4 ms·

Shame that the "big new office" is "open concept". What a waste.

by lawnchair_larry 15y ago

goronbjorn 15y ago
Why are open-concept offices a waste?
- bri3d 15y ago
  This one's been beaten ad-nauseum: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2270424 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2270424 (HN developers prefer private space) http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3729302 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3729302 (A good summary discussion and a blog post about why open plan offices suck) http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2876261 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2876261 (Another discussion and article summarizing research into the negative effects of open plan offices). It's very, very hard to get any kind of real creative work done in an open-plan office with more than a few people in it. The open office plan generates a vast quantity of distractions and doesn't scale.
wcarss 15y ago
Having worked in open concept and closed office spaces, I've found pros and cons of each. It's a lot easier to collaborate with your team if it's as easy as saying "let's talk a sec" on IM and then turning around. It's also on average louder, and there's more people moving around. A lot of places don't have enough money to put one person in each office. So they stick 2-3 people in each office. That, for me, is actually worse than open space. In an open space, you can lean back for a moment, go for a walk, look around - your motions don't affect the space itself. In a room with 2 people, if you stop typing and spin around on your chair for a moment, you're being a distraction. In an open space, two coworkers nearby talking doesn't rise above the din -- whereas if someone comes and knocks on your door and has a conversation in your office, it can be very difficult to focus. But obviously, different strokes. edit: to sum this up: I'd rather be alone than in a big group, but I'd rather be in a big group than stuck permanently with 1 or 2 other people.

Shame that the "big new office" is "open concept". What a waste.

goronbjorn 15y ago

Why are open-concept offices a waste?

bri3d 15y ago
This one's been beaten ad-nauseum: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2270424 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2270424 (HN developers prefer private space) http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3729302 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3729302 (A good summary discussion and a blog post about why open plan offices suck) http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2876261 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2876261 (Another discussion and article summarizing research into the negative effects of open plan offices). It's very, very hard to get any kind of real creative work done in an open-plan office with more than a few people in it. The open office plan generates a vast quantity of distractions and doesn't scale.

wcarss 15y ago

Having worked in open concept and closed office spaces, I've found pros and cons of each. It's a lot easier to collaborate with your team if it's as easy as saying "let's talk a sec" on IM and then turning around. It's also on average louder, and there's more people moving around. A lot of places don't have enough money to put one person in each office. So they stick 2-3 people in each office. That, for me, is actually worse than open space. In an open space, you can lean back for a moment, go for a walk, look around - your motions don't affect the space itself. In a room with 2 people, if you stop typing and spin around on your chair for a moment, you're being a distraction. In an open space, two coworkers nearby talking doesn't rise above the din -- whereas if someone comes and knocks on your door and has a conversation in your office, it can be very difficult to focus. But obviously, different strokes. edit: to sum this up: I'd rather be alone than in a big group, but I'd rather be in a big group than stuck permanently with 1 or 2 other people.