5 ms·

With remote work, open spaces from hell are (hopefully) a thing of the past, but key learnings on proper room culture are still valid after almost 200 years. Ho

With remote work, open spaces from hell are (hopefully) a thing of the past, but key learnings on proper room culture are still valid after almost 200 years. How 400 people can work in deep focus in library but cannot do the same in company open space?

pca006132 4y ago
Perhaps with libraries people think that they should be quiet there, while it is advertised as collaboration space for open spaces and people are encouraged to talk there?
- AlotOfReading 4y ago
  Libraries are part of a larger "research ecosystem", so they can exclude all the loud and talkative bits of research because there are other places it can live like the hallways and cafeterias and text messages people use. Open offices are undifferentiated. There's nowhere to segregate disruptive activities to because there's nowhere else to go, except for maybe some small concessions to meeting rooms. That space can't even be a good space for everyone because it's constantly serving a hundred mutually conflicting uses rather than providing specialized purpose the way a reading room does.
happytoexplain 4y ago
Maybe I have a psychological problem that most people don't have, but I can't work on a monitor that is publicly visible.
- paulmooreparks 4y ago
  It isn't just you. I couldn't stand having my monitors facing other people when I had to work in an open space, even though I only ever had work on it.
- GoOnThenDoTell 4y ago
  I feel something similar, like I need to make sure my screen always ‘looks’ like work regardless of if its actually work, so it becomes performative
- slategruen 4y ago
  Maybe it's an overstatement but I personally feel like I'm in Panopticon when working in open offices. I do not experience the same feeling in co-working spaces and coffee shops though. It just feels more productive to work with strangers in the same room who don't care about what you're working on but are aware that you need to get stuff done. On the other end of the spectrum, work-from-home setups just feels very solitary and distractions are just more prevalent.
- Heyso 4y ago
  In my case, sometimes I like to move, lie on my bed a few minutes, when I am thinking. Can't do in open office. I also don't have half my focus spent on my surrouding (who's saying what, who's moving, who's looking at me for attention...). I also don't have project managers or commercials chatting around me. I am getting stressed if someone pass by closely behind me.
drewcoo 4y ago
> How 400 people can work in deep focus in library but cannot do the same in company open space? They're different kinds of work. People usually (to this day) work alone in libraries. People in big open bullpen offices tend to work collaboratively. Also, those solo library workers don't typically have bosses by whom to be seen collaborating. Or "collaborating."
thrown_22 4y ago
Who will be the library nazi that kicks you out when you talk too loudly?
- xpe 4y ago
  We don't need to refer to a librarian that way. Yeah, I know, Seinfeld did it. It isn't funny or interesting. It is a cliché. Let's try to choose our language so that our history and language can hold onto meanings that matter. There is a Star Trek TNG episode called Darmok that describes a culture that only speaks in metaphor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darmok https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darmok Surely we have a better metaphor for a meek but powerful librarian than ... > Who will be the library nazi that kicks you out when you talk too loudly?
  - thrown_22 4y ago
    [flagged]
  - wccrawford 4y ago
    That person isn't "meek" usually, though. They are very clear that they have the power and you will obey them. They are very insistent, without ever having to get loud, and they will force you to follow the rules. I don't have another word for that kind of person, but I agree that "nazi" should not be used that way.
  - kbelder 4y ago
    It's more modern to refer to them as library stasi, anyway. And probably slightly more accurate.
  - spc476 4y ago
    There's always Conan the Librarian.
  - 867-5309 4y ago
    "librar" should suffice - just remember to zip it
  - 4y ago
onion2k 4y ago
How 400 people can work in deep focus in library but cannot do the same in company open space? People go to a library because they want to do work. The same is not true of an office. Lots of people there would prefer to be somewhere else.
charlie0 4y ago
The work is different. Most peole working in a library are reading a book or writing things down. Not sure about yall, but I like to talk to myself as I'm coming up with and implementing a solution. Even if I'm whispering, I'm sure others can hear me and would find that distracting. I really like the idea of the library as an open space and the most valuable idea I would gather is to have tons of noolks and crannies where desks are spaced far apart. This wouldn't work with people sitting side by side. Even the clacking of keyboards gets distracting after a while.

pca006132 4y ago

Perhaps with libraries people think that they should be quiet there, while it is advertised as collaboration space for open spaces and people are encouraged to talk there?

