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Something that's very important when considering "the office": open spaces. For some people, they are terrible. Going to the office in a private office, in a sm

by Zababa 5y ago

Something that's very important when considering "the office": open spaces. For some people, they are terrible. Going to the office in a private office, in a small office with a few people or in an open space with 20+ people are all very different things for very different kind of people. I personally don't like open offices, especially where there are people behind me.

innocentoldguy 5y ago
I agree! I cannot function in an open office environment. They are too loud, there are too many disgusting odors (e.g. food, body spray/cologne/perfume, body odor, halitosis, etc.), and there is too much movement going on for me to concentrate on anything. I also hate people looking over my shoulder. I'd be more productive working in front of a strobe light in the center ring of a circus with a clown banging his meaty finger into my chest and demanding I name ten fruits.
cgrealy 5y ago
Could not agree more. Open plan offices are death to producitivity. They were fine when you had a massive pool of people doing mechanical bureaucracy but they are terrible for anyone doing anything creative or knowledge based. They are also a major problem with hybrid offices: meetings/conference calls. If everyone is in the office, you find a meeting room... no problem (assuming you can find one). If everyone is remote, you all jump on a call... no problem. When half the team are remote, and multiple teams are remote, you suddenly have way more calls in an open plan office, which is horrific.
cube00 5y ago
I'm starting to realize the same thing. In my case I go to an office to set next to a call center where they're on their phones all day non-stop talking about things that have nothing to do with my work. All my colleagues work in other cities so I either way we're meeting virtually, at least by staying home I don't contribute to the noise level on the floor. If I could come in to a space that just had the people I worked with I'd be more inclined to that. Even if they offered a quieter space to work that might be better but what's the point when I'm already fortunate enough to a quiet space at home. We're currently getting the push to get back into the office now by guilting us that we're killing the local cafes around our building, even though I never purchase take away coffee and bring my lunch from home because I'm cheap.

by Zababa 5y ago

innocentoldguy 5y ago

I agree! I cannot function in an open office environment. They are too loud, there are too many disgusting odors (e.g. food, body spray/cologne/perfume, body odor, halitosis, etc.), and there is too much movement going on for me to concentrate on anything. I also hate people looking over my shoulder. I'd be more productive working in front of a strobe light in the center ring of a circus with a clown banging his meaty finger into my chest and demanding I name ten fruits.

cgrealy 5y ago

Could not agree more. Open plan offices are death to producitivity. They were fine when you had a massive pool of people doing mechanical bureaucracy but they are terrible for anyone doing anything creative or knowledge based. They are also a major problem with hybrid offices: meetings/conference calls. If everyone is in the office, you find a meeting room... no problem (assuming you can find one). If everyone is remote, you all jump on a call... no problem. When half the team are remote, and multiple teams are remote, you suddenly have way more calls in an open plan office, which is horrific.

cube00 5y ago

I'm starting to realize the same thing. In my case I go to an office to set next to a call center where they're on their phones all day non-stop talking about things that have nothing to do with my work. All my colleagues work in other cities so I either way we're meeting virtually, at least by staying home I don't contribute to the noise level on the floor. If I could come in to a space that just had the people I worked with I'd be more inclined to that. Even if they offered a quieter space to work that might be better but what's the point when I'm already fortunate enough to a quiet space at home. We're currently getting the push to get back into the office now by guilting us that we're killing the local cafes around our building, even though I never purchase take away coffee and bring my lunch from home because I'm cheap.