6 ms·

I wonder if it's a cultural Europe/US thing? I would say in Europe open offices are pretty normal, and people do not hate them that much. I have worked in a c

I wonder if it's a cultural Europe/US thing? I would say in Europe open offices are pretty normal, and people do not hate them that much. I have worked in a classic "cubicle" environment in the US for a few months, and I cannot say it affected my productivity significantly.

ben509 8y ago
I hate them, but I'm pretty sure I'm part of a vocal minority and I suspect we're finding surveys to cite that are biased, or we're picking the ones that agree with what we want. Employers do need to control costs like real estate, but they also have an interest in keeping employees productive. So they do surveys and listen to employees and I suspect the reality is people aren't complaining as much as we think they are. Also, a lot of people who can't stand the noise already do work remotely. They would still be in the broader surveys complaining, but employers wouldn't hear them on internal surveys. > I wonder if it's a cultural Europe/US thing? It might be all the extra vacay in Europe. Noise is a stressor, and getting away from it lets that stress diminish. > I have worked in a classic "cubicle" environment in the US for a few months, and I cannot say it affected my productivity significantly. Most people filter that stuff out effectively, but some people don't, and if you're like me and your brain amps it up, it can be pretty hellish.
liveoneggs 8y ago
I think Europeans are quieter
Slartie 8y ago
I hate them, and I'm from Europe. I also don't really see them being "the norm" - the software development company I work for since 8 years puts 2-4 people into an office, and that's it. We had some experiments with up to 8 or 10 in a room, but everyone really hated it, and management listened. We just moved into a larger building, but we still have only 4 desks maximum per office. But then, maybe I'm just lucky. Our company staying away from open offices because of abysmal feedback by employees is definitely one of the reasons why I've been there for almost a decade now.

ben509 8y ago

I hate them, but I'm pretty sure I'm part of a vocal minority and I suspect we're finding surveys to cite that are biased, or we're picking the ones that agree with what we want. Employers do need to control costs like real estate, but they also have an interest in keeping employees productive. So they do surveys and listen to employees and I suspect the reality is people aren't complaining as much as we think they are. Also, a lot of people who can't stand the noise already do work remotely. They would still be in the broader surveys complaining, but employers wouldn't hear them on internal surveys. > I wonder if it's a cultural Europe/US thing? It might be all the extra vacay in Europe. Noise is a stressor, and getting away from it lets that stress diminish. > I have worked in a classic "cubicle" environment in the US for a few months, and I cannot say it affected my productivity significantly. Most people filter that stuff out effectively, but some people don't, and if you're like me and your brain amps it up, it can be pretty hellish.

liveoneggs 8y ago

I think Europeans are quieter

Slartie 8y ago

I hate them, and I'm from Europe. I also don't really see them being "the norm" - the software development company I work for since 8 years puts 2-4 people into an office, and that's it. We had some experiments with up to 8 or 10 in a room, but everyone really hated it, and management listened. We just moved into a larger building, but we still have only 4 desks maximum per office. But then, maybe I'm just lucky. Our company staying away from open offices because of abysmal feedback by employees is definitely one of the reasons why I've been there for almost a decade now.