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We have an open floor plan, and it works like this: * Desk area is for getting work done. Everyone agrees on this. * We have "phone rooms" for small discussi
by khazhoux 9y ago
We have an open floor plan, and it works like this:
* Desk area is for getting work done. Everyone agrees on this.
* We have "phone rooms" for small discussions. But we limit those usually to 1:1s or discussing office politics.
* Try to limit all discussions at the desk area to 5 people or less.
* If someone sighs loudly as they put on their headphones when you're having a discussion right behind them, then that is their signal to you to keep talking loudly, as their noise-canceling headphones will eliminate any trace of your conversation.
* You can usually carry a conversation at your desk at any volume, because other engineers will let you know if you're being too loud. Engineers tend to be extroverted and won't hesitate to let you know if you're bothering them.
* When someone first sits at their desk, it's polite to immediately engage them in a 30-minute conversation about their weekend or what they did last night. It eases their transition into work.
* A person working without headphones on, signifies that it's ok to tap them on the shoulder to ask them a question.
* A person working WITH headphones on, signifies that it's ok to tap them on the shoulder to ask them a question.
* If someone usually works off in quiet parts of the building, one should always remind them "you're never at your desk" with an accusatory tone.
- andrewingram 9y agoThe progression of this list is beautiful.
- rajeshp1986 9y agoAll the items in this list are assumptions. I don't think it makes any sense to make them as rules.
- piinbinary 9y agoPoe's Law?
- draw_down 9y agoNoise canceling headphones don't really work that way in my experience. They're good at canceling out droning background sounds to make the overall sound quieter, but they can't "predict" and cancel out less repetitive/droning sounds sounds like conversations and those godawful clacky keyboards some people insist on. In effect, noise canceling headphones make those sounds louder, relatively speaking, because they quiet other sounds.
- peapicker 9y agoEvery single item on the list is said tongue-in-cheek...
- georgemcbay 9y agoYeah but the progression was brilliant. Started out from "I disagree with this, but ....okay...." and then got progressively more absurd. It wasn't until #5 that I realized it was clearly satire, prior to that I figured it was one of those rationalization posts that tech CEOs make to defend these practices as somehow useful or beneficial.
- draw_down 9y agoHa! Well, you never can tell around these parts.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- coffeeski 9y agoThey work great for constant white noise. Not people talking, which is what I thought it would reduce.
- sundvor 9y agoI've got a set of ATH-ANC9s and as a programmer I work in an extremely noisy environment (next to the phones); by themselves they do little to drop the noise, but add some music and magic happens. EDIT: I experimented with the (almost universally approved of) ATH-M50Xs but found I had to use a much louder volume to cancel out the noise, which causing ringing, so using NC is pretty much saving my hearing. Not sure how I could work here without them.
- baursak 9y agoForgot one more item: CEO has the same desk as everybody else. But we also know to never book a certain conference room where he hangs out all day.
- flippyhead 9y agoHAHA
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- crowbahr 9y agoIt's comments like this that make me thrilled I work from home.
- dmitrygr 9y ago> A person working WITH headphones on, signifies that it's ok to tap them on the shoulder to ask them a question. what? headphones = NOT NOW! if you need something, email The whole point of headphones is to not be disturbed. How does that indicate to you that i want you to suddenly disturb me by touching me unexpectedly.
- javiramos 9y agoI think that the post has an element of /S
- asavadatti 9y agoWhoosh!
- clarkmoreno 9y agogot 'em!
- darioush 9y ago"Engineers tend to be extroverted" Where did you get your statistics on that one?
- cortesoft 9y agoThe Big Book of Sarcastic Stats
- louthy 9y agoReeaally?
- alexandrekop 9y agoBoom!
- bradlys 9y agoSarcasm University.
- Psilidae 9y agoFor what it's worth, it did seem to be true at my last company. Engineers were outgoing and the artists were all the introverted quiet ones. Edit: Then again, I was pulling a lot of engineering weight and was the one with headphones on all day...
- petters 9y agoThe parent comment is of course sarcasm, but I wonder… Are there any studies that significantly concludes that engineers are more extrovert of more introvert than the general population?
- watwut 9y agoProbably none. There is also a thing about stuff like this changing overtime, between engineering branches and between places depending on local culture.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- blablabla123 9y agoIf single offices were the optimum, why aren't we all working from home in single apartments anyway? I think the more open the place, the better. We are social animals. If people choose solitude, it's likely for wrong reasons. (Not saying that there aren't ever reasons for that, (almost) everybody needs some privacy every now and then.) But yeah, all people must also think of others, people who don't do that are likely making work a bad experience.
- rainbowmverse 9y ago>> We are social animals. Social is a big spectrum. Keep to your end of it and there won't be any problem.
- Swizec 9y ago> If single offices were the optimum, why aren't we all working from home in single apartments anyway? Can you imagine paying everyone in San Francisco enough salary so they can afford a 2nd bedroom? Don't be silly. And yes, working from home without a home office with a door is not the same as having a private office. People have roommates and kids and spouses and all sorts of things that are even worse than coworkers when it comes to focus.
- loco5niner 9y agoNot all of us are social animals, especially not 8 hours a day. Also, often the problem I'm working on requires focus. For example, how much talking has occurred during ANY math test you have ever taken?
- blablabla123 9y agoOne of the best tests I took in university, Theoretical Physics (E-Dynamics, QM, Thermo), was due to collaborative preparation. I learned together with another guy for 2-3 months. Interestingly he had a weaker background but we scored very well. This test was oral by the way, but took about an hour (or more?), professor and protocol person. Sure there was writing but also a lot of talking. I think constraining our industry on solitude is also a reason for the low diversity.
- ionwake 9y agoFirst time I've been softly trolled on HN. Well played.
- sundvor 9y agoYep, that was beautiful.
- AlexandrB 9y agoThis is hauntingly familiar. Well done!
- yeukhon 9y ago> * If someone usually works off in quiet parts of the building, one should always remind them "you're never at your desk" with an accusatory tone. That's me. See the image below. Since I am almost always away from my desk, this is how I remind everyone / greet everyone. http://imgur.com/a/4GzPl http://imgur.com/a/4GzPl (redacted my cell #)
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- askafriend 9y agoThis is incredibly accurate and hilarious at the same time. Well done!