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This is exactly what happens when lack of scientific literature and manager hubris collide together. After decades and decades there are still no conclusive re

This is exactly what happens when lack of scientific literature and manager hubris collide together. After decades and decades there are still no conclusive results about how different types of workplaces influence productivity and mental health, but even if there were manager would not even look at them and instead make decisions based on perceived productivity and "common sense".

fastball 4y ago
I don't think you can really produce replicable scientific literature about this type of thing. Way too many variables. We are already incapable of replicating studies with fewer variables.
- jerrre 4y ago
  Agreed, it's not something a scientific paper would give any useful insight for. A survey of company success (measured in profits, or market cap) vs office layout, trying to see if there is correlation would be more useful. Even accounting for the fact that there is a lot of cargo culting, and unhappy employees.
rjh29 4y ago
Would be useful to get some data, I agree. Cubicles are soul sucking, inhuman environments. Open plan is distracting. Remote work is socially isolating.
DrBazza 4y ago
> After decades and decades there are still no conclusive results about how different types of workplaces influence productivity and mental health, No idea about the latter, though I'm much happier having removed a 3 hour round-trip train commute (will it turn up on time? will it even turn up? will it be delayed en route?), but as far as productivity is concerned, my previous employer, like others went fully remote during COVID, and then stayed that way, based on internal evidence. For all development teams across the company (green field, existing, maintenance, whatever), the number of PRs almost doubled for each team, and slightly less tangible metrics such as down-time, bug reports, decreased by non-trivial amounts, and quite a few product milestones were hit early, by quite some margin. That on its own was statistically significant, as pre-COVID, I don't think they hit any milestone dates. Of course, you can argue that all of those are due to less meetings, less interruptions, easier availability of people to diagnose problems, and perhaps even better planning is required for being remote, but ultimately, all of those have improved the productivity of my former employer.

fastball 4y ago

I don't think you can really produce replicable scientific literature about this type of thing. Way too many variables. We are already incapable of replicating studies with fewer variables.

jerrre 4y ago
Agreed, it's not something a scientific paper would give any useful insight for. A survey of company success (measured in profits, or market cap) vs office layout, trying to see if there is correlation would be more useful. Even accounting for the fact that there is a lot of cargo culting, and unhappy employees.

rjh29 4y ago

Would be useful to get some data, I agree. Cubicles are soul sucking, inhuman environments. Open plan is distracting. Remote work is socially isolating.

DrBazza 4y ago

> After decades and decades there are still no conclusive results about how different types of workplaces influence productivity and mental health, No idea about the latter, though I'm much happier having removed a 3 hour round-trip train commute (will it turn up on time? will it even turn up? will it be delayed en route?), but as far as productivity is concerned, my previous employer, like others went fully remote during COVID, and then stayed that way, based on internal evidence. For all development teams across the company (green field, existing, maintenance, whatever), the number of PRs almost doubled for each team, and slightly less tangible metrics such as down-time, bug reports, decreased by non-trivial amounts, and quite a few product milestones were hit early, by quite some margin. That on its own was statistically significant, as pre-COVID, I don't think they hit any milestone dates. Of course, you can argue that all of those are due to less meetings, less interruptions, easier availability of people to diagnose problems, and perhaps even better planning is required for being remote, but ultimately, all of those have improved the productivity of my former employer.