3 ms·

Open Floor Plan Office [opinions]

1 points by zoowar 16y ago

I've been in cubicles since joining my first company out of college as a software engineer. Recently, I discussed an opportunity with a company that has an open floor plan office. I'm uncomfortable with the idea. I feel I can focus more in a cubicle. Also, I like that I can partition my focus and social time by entering and leaving the cubicle. What are your thoughts and experiences with open floor plan office space and how they compare with cubicles?

mgkimsal 16y ago
I'd prefer a room with a door, personally, for the partitioning you speak of. Even in cubicle situations, you still have a lot of spillover from adjoining areas. That said, for the control over environment, cubes are a step in the right direction if you're concerned about focus (imo). "Open floor" plans are generally championed by people who don't have to work in them. Now... having an open collaboration space where team members can work on something, then go off to private cubes/offices to work separately - having both options - would rock, but I've seen desperately few places that offer that sort of setup (none personally).
wallflower 16y ago
The best open floor plan offices I have seen seem to cluster the workstations to three of the walls (or windows). When people need to collaborate, they wheel their chairs into the center of the room where there is a big table and a big whiteboard on the fourth wall.
- zoowar 16y ago
  That does sound like a good approach.
hga 16y ago
Assuming the work is of any difficultly, your ability to get anything done in an open floor plan office will depend on your ability to focus despite the vastly increased distractions. And heaven help you if you aren't facing a wall. You can possibly do the music with headphones thing (although that tends to result in higher error rates) and using noise canceling ones can make a small but significant difference. One question: does this company do this because they don't have much money or because they think it's a good idea. If the latter, I'd pass unless desperate, they don't understand what they're doing (again assuming the work is at all difficult).

1 points by zoowar 16y ago

mgkimsal 16y ago

I'd prefer a room with a door, personally, for the partitioning you speak of. Even in cubicle situations, you still have a lot of spillover from adjoining areas. That said, for the control over environment, cubes are a step in the right direction if you're concerned about focus (imo). "Open floor" plans are generally championed by people who don't have to work in them. Now... having an open collaboration space where team members can work on something, then go off to private cubes/offices to work separately - having both options - would rock, but I've seen desperately few places that offer that sort of setup (none personally).

wallflower 16y ago

The best open floor plan offices I have seen seem to cluster the workstations to three of the walls (or windows). When people need to collaborate, they wheel their chairs into the center of the room where there is a big table and a big whiteboard on the fourth wall.

zoowar 16y ago
That does sound like a good approach.

hga 16y ago

Assuming the work is of any difficultly, your ability to get anything done in an open floor plan office will depend on your ability to focus despite the vastly increased distractions. And heaven help you if you aren't facing a wall. You can possibly do the music with headphones thing (although that tends to result in higher error rates) and using noise canceling ones can make a small but significant difference. One question: does this company do this because they don't have much money or because they think it's a good idea. If the latter, I'd pass unless desperate, they don't understand what they're doing (again assuming the work is at all difficult).