5 ms·

Open offices are fine if you have noise cancelling headphones...thereby eliminating the point of the open office.

werkjohann 8y ago
Not to mention being uncomfortable if worn constantly, and the distraction of whatever you play.
codycraven 8y ago
No, open offices are never fine. I wear glasses, noise cancelling options are limited to on ear or in ear, neither are good for long periods of time. Not to mention many women have brought up discomfort issues related to being visible at all times—which sounds 10,000% justified.
- Zach_the_Lizard 8y ago
  > Not to mention many women have brought up discomfort issues related to being visible at all times—which sounds 10,000% justified. This is an entirely new negative aspect of open plan offices to me. As a man I never thought about this, but I could see how it could be uncomfortable for women. Seems to go against the stated goals of achieving a more balanced workforce
  - watmough 8y ago
    Wow, new to me too. I had never thought of that. Oh Christ, it could be awful. Luckily, and as an unremarkable looking male, I'm still clinging to a cube, and the noise there is bad enough.
- dingaling 8y ago
  I'll be contrary and say that I can't see how that's any way justified. My employment contract didn't include any provision for being non-visible during working hours. How is a workforce supposed to be cohesive and collaborative if half of it doesn't know when it's allowed to look at the other half? Perhaps in the future both men and women will wear burqas to the office. But then we'll all have to agree one one 'non-intimidating' colour.
abecedarius 8y ago
Maybe fine for some. Visual noise destroys concentration in others like me.
- jrs95 8y ago
  This is a big problem for me as well.
- Zach_the_Lizard 8y ago
  This is my affliction. Seeing a coworker get up to grab a coffee, use the restroom, etc. destroys my concentration. Noise is bad enough--and it's highly distracting on its own--but the visual aspect is far, far worse for me as there's nothing I can do. I'm roughly 20x as productive when I work from home.
kylec 8y ago
...and you have no problem wearing noise cancelling headphones all day (I can't)
maxxxxx 8y ago
What kind of insane thinking is it to build an office where you need noise cancelling headphones to actually work? Why not just work in a sports bar during super bowl?
- jrs95 8y ago
  This would actually be way better for me because I wouldn't give a shit about any of the conversations I might overhear, if I could actually make any of them out.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
Arainach 8y ago
Microsoft has been ripping out offices and replacing them with open floorplans - in many cases not even team rooms (which aren't so bad), but full out Facebook-style misery pits. From people I've talked to, guidance given to the teams that had to move into them included gems such as "avoid talking in the working space - if you need to have a conversation that could be distracting, please find a meeting room".

Not to mention being uncomfortable if worn constantly, and the distraction of whatever you play.

No, open offices are never fine. I wear glasses, noise cancelling options are limited to on ear or in ear, neither are good for long periods of time. Not to mention many women have brought up discomfort issues related to being visible at all times—which sounds 10,000% justified.

Zach_the_Lizard 8y ago
> Not to mention many women have brought up discomfort issues related to being visible at all times—which sounds 10,000% justified. This is an entirely new negative aspect of open plan offices to me. As a man I never thought about this, but I could see how it could be uncomfortable for women. Seems to go against the stated goals of achieving a more balanced workforce
- watmough 8y ago
  Wow, new to me too. I had never thought of that. Oh Christ, it could be awful. Luckily, and as an unremarkable looking male, I'm still clinging to a cube, and the noise there is bad enough.
dingaling 8y ago
I'll be contrary and say that I can't see how that's any way justified. My employment contract didn't include any provision for being non-visible during working hours. How is a workforce supposed to be cohesive and collaborative if half of it doesn't know when it's allowed to look at the other half? Perhaps in the future both men and women will wear burqas to the office. But then we'll all have to agree one one 'non-intimidating' colour.

abecedarius 8y ago

Maybe fine for some. Visual noise destroys concentration in others like me.

jrs95 8y ago
This is a big problem for me as well.
Zach_the_Lizard 8y ago
This is my affliction. Seeing a coworker get up to grab a coffee, use the restroom, etc. destroys my concentration. Noise is bad enough--and it's highly distracting on its own--but the visual aspect is far, far worse for me as there's nothing I can do. I'm roughly 20x as productive when I work from home.

kylec 8y ago

...and you have no problem wearing noise cancelling headphones all day (I can't)

maxxxxx 8y ago

What kind of insane thinking is it to build an office where you need noise cancelling headphones to actually work? Why not just work in a sports bar during super bowl?

jrs95 8y ago
This would actually be way better for me because I wouldn't give a shit about any of the conversations I might overhear, if I could actually make any of them out.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

Arainach 8y ago

Microsoft has been ripping out offices and replacing them with open floorplans - in many cases not even team rooms (which aren't so bad), but full out Facebook-style misery pits. From people I've talked to, guidance given to the teams that had to move into them included gems such as "avoid talking in the working space - if you need to have a conversation that could be distracting, please find a meeting room".