AlotOfReading 4y ago
Libraries are part of a larger "research ecosystem", so they can exclude all the loud and talkative bits of research because there are other places it can live like the hallways and cafeterias and text messages people use. Open offices are undifferentiated. There's nowhere to segregate disruptive activities to because there's nowhere else to go, except for maybe some small concessions to meeting rooms. That space can't even be a good space for everyone because it's constantly serving a hundred mutually conflicting uses rather than providing specialized purpose the way a reading room does.

happytoexplain 4y ago

Maybe I have a psychological problem that most people don't have, but I can't work on a monitor that is publicly visible.

paulmooreparks 4y ago
It isn't just you. I couldn't stand having my monitors facing other people when I had to work in an open space, even though I only ever had work on it.
GoOnThenDoTell 4y ago
I feel something similar, like I need to make sure my screen always ‘looks’ like work regardless of if its actually work, so it becomes performative
slategruen 4y ago
Maybe it's an overstatement but I personally feel like I'm in Panopticon when working in open offices. I do not experience the same feeling in co-working spaces and coffee shops though. It just feels more productive to work with strangers in the same room who don't care about what you're working on but are aware that you need to get stuff done. On the other end of the spectrum, work-from-home setups just feels very solitary and distractions are just more prevalent.
Heyso 4y ago
In my case, sometimes I like to move, lie on my bed a few minutes, when I am thinking. Can't do in open office. I also don't have half my focus spent on my surrouding (who's saying what, who's moving, who's looking at me for attention...). I also don't have project managers or commercials chatting around me. I am getting stressed if someone pass by closely behind me.

drewcoo 4y ago

> How 400 people can work in deep focus in library but cannot do the same in company open space? They're different kinds of work. People usually (to this day) work alone in libraries. People in big open bullpen offices tend to work collaboratively. Also, those solo library workers don't typically have bosses by whom to be seen collaborating. Or "collaborating."

thrown_22 4y ago

Who will be the library nazi that kicks you out when you talk too loudly?

xpe 4y ago
We don't need to refer to a librarian that way. Yeah, I know, Seinfeld did it. It isn't funny or interesting. It is a cliché. Let's try to choose our language so that our history and language can hold onto meanings that matter. There is a Star Trek TNG episode called Darmok that describes a culture that only speaks in metaphor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darmok https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darmok Surely we have a better metaphor for a meek but powerful librarian than ... > Who will be the library nazi that kicks you out when you talk too loudly?
- thrown_22 4y ago
  [flagged]
- wccrawford 4y ago
  That person isn't "meek" usually, though. They are very clear that they have the power and you will obey them. They are very insistent, without ever having to get loud, and they will force you to follow the rules. I don't have another word for that kind of person, but I agree that "nazi" should not be used that way.
- kbelder 4y ago
  It's more modern to refer to them as library stasi, anyway. And probably slightly more accurate.
- spc476 4y ago
  There's always Conan the Librarian.
- 867-5309 4y ago
  "librar" should suffice - just remember to zip it
- 4y ago

onion2k 4y ago

How 400 people can work in deep focus in library but cannot do the same in company open space? People go to a library because they want to do work. The same is not true of an office. Lots of people there would prefer to be somewhere else.

charlie0 4y ago

The work is different. Most peole working in a library are reading a book or writing things down. Not sure about yall, but I like to talk to myself as I'm coming up with and implementing a solution. Even if I'm whispering, I'm sure others can hear me and would find that distracting. I really like the idea of the library as an open space and the most valuable idea I would gather is to have tons of noolks and crannies where desks are spaced far apart. This wouldn't work with people sitting side by side. Even the clacking of keyboards gets distracting after a while.