4 ms·

A lot of developers in open space offices will grab an unused conference room when they need some quiet to focus on tricky code. Probably would want to pass on

A lot of developers in open space offices will grab an unused conference room when they need some quiet to focus on tricky code. Probably would want to pass on that with this policy. Assuming it's even true, given it's on Bloomberg which with its various pronouncements this last year has proven as reliable as The Sun. Maybe they just made it all up.

tehlike 7y ago
Ideally we bring offices back for swes. When i had a room with 3 more engs few years ago, my productivity was much higger. Less interruptions, more focus.
- citruspi 7y ago
  Ideally being the operative word. I absolutely loved having an office, but unfortunately, I don't think it's likely to happen, especially at the majority of places which have switched to open floor plans. My current employer has gone even further and gone from open floor plans where people don't have offices, but do have their own desks, to a system where people don't even have their own desks and they keep their stuff in lockers. (So yeah, desktops are being phased out). I just work remotely now - I'm significantly happier and more productive than if I needed to deal with lockers and open floor plans and all the other office bullshit on a daily basis.
  - tehlike 7y ago
    That does sound terrible to not have desks. We used to joke around about pms and their navigation from meeting to meeting without sitting at their desks. Little did i know, it could be a future i may have to find myself in :)
    - jimmaswell 7y ago
      I don't have any permanent seating location at work. I just sit wherever I want, including in the gym or outside, if nobody's immediately asking for collaboration on something or to discuss something. I like it a lot this way.
      - saagarjha 7y ago
        I’m curious how economical this is: at a desk you can customize out door yourself, but if you’re sitting anywhere you might frequently end up in less-than-optimal situations…
        tehlike 7y ago
        Almost all engineers i work with prefer desktop, and as long as it is a desktop, i am ok working anywhere. The problem is though i am a bit of a messy person, it would be unfair to the next person.
        saagarjha 7y ago
        Carrying around a desktop might be a bit hard, no?
        tehlike 7y ago
        I was more thinking of a shared workstation setting, which i am sure doesnt rrally exists Laptops are not ideal work machines for most swes. At the very least they need a large screen, and more functional keyboard, and at that point you might as well give them a full workstation.
        dagw 7y ago
        At the office I worked at that did this, there was a docking station with two monitors a keyboard and a mouse permanently at each desk. So you could, in theory, just plug your laptop into the docking station at any desk and start working.
        jimmaswell 7y ago
        I bring my own laptop and it's fine. It's a "gaming laptop" so it has more than enough power for whatever I need to do. I also use it for Unity3D dev. HP Omen 15-ax250wm with an SSD replacing the HDD
      - 7y ago
1123581321 7y ago
I don’t know. I’m willing to pay $5-10 to get work done at a coffee shop. I must think the result justifies the cost. I’m also aware I could save this money if I learned to do the same work at home. Four developers paying $25 each to reserve a conference room isn’t too different of a situation.
- sokoloff 7y ago
  4 devs each pooling $25/hr to work in a conference room seems unlikely. I can think of many better things to do than spend $200/day on space.
  - 1123581321 7y ago
    That is the attitude the company seems to be enjoining. I just thought it interesting that the previous poster (apparently) assumed programmers should be immune from the same decisions the rest of the company makes when some of them already make decisions to trade money for productivity or perceived productivity.

tehlike 7y ago

Ideally we bring offices back for swes. When i had a room with 3 more engs few years ago, my productivity was much higger. Less interruptions, more focus.

citruspi 7y ago
Ideally being the operative word. I absolutely loved having an office, but unfortunately, I don't think it's likely to happen, especially at the majority of places which have switched to open floor plans. My current employer has gone even further and gone from open floor plans where people don't have offices, but do have their own desks, to a system where people don't even have their own desks and they keep their stuff in lockers. (So yeah, desktops are being phased out). I just work remotely now - I'm significantly happier and more productive than if I needed to deal with lockers and open floor plans and all the other office bullshit on a daily basis.
- tehlike 7y ago
  That does sound terrible to not have desks. We used to joke around about pms and their navigation from meeting to meeting without sitting at their desks. Little did i know, it could be a future i may have to find myself in :)
  - jimmaswell 7y ago
    I don't have any permanent seating location at work. I just sit wherever I want, including in the gym or outside, if nobody's immediately asking for collaboration on something or to discuss something. I like it a lot this way.
    - saagarjha 7y ago
      I’m curious how economical this is: at a desk you can customize out door yourself, but if you’re sitting anywhere you might frequently end up in less-than-optimal situations…
      - tehlike 7y ago
        Almost all engineers i work with prefer desktop, and as long as it is a desktop, i am ok working anywhere. The problem is though i am a bit of a messy person, it would be unfair to the next person.
        saagarjha 7y ago
        Carrying around a desktop might be a bit hard, no?
        tehlike 7y ago
        I was more thinking of a shared workstation setting, which i am sure doesnt rrally exists Laptops are not ideal work machines for most swes. At the very least they need a large screen, and more functional keyboard, and at that point you might as well give them a full workstation.
        dagw 7y ago
        At the office I worked at that did this, there was a docking station with two monitors a keyboard and a mouse permanently at each desk. So you could, in theory, just plug your laptop into the docking station at any desk and start working.
        jimmaswell 7y ago
        I bring my own laptop and it's fine. It's a "gaming laptop" so it has more than enough power for whatever I need to do. I also use it for Unity3D dev. HP Omen 15-ax250wm with an SSD replacing the HDD
    - 7y ago

1123581321 7y ago

I don’t know. I’m willing to pay $5-10 to get work done at a coffee shop. I must think the result justifies the cost. I’m also aware I could save this money if I learned to do the same work at home. Four developers paying $25 each to reserve a conference room isn’t too different of a situation.

sokoloff 7y ago
4 devs each pooling $25/hr to work in a conference room seems unlikely. I can think of many better things to do than spend $200/day on space.
- 1123581321 7y ago
  That is the attitude the company seems to be enjoining. I just thought it interesting that the previous poster (apparently) assumed programmers should be immune from the same decisions the rest of the company makes when some of them already make decisions to trade money for productivity or perceived productivity.