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CEOs Want Their Offices Back

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Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#81

Post by [deleted] »

trcollinson wrote: post #59
coffeeski wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would take a 10% paycut to have a small office that fits 2 monitors, a filing cabinet and some pictures, rather then dealing with constant clattering of the guy behind me that decided converting a type writer into a digital keyboard was a good idea.

I understand your sentiment entirely. I have thought the same way. However, I have to ask, why would you, or I, or any other person creating substantial value for a company, ever in their right mind take a 10% pay cut (or any other level of pay cut or reduction) in order to be MORE efficient? Our attitude in this industry drives me crazy lately. And really it has been my own attitude for a long time. We ask to be mor…

[deleted]

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#82

Post by HarryHirsch »

trcollinson wrote: post #59
coffeeski wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would take a 10% paycut to have a small office that fits 2 monitors, a filing cabinet and some pictures, rather then dealing with constant clattering of the guy behind me that decided converting a type writer into a digital keyboard was a good idea.

I understand your sentiment entirely. I have thought the same way. However, I have to ask, why would you, or I, or any other person creating substantial value for a company, ever in their right mind take a 10% pay cut (or any other level of pay cut or reduction) in order to be MORE efficient? Our attitude in this industry drives me crazy lately. And really it has been my own attitude for a long time. We ask to be mor…

why would you, or I, or any other person creating substantial value for a company, ever in their right mind take a 10% pay cut

Because markets. In sales you learn fairly quickly that price isn't determined by cost or value added but exclusively by what the market will bear. Since US labour has little negotiating power even a programmer will have to buy quiet space.

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#83

Post by valuearb »

walshemj wrote: post #37
andrewingram wrote: post #5

Curiously, in my experience it's been senior management (including CEOs) who've fought for open plan offices in the first place. Cost benefits aside, they do wax lyrical about all the reason why open plan is great.

Because they have allowed tail functions like HR and Building Services to set company policy with no thought to the wider effect on the company. Aka I got my bonus and I don't care if I have F%$Ked up the company

CFO's don't get bonuses for increasing productivity.

They get bonuses because they "saved" the companies millions by cramming more workers in a smaller space. Then they get another bonus to figure out how to cram more workers in, because for some weird reason productivity has gone downhill.

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#84

Post by bitexploder »

jesseryoung wrote: post #50

It seems like when "Open Office" articles come out there seem to be quite a few people talking ill of them. I recently switched jobs and with it switched from an open concept (large room with whiteboards separating teams) to an office (shared with one other coworker.) Maybe I was conditioned to like it (I certainly didn't like it at first) but I really did prefer the open concept when working on a team of 8 or 9 peop…

That is a culture issue. We are a remote heavy team. Like GitLab, we have made it a part of our company​ DNA to write everything down. It is just about the norms of the organization. Writing everything down takes disicpline, but pays off in the long run.

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#85

Post by jdc0589 »

carsongross wrote: post #75

I was dead wrong about the open office layout: I was an advocate, but I now see that over time, for any company larger than a garage startup, it ends becoming a way to cut costs and pack more employees per square foot. It isn't worse than cube-farms, but it isn't much better. I wonder if per-team offices of 2-5 people around a central hub would actually hit the right balance between interaction and think time.

I think its worse than cube farms, way worse. In a cube you have some modicum of isolation, even if its just a physical barrier to keep from seeing 100% of the movement/traffic around your workspace.

In an open environment, literally everything is a distraction. The only time I've been content-ish in an open environment is when I happened to be facing a corner.

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#86

Post by geff82 »

Oh really? How many hundred years will it take until they find out that "regular" workers also have declined performance in large offices? I find them a disgrace. I don't need a single office for me - but 3-6 People is enough.

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#87

Post by jdc0589 »

jesseryoung wrote: post #50

It seems like when "Open Office" articles come out there seem to be quite a few people talking ill of them. I recently switched jobs and with it switched from an open concept (large room with whiteboards separating teams) to an office (shared with one other coworker.) Maybe I was conditioned to like it (I certainly didn't like it at first) but I really did prefer the open concept when working on a team of 8 or 9 peop…

This is why I actually like cubicles. you are physically close to your team, if your space is organized well you are on a common isle with people you work with, but you still have at least a little bit of isolation in your personal workspace.

I DO NOT understand why cubes get so much hate.

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#88

Post by bragh »

LoSboccacc wrote: post #63
varelse wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just like the cargo cult Agile pandemic peaked a few years ago, I suspect we're reaching peak open floor plans right now. The overall negative effects of an open floor plan for a significant fraction of engineers (though not all) is self-evident and backed up by reams of data stretching back nearly 40 years: http://iansommerville.com/software-engineering-book/web/work... TLDR: 100 square feet of personal space is opt…

Many large company will do but the large brunt of codetariat working for cash strapped business living and dying according to investors and customers will be keept in the open spaces: they looks cool in photos, convey a reassuring sense of "working bees" and sells well to visiting customers, so I fear the open plan it's here to stay.

That is the crux of the issue, isn't it? Actual productivity does not matter that much on a grand scale, the perceived productivity and therefore sales is what matters.

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#89

Post by QuantumGravy »

teemwerk wrote: post #35
dralley wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Brown-type switches are OK, it's the blue-type keys that are problematic.

Yeah, but he's talking about the conversion kits to digitize input on a typewriter. That's next level annoying.

Wait, that's a thing? (Quickly Googling...) OMG, that's a thing.

People in the office are still using old-school typewriters for certain official documents, so I expect I can get away with it. If I can't concentrate due to existing office noise, I may as well have some fun. Thanks!

Re: CEOs Want Their Offices Back

#90

Post by ddlatham »

trcollinson wrote: post #59
coffeeski wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would take a 10% paycut to have a small office that fits 2 monitors, a filing cabinet and some pictures, rather then dealing with constant clattering of the guy behind me that decided converting a type writer into a digital keyboard was a good idea.

I understand your sentiment entirely. I have thought the same way. However, I have to ask, why would you, or I, or any other person creating substantial value for a company, ever in their right mind take a 10% pay cut (or any other level of pay cut or reduction) in order to be MORE efficient? Our attitude in this industry drives me crazy lately. And really it has been my own attitude for a long time. We ask to be mor…

Because it makes me happier.
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