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That cover photo set an incredibly terrible tone for this article and set me against it from the get go. After reading this, I still think it is a bunch of bunk
by rietta 10y ago
That cover photo set an incredibly terrible tone for this article and set me against it from the get go. After reading this, I still think it is a bunch of bunk. Those who need an office will have one and those whose work is such that they can suffer through with just a laptop and with distractions in the background wont.
I could work from anywhere, but I don't and no WiFi is not my preferred connection mechanism in my house when I am working with NAS for video editing or some of the other work that I do in addition to writing code. The only time I may crack the laptop while in actual bed is if I was sick and on those days I'm not going to be committing a ton of code to any of my projects. The ergonomics would be all wrong.
The killer quote is “Most people I know end up sitting on the sofa, and half the time the TV is on when they’re working.” I could not concentrate in such an environment. Even if TV may be on upstairs but I have privacy in my office in the basement. On balance this article does a disservice and gives ammunition to organizations whose bosses want to point and show "see, this is why we need our employees to come into the office".
- usaphp 10y ago> "The killer quote is “Most people I know end up sitting on the sofa, and half the time the TV is on when they’re working.” I could not concentrate in such an environment. " if you can't do it it does not mean it's not true, I do most of my work sitting at a sofa with tv running and my kids running around, I guess it's just a matter of getting used to, I can just ignore tv sounds and do my work sitting there.
- rietta 10y agoWe both have our individual antidotes stated now. But is this a trend? The author cites no stats, just quotes one guy.
- usaphp 10y agoSame does the original comment.
- SyneRyder 10y agoI do that as well. However, I started tracking how focused & productive I felt during each work session / pomodoro (using a program called Vitamin-R), and the preliminary results aren't good. I'm measurably more productive if I turn the TV off. I can improve productivity further by putting on noise-cancelling headphones & my programming-specific playlist. Your mileage may vary of course, but sometimes it's worth testing & measuring these things.
- usaphp 10y agoI was not arguing about productivity , I was just saying that the original comment was bashing the quote based on his own personal anecdote, if he does not do it - it does not mean its not happening for other people.
- loco5niner 10y agoBut your above comment does in fact argue about productivity. It communicates that you could "concentrate in such an environment.", when he could not.
- fragsworth 10y agoI don't think it was even a cover photo. Look closely, someone did a bad Photoshop job putting the whole image together. Adding even more to how contrived it all feels.
- rietta 10y agoYou're right! I didn't notice that. This has to be a hit piece. What utter editorial garbage, even for Bloomberg.
- GizaDog 10y agoThat is a great catch and bad photo editing.
- DavidWanjiru 10y agoI hadn't noticed, and this image is just the gift that keeps on giving. What do you mean it's Photoshop? Oh yeah, the box files. I hadn't noticed. The dude's leg looks a bit weir...WAIT, that's photoshop too! EVEN THE LAPTOP! Gosh, the whole thing is fake!
- raybb 10y agoAgreed. I'm a college student and I absolutely miss having a nice working area for when I need to settle in and get stuff done. Some of my friends to all their homework sitting on their bed (like in that picture) but they're definitely the minority. I think we all appreciate the library which is usually quiet and allows you to get a nice open space with relatively few distractions.
- return0 10y agobtw that image is terribly photoshopped (probably by someone working from his bed)