The parent I wanted to reply to got deleted, but it feels quite suitable here, so here are my thoughts on difficulties of working in an open office: ----------

The parent I wanted to reply to got deleted, but it feels quite suitable here, so here are my thoughts on difficulties of working in an open office: --------------------------------------------- [Not an FB employee, but] Most of my workspaces have been semi-open: offices/rooms with ~10 workplaces scattered around, maybe a glass wall or a shelf here and there. As for HN, FB, etc: it highly depends on the culture, but if the office is open not for control - you just open and browse. One might as well browse stackexchange (e.g. arqade) for leisure or code personal project. The terribleness of NSFW link would be the shame/embarrassment you inflict on yourself and maybe an occasional finger pointing if anyone happens to witness. The noise level is definitely higher than in a private office, but then again - culture. Either your colleagues are understanding to keep the noise level down or not. I can/could easily listen to music at comfortable levels even with open headphones. A much bigger issue is that people tend to have coffee/smoke breaks in groups and it requires some self control not to take a break with each and every group. I'm not sure whether that's an issue, but since people tend to work different hours (e.g. 7-16, 9-18) it also puts some unconscious pressure to work 9-16 or 7-18. Quite a lot of the "issues" (differences from an office) are related to the person/culture and not the workplace itself.