as fast as possible and get back to work. Then I met my wife (who's South Korean). Koreans, despite being workaholics (in a grossly simplified general sense) have a cultural predisposition to drop everything and savor their meals. It drove me absolutely up-the-wall when we first met. Meals were something to get through as quickly as possible and then back to work.

But over time, as my work responsibilities have increased (and my work stress), I've learned to value meal time as a moment of peace in a stressful day -- an island of solitude. I take meals now with purpose, savoring every bite, spending the time to enjoy the food and simply enjoy the act of eating. I seek out places with nice atmospheres and good quality food.

As a result my health is better, my stress is better managed, and I find the pacing aspect of it keeps my head in the game when I return to work.

It's been an important lesson I've continued to enjoy.

I know other people who don't like this, maybe it's an introvert/extrovert thing. But the 30min-1hr lunch where I really just enjoy my own thoughts really gives me a second wind...especially late in the week.

Re: Why We Still Believe in Private Offices

#74

Post by mcguire »

abecedarius wrote: post #21

It bums me out some to see the standard-bearer for private offices in our profession showing us floor-to-ceiling glass walls in a panopticon arc, "not as creepy as you think"[1]. The Overton window's shifted so far to the cage-free side that privacy isn't even in our frame? OK, a few companies still believe in offices with walls. I don't doubt that it's a fine place to work, likely nicer than the cubicles I've worked…

Panopticon[1] was the word I was thinking of, too.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon

Re: Why We Still Believe in Private Offices

#75

Post by ohast »

jimbokun wrote: post #43

So what other software companies have private offices? In addition to Stack Exchange, Microsoft was mentioned. When I worked as a developer at Carnegie Mellon, I had an office shared with one or two other people (which was a nice perk, given the pay was much lower than industry). Any others?

I believe http://www.fogcreek.com/, which is no surprise though since their affiliation with stackoverflow through Joel Spolsky.

Re: Why We Still Believe in Private Offices

#76

Post by robwormald »

normloman wrote: post #39
slashnull wrote: post #3

The new offices my company is moving to will have an open floor plan and a foosball table. Time to fight for remoting rights.

Don't tell me. They want to put the foosball table next to your desk. When will they learn!

We just got a foosball table in our office. It is 1 meter from my desk. It's horrible.

Re: Why We Still Believe in Private Offices

#77

Post by BerislavLopac »

spoondan wrote: post #30
BerislavLopac wrote: post #19

One thing I don't understand -- in this time of laptops, tablets and ubiquitous internet access (whether in-office wi-fi or the mobile broadband), why do we still have this discussion? Are there any companies out there who have a heterogeneous office layout, with open-space areas, single-person rooms and anything in between which could then be used by anyone to their own preference? I would like to see a setup where…

Have you actually worked in an environment like that? In my experience, hoteling as the only option is deeply unpleasant. People like to have a single place to go. They like to have a desk they can personalize. They like to have a place they can leave their stuff overnight. If you only provide hoteling, I think the majority of people will just claim a desk as theirs, and you effectively have no hoteling at all.

"People like to have a single place to go."

I'm pretty sure some do, and I'm pretty sure some don't. Heck, some people would prefer it for some time, and then not for some more. I certainly know that describes me pretty well.

My idea is not hoteling-only; it's the option you can choose and request, like any other you prefer; in case of any conflicts it would be up to the leads/managers to make the decision.

"If you only provide hoteling, I think the majority of people will just claim a desk as theirs, and you effectively have no hoteling at all."

The operating words being "I think". I think otherwise, and there is only one way to find out.

Re: Why We Still Believe in Private Offices

#78

Post by BerislavLopac »

rwmj wrote: post #48
BerislavLopac wrote: post #19

One thing I don't understand -- in this time of laptops, tablets and ubiquitous internet access (whether in-office wi-fi or the mobile broadband), why do we still have this discussion? Are there any companies out there who have a heterogeneous office layout, with open-space areas, single-person rooms and anything in between which could then be used by anyone to their own preference? I would like to see a setup where…

You might equally ask why don't we all work remotely? (Disclaimer: I work remotely, in a team of > 50% remote workers, and believe it works very well)

Because, in many cases, no kind of communication software can supplant the face-to-face interaction, especially when multiple people are involved. The best distributed teams I've worked with are those that organise live meetups at least every few months.
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