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we had a web group to great fan fare had all new work area created for them, open ceilings, glass walled conference rooms, and open-plan in general. I am not su

we had a web group to great fan fare had all new work area created for them, open ceilings, glass walled conference rooms, and open-plan in general. I am not sure if anyone like it. from lack of perceived "my space" to simple increase in noise. plus if the computer setups are not well planned out it just looks wrong. for me, it reminds me of one especially bad contract where we worked on school lunch room tables. five of us in a row facing a wall with one phone at the end. amazing after spending our hourly rate what they thought they could save without realizing the impact on productivity if not turn over. people deride cubicles now but they are last safe haven, just like dogs and other animals, there is a lot to be said from the subconscious feeling you have from the walls of the cube and single entrance

TeMPOraL 9y ago
> people deride cubicles now Yeah, I don't understand where the hate comes from. I suspect it's just about using cubicles as symbols of corporate environment in general. Because from a floor-plan standpoint, they're a fucking great invention. It's a perfect compromise between the need to give everyone their personal space, and the need to fit in lots of people cost-effectively. Today, if a company offered me a cubicle to work in, I'd consider it as hugely positive about them.
- amalag 9y ago
  Cubicles were considered the worst of both worlds. No proper privacy because there is not enough sound blocking and the faux walls isolate people and prevent collaboration.
  - TeMPOraL 9y ago
    I wonder why. I think they provide enough privacy for a workplace (as long as you're allowed to use headphones for extra sound blocking, and as long as the entry is to your side, not behind you) - the only way to get even more would be closed-door offices, but that takes much more floor space. As for "collaboration", at this point I consider talking about it as a negative thing about a place. I mean, frankly, I know "collaborating" is fun and games, but at some point somebody has to sit down, focus, and write the fucking code.
    - wpietri 9y ago
      Having worked for years in a pair programming environment, I am pretty sure you can get a lot of code written collaboratively. Indeed, even though I'm an introvert, pair programming teams with frequent pair rotation (pairing with 2-3 people per day) is my favorite way to work because I think we end up with better code.
      - maxxxxx 9y ago
        Pair programming is fine. It's real collaboration. But just sitting in one big room while doing their own work is not collaboration.
        wpietri 9y ago
        Sure, I totally agree. I was responding to the introduced false dichotomy: collaborating vs writing the code.
    - klibertp 9y ago
      > as long as the entry is to your side, not behind you I had a place like this once, close to the room entrance with the door to my left. It wasn't a cubicle but room for 4-5 people; I was just the last one to start working there and couldn't pick another desk. It was generally quiet and, with headphones, I could've easily gotten into the zone... if not for the people walking down the hallway (the door was left open most of the time). Every time I saw a glimpse of someone in the hallway I, reflexively and involuntarily, turned my head to see who's there. I think it would be easier to get used to and ignore if the door was behind me - but seeing someone from the corner of my eye induced a response, every single time. We all know how little things may turn into productivity killers. After a while, I thought that maybe it's not pattern-matching faces that is so distracting (our brains are supposedly well equipped for this), maybe it's just the motion needed to turn my head away from my monitor? I found a small mirror somewhere, pretty similar to this one: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Goody-Start-Style-Finish-Two-Sided-Mirror/44730344 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Goody-Start-Style-Finish-Two-Side..., and set it up on my desk, just next to the monitor, in a way that allowed me to see the door and a good chunk of the hallway. It may be hard to believe, but it did solve the problem for me. A sub-second glance at the mirror was enough to register who's coming, after a couple of days I was doing it reflexively without even thinking about it, like when driving a car. Later, when I changed seats, I actually missed my mirror and the ability to effortlessly scan my surroundings. Well, it could have been a placebo effect, and my co-workers (the ones from other rooms, ie. the ones I was "spying on") didn't like it that much, but it may worth a try if one's getting desperate :)
dade_ 9y ago
I hate cubicles because it means the company is too cheap to build proper offices, so I end up working from home as soon as I can. Apparent now they are too cheap to provide desks and assign groups of people to planks. However, it turns out that they are sooooo cheap that they assign far too many people to each plank so then they can't even sit down and finally decide that people can work from home to help alleviate the space issue. This is great by me, but awful for anyone that doesn't do well working from home.
kstenerud 9y ago
I worked in cubicle land for many years, and they are only marginally less bad than open plan offices. I got good at snagging the cubicle at the far end of a row with only one entrance, and that worked to stop the passers-by, but it still didn't stop the noise, or people who want to talk to you interrupting your flow by coming up behind you, tapping your shoulder, and scaring the shit out of you. A proper work environment for this kind of thing requires floor-to-ceiling walls and a door you control.

