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Maybe that's just WeWork, maybe it's a culture that develops in certain places. I've worked at CrossCampus in Pasadena for awhile and there are a bunch of prog
by jefurii 9y ago
Maybe that's just WeWork, maybe it's a culture that develops in certain places. I've worked at CrossCampus in Pasadena for awhile and there are a bunch of programmers, writers, and other types who need to be able to concentrate who have made the shared-table space work for us. Together we've made it more of a "study hall" atmosphere. We asked management to turn the music down to an acceptable volume in our part of the floor, and we apply social pressure on people who talk too loud or are otherwise too distracting.
In my experience shared-table or open-plan offices didn't work when I was at a company, but they work pretty well in a coworking space. One aspect of this is the lack of a power dynamic: you're not sharing an open-plan office with your manager. You can also leave (or threaten to leave) a coworking space if it doesn't work for you. Members have more power over their environment if they can organize. WeWork is a huge chain now, so maybe this works better at smaller coworking spaces that have less corporate inertia.
- specialist 9y agoI covet a law library style heads down quiet work zone. I’m not crazy about shared office, cafe tables. They have to be library style heavy, solid to dampen heavy typing, pencl tapping, regular jostling.
- kerkeslager 9y agoHave you tried working in an actual library? Most public libraries have WiFi these days.
- jefurii 9y agoI love libraries and my city has some truly beautiful ones. The problem with working there is that unless you work in a group you have to basically pack up your whole setup if you want to go to the bathroom or get a cup of coffee. The coworking space I'm at has physical access controls and the members/residents/inmates all know each other.
- specialist 9y agoOur public libraries are now homeless encampments. As the other reply noted, no bathroom / stretch breaks. Our local university libraries are pretty good, when I still had wifi access. My laptop camping secret is hospitals. Free wifi, pretty good cheap food, clean bathrooms. I've also found a few local companies which have their own cafes, which are still open to the public. I'd probably pay $5/hr to laptop camp. I generally "pay rent" where ever I'm camping with tips, treats, and coffee. I'd rather just pay outright. A cafe, event space, or study zone that allocates hours for quiet time will clean up. I imagine all the vacant 2nd and 3rd story retail getting repurposed. Maybe even mall vacancies, kinda like the board game retailers & hosters are now doing.
- nfriedly 9y agoYes! It's been a while since I was there, but Indianapolis's library even lets you reserve private rooms. (And, it's a pretty impressive building too.)