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There seems to be little discussion of the benefits to open offices. I would like to know how much money is saved to startups without significant funding. A big

There seems to be little discussion of the benefits to open offices. I would like to know how much money is saved to startups without significant funding. A big company like AT&T has no excuse but "shareholder value" for lowering the quality of work life - because let's be honest, private offices are obviously best - but a startup doesn't really have that choice. Personally, I'm fine with some kind of mix. Some people have cubicles where I work, others have offices, others are a bit more open. As long as I'm listening to good music, it's never really bothered me.

mawburn 11y ago
>private offices are obviously best I wouldn't say, obviously best. I work in a cubical with a door and ceiling high walls. Not an "office", but it's pretty close. Everyone has them and it's set up kind of like a cubical farm. It can be very secluding. Sometimes I'll see people from other teams on the same floor I've never seen before and introduce myself, just to find out they've been working here for 6+ months. I really like having my privacy when I'm working, but sometimes I can't help but feel the grass may be a little greener.
ckluis 11y ago
I’ve always thought that much of the bitching is about individual productivity without taking into the considerations of group productivity. Teams of 4-8 being in a single room probably gain more in collaboration in sum total by being together than the loss in personal productivity; however open spaces in the hundreds now introduct distractions for non-group associated work.
- JoshTriplett 11y ago
  > Teams of 4-8 being in a single room probably gain more in collaboration in sum total by being together than the loss in personal productivity; however open spaces in the hundreds now introduct distractions for non-group associated work. Depends heavily on the work you're doing in that team. Sometimes you're all working on the same problem; sometimes you need to divide and conquer, or otherwise work on mostly unrelated matters. I've read about Valve's "moveable desks" and how they improve collaboration, but that's still a big open-plan office. I wonder if some sensible structure could make it easy to sometimes work in a shared office and sometimes work in groups?
- vonmoltke 11y ago
  > I’ve always thought that much of the bitching is about individual productivity without taking into the considerations of group productivity. On the face of it, that seems illogical. I don't think anyone disputes that a well-functioning team's whole (team productivity) is greater than the sum of its parts (individual productivity). What is hard to fathom, though, is the idea that reducing the sum of its parts increases the whole. I'm not saying it isn't possible, just not straightforward.
JoshTriplett 11y ago
Any calculation of that savings would have to account for lost productivity, which proves challenging to quantify. And private offices aside, the cost difference between "cubes with proper separation" and "open plan" doesn't seem significant. If you're so small this would make a difference, maybe you shouldn't have an office at all yet.
sitkack 11y ago
> but a startup doesn't really have that choice. It absolutely has that choice. No one is forcing startups to put people in open plans. No one is forcing startups to pay exorbitant rent.

mawburn 11y ago

>private offices are obviously best I wouldn't say, obviously best. I work in a cubical with a door and ceiling high walls. Not an "office", but it's pretty close. Everyone has them and it's set up kind of like a cubical farm. It can be very secluding. Sometimes I'll see people from other teams on the same floor I've never seen before and introduce myself, just to find out they've been working here for 6+ months. I really like having my privacy when I'm working, but sometimes I can't help but feel the grass may be a little greener.

ckluis 11y ago

I’ve always thought that much of the bitching is about individual productivity without taking into the considerations of group productivity. Teams of 4-8 being in a single room probably gain more in collaboration in sum total by being together than the loss in personal productivity; however open spaces in the hundreds now introduct distractions for non-group associated work.

JoshTriplett 11y ago
> Teams of 4-8 being in a single room probably gain more in collaboration in sum total by being together than the loss in personal productivity; however open spaces in the hundreds now introduct distractions for non-group associated work. Depends heavily on the work you're doing in that team. Sometimes you're all working on the same problem; sometimes you need to divide and conquer, or otherwise work on mostly unrelated matters. I've read about Valve's "moveable desks" and how they improve collaboration, but that's still a big open-plan office. I wonder if some sensible structure could make it easy to sometimes work in a shared office and sometimes work in groups?
vonmoltke 11y ago
> I’ve always thought that much of the bitching is about individual productivity without taking into the considerations of group productivity. On the face of it, that seems illogical. I don't think anyone disputes that a well-functioning team's whole (team productivity) is greater than the sum of its parts (individual productivity). What is hard to fathom, though, is the idea that reducing the sum of its parts increases the whole. I'm not saying it isn't possible, just not straightforward.

JoshTriplett 11y ago

Any calculation of that savings would have to account for lost productivity, which proves challenging to quantify. And private offices aside, the cost difference between "cubes with proper separation" and "open plan" doesn't seem significant. If you're so small this would make a difference, maybe you shouldn't have an office at all yet.

sitkack 11y ago

> but a startup doesn't really have that choice. It absolutely has that choice. No one is forcing startups to put people in open plans. No one is forcing startups to pay exorbitant rent.