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I came into an open plan workplace with low expectations due to so many complaints seen on community sites like this. But I was pleasantly surprised and found

I came into an open plan workplace with low expectations due to so many complaints seen on community sites like this. But I was pleasantly surprised and found I like it a lot better than being isolated in an office. Keeping a team sitting together like you said is key. I also feel it's a little easier visiting other teams, since you can see them from afar and just walk over. Coworkers are generally good about being mindful about noise and grab a nearby meeting room when needed. One thing that surprised me I didn't expect is, our building has an open ceiling design with the pipes, cables, lighting, structural beams, etc. all exposed. Furthermore they are sprayed with some kind of chunky foam material, and together this has pretty unbelievable noise suppression ability. In a previous building sound traveled a lot further due to flat ceilings, but here I can barely even detect that someone two rows away is talking, let alone make out what they are saying.

scarface74 6y ago
Would you really want to be in meeting rooms post Covid?
- fooker 6y ago
  Compared to a zoom meeting, definitely!!
YZF 6y ago
How many years have you had an office with a door and how do you compare that? I've never worked in a completely open plan. The closest was this sort of "pod" setup where it's semi open and it can be terrible. It's not terrible if you have some premium corner or window spot where you are semi-isolated, if you're anywhere close to where people are walking or are surrounded from all directions then you (well I) can basically do not real work the entire day. In that latter scenario I pretty much did all the "real" work by staying late after everyone went home. I've seen setups where people are packed into huge rooms and I'd need to be in pretty dire straights before I ever consider working there. Where exactly are you situated in this open plan? Are people walking right in front of you for example? Or immediately behind your back? Let's say you want to get a coffee, are you walking immediately behind someone's back or immediately in front of their faces? How many people have headphones on all day or try to insulate themselves from the environment in other ways? When people get sick, is the entire office sneezing and coughing? Curious minds want to know ;)

scarface74 6y ago

Would you really want to be in meeting rooms post Covid?

fooker 6y ago
Compared to a zoom meeting, definitely!!

YZF 6y ago

How many years have you had an office with a door and how do you compare that? I've never worked in a completely open plan. The closest was this sort of "pod" setup where it's semi open and it can be terrible. It's not terrible if you have some premium corner or window spot where you are semi-isolated, if you're anywhere close to where people are walking or are surrounded from all directions then you (well I) can basically do not real work the entire day. In that latter scenario I pretty much did all the "real" work by staying late after everyone went home. I've seen setups where people are packed into huge rooms and I'd need to be in pretty dire straights before I ever consider working there. Where exactly are you situated in this open plan? Are people walking right in front of you for example? Or immediately behind your back? Let's say you want to get a coffee, are you walking immediately behind someone's back or immediately in front of their faces? How many people have headphones on all day or try to insulate themselves from the environment in other ways? When people get sick, is the entire office sneezing and coughing? Curious minds want to know ;)