3 ms·

Cubicle are so much better than open offices, it's funny to think that in the 90's they were considered a symbol of employees being treated like cattle.

akmarinov 4y ago
Cubicles are employees being treated like cattle and open offices are just the next iteration. Going back to actual offices with doors would be way better for employees’ health.
simplotek 4y ago
> it's funny to think that in the 90's they were considered a symbol of employees being treated like cattle. Cubicles are still a way to treat employees like cattle. Except that this free-range approach to cubicles mixes the worst of cubicles with not having ways to deal with interruption, distraction, noise. That doesn't mean open space offices are better. Free range cattle is still cattle, isn't it? Working from home is like working in your private office, which in the 90s was reported as a perk and a status symbol.
pwinnski 4y ago
Closed offices > cubicles > open desks, the treatment like cattle began once we stopped having closed offices.
RangerScience 4y ago
IMHO it's all about proximity + access to windows (although I don't really have the right experience to know). Offices are great! Unless they're internal and don't have windows (although some people definitely still like them). Cubicles are great! Unless they're in giant internal rooms that don't have windows, or don't have enough windows / the right kind of windows for the space (although some people definitely still like them). AFAICT it's not that cubicles sucked, it's that they correlated with a bunch of things that made the job also suck, but cubicles were an easy thing to refer to about that kind of workplace culture. ...arguably, the same can be said about a chunk (but not all) of the complaints around open offices.
- RangerScience 4y ago
  annnnd this just came across my feeds - "The Great Workroom": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Wax_Headquarters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Wax_Headquarters That's an open office plan from ~1930, that, IMHO, is designed with the people who're gonna be working in it in mind. Edit: I think this photo might be from much closer to construction. It's even more sparse / a lot less crowded: https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2014/04/30/realestate/commercial/30wright-ss.html https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2014/04/30/realestate/comm...

akmarinov 4y ago

Cubicles are employees being treated like cattle and open offices are just the next iteration. Going back to actual offices with doors would be way better for employees’ health.

simplotek 4y ago

> it's funny to think that in the 90's they were considered a symbol of employees being treated like cattle. Cubicles are still a way to treat employees like cattle. Except that this free-range approach to cubicles mixes the worst of cubicles with not having ways to deal with interruption, distraction, noise. That doesn't mean open space offices are better. Free range cattle is still cattle, isn't it? Working from home is like working in your private office, which in the 90s was reported as a perk and a status symbol.

pwinnski 4y ago

Closed offices > cubicles > open desks, the treatment like cattle began once we stopped having closed offices.

RangerScience 4y ago

IMHO it's all about proximity + access to windows (although I don't really have the right experience to know). Offices are great! Unless they're internal and don't have windows (although some people definitely still like them). Cubicles are great! Unless they're in giant internal rooms that don't have windows, or don't have enough windows / the right kind of windows for the space (although some people definitely still like them). AFAICT it's not that cubicles sucked, it's that they correlated with a bunch of things that made the job also suck, but cubicles were an easy thing to refer to about that kind of workplace culture. ...arguably, the same can be said about a chunk (but not all) of the complaints around open offices.

RangerScience 4y ago
annnnd this just came across my feeds - "The Great Workroom": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Wax_Headquarters https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson_Wax_Headquarters That's an open office plan from ~1930, that, IMHO, is designed with the people who're gonna be working in it in mind. Edit: I think this photo might be from much closer to construction. It's even more sparse / a lot less crowded: https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2014/04/30/realestate/commercial/30wright-ss.html https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2014/04/30/realestate/comm...