TeMPOraL 9y ago

> people deride cubicles now Yeah, I don't understand where the hate comes from. I suspect it's just about using cubicles as symbols of corporate environment in general. Because from a floor-plan standpoint, they're a fucking great invention. It's a perfect compromise between the need to give everyone their personal space, and the need to fit in lots of people cost-effectively. Today, if a company offered me a cubicle to work in, I'd consider it as hugely positive about them.

amalag 9y ago
Cubicles were considered the worst of both worlds. No proper privacy because there is not enough sound blocking and the faux walls isolate people and prevent collaboration.
- TeMPOraL 9y ago
  I wonder why. I think they provide enough privacy for a workplace (as long as you're allowed to use headphones for extra sound blocking, and as long as the entry is to your side, not behind you) - the only way to get even more would be closed-door offices, but that takes much more floor space. As for "collaboration", at this point I consider talking about it as a negative thing about a place. I mean, frankly, I know "collaborating" is fun and games, but at some point somebody has to sit down, focus, and write the fucking code.
  - wpietri 9y ago
    Having worked for years in a pair programming environment, I am pretty sure you can get a lot of code written collaboratively. Indeed, even though I'm an introvert, pair programming teams with frequent pair rotation (pairing with 2-3 people per day) is my favorite way to work because I think we end up with better code.
    - maxxxxx 9y ago
      Pair programming is fine. It's real collaboration. But just sitting in one big room while doing their own work is not collaboration.
      - wpietri 9y ago
        Sure, I totally agree. I was responding to the introduced false dichotomy: collaborating vs writing the code.
  - klibertp 9y ago
    > as long as the entry is to your side, not behind you I had a place like this once, close to the room entrance with the door to my left. It wasn't a cubicle but room for 4-5 people; I was just the last one to start working there and couldn't pick another desk. It was generally quiet and, with headphones, I could've easily gotten into the zone... if not for the people walking down the hallway (the door was left open most of the time). Every time I saw a glimpse of someone in the hallway I, reflexively and involuntarily, turned my head to see who's there. I think it would be easier to get used to and ignore if the door was behind me - but seeing someone from the corner of my eye induced a response, every single time. We all know how little things may turn into productivity killers. After a while, I thought that maybe it's not pattern-matching faces that is so distracting (our brains are supposedly well equipped for this), maybe it's just the motion needed to turn my head away from my monitor? I found a small mirror somewhere, pretty similar to this one: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Goody-Start-Style-Finish-Two-Sided-Mirror/44730344 https://www.walmart.com/ip/Goody-Start-Style-Finish-Two-Side..., and set it up on my desk, just next to the monitor, in a way that allowed me to see the door and a good chunk of the hallway. It may be hard to believe, but it did solve the problem for me. A sub-second glance at the mirror was enough to register who's coming, after a couple of days I was doing it reflexively without even thinking about it, like when driving a car. Later, when I changed seats, I actually missed my mirror and the ability to effortlessly scan my surroundings. Well, it could have been a placebo effect, and my co-workers (the ones from other rooms, ie. the ones I was "spying on") didn't like it that much, but it may worth a try if one's getting desperate :)

dade_ 9y ago

I hate cubicles because it means the company is too cheap to build proper offices, so I end up working from home as soon as I can. Apparent now they are too cheap to provide desks and assign groups of people to planks. However, it turns out that they are sooooo cheap that they assign far too many people to each plank so then they can't even sit down and finally decide that people can work from home to help alleviate the space issue. This is great by me, but awful for anyone that doesn't do well working from home.

kstenerud 9y ago

I worked in cubicle land for many years, and they are only marginally less bad than open plan offices. I got good at snagging the cubicle at the far end of a row with only one entrance, and that worked to stop the passers-by, but it still didn't stop the noise, or people who want to talk to you interrupting your flow by coming up behind you, tapping your shoulder, and scaring the shit out of you. A proper work environment for this kind of thing requires floor-to-ceiling walls and a door you control.