5 ms·

As I read some of the aggressive, cynical and unpleasant responses here to any suggestion there might be some benefits to an open plan arrangement, it's dawning

As I read some of the aggressive, cynical and unpleasant responses here to any suggestion there might be some benefits to an open plan arrangement, it's dawning on me that one possible benefit is that it tends to filter out people with attitudes like these. I prefer open plan setups and am glad that working in trading environments has ensured my career has been spent in them, so my natural reaction to the title here is "erm, not all of them do". I actively enjoy being interrupted to discuss something unrelated to my current task, and often return to that task with a fresh insight afterwards. I enjoy helping my colleagues with things, and doing so helps me build a positive reputation in a way that has helped my career. I enjoy camaraderie and conversations about my colleagues' lives outside work. I would refuse a job in an enclosed office or cubicle unless there were very strong compensating factors. I don't require others to feel the same way, and I don't think people are wrong or bad if they prefer greater separation from colleagues. Humans are diverse. However, someone who views their colleages, their work-related questions and their attempts at broader conversation with active disdain is unlikely to be someone I want to work with.

throwaway_fjmr 3y ago
> I actively enjoy being interrupted to discuss something unrelated to my current task wat
- omnicognate 3y ago
  > Humans are diverse.
  - onetom 3y ago
    it just sounds like you might have ADHD. how many browser windows and tabs do you have open usually?
awelxtr 3y ago
So you're an active participant to the company's office politics instead of economic output. At least you openly admit it.
- omnicognate 3y ago
  ... is precisely the sort of aggressive, cynical and unpleasant response I'm talking about.
  - prendino 3y ago
    It's because they make up a minority whose needs have gone uncared for during their entire working life. Not everyone is like you. Some just want to go to work and finish their own tickets because the company's culture actively disincentivizes collaboration. Some have ADHD and lose their focus to every little movement in the room. Some are introverts who become much more mentally exhausted from such an environment than their extroverted colleagues. Some have a life besides work that sufficiently fulfills their social needs. Some are utterly disinterested in hearing about Bob's ongoing kitchen renovation or Netflix preferences. Some are employed at a place with poor camaraderie. Some have a position that makes the supposed collaborative benefits of open offices a moot point (work in a distributed team? On a single person project?). But always, they have a people-person manager who thinks everyone should work in-office because water cooler conversations are just so creative and open offices are so dynamic and vibrant. The office is dominated by extroverted people who love these ideas, and they tend to be the ones having their voices heard. Meanwhile, the little man or woman who just wants to work in peace resorts to Hacker News or a personal blog. And you effectively propose that these people should be filtered out because a few have grown tired of it to such a degree that they misdirect their frustration at colleagues or use toxic language. The west, especially the US, is so obsessed with diversity but only of the superficial skin color kind. Not diversity of the mind. Imagine if someone had grown cynical and tired of the lack of inclusivity for <insert-race-here> and someone suggested the lack of inclusivity is good because the people with bad attitudes would be filtered out. Have a good day.
    - Apocryphon 3y ago
      I don't think "they" are the minority, but rather the GP who you're responding to. That may be one of the very, very few times there's been a comment that's been stridently pro-open plan. I suspect most people are at best, indifferent towards open plans, though would probably prefer individual or at least team-only offices, or even cubicles. Very few individual contributors actually prefer open plans.
Apocryphon 3y ago
There is no “filtering out” when open plans are the de facto standard in an industry and there aren’t alternative workplaces for those who don’t prefer it to go to. > I enjoy helping my colleagues with things, and doing so helps me build a positive reputation in a way that has helped my career. I enjoy camaraderie and conversations about my colleagues' lives outside work. This can be achieved with all manner of offices! > Humans are diverse. Yes, but there are still distributions of opinions. It seems like there are many thinkpieces on why people don’t like open plans and why they’re bad for productivity, but never any in defense of them. Perhaps you should write one to give voice to that contingent and then we can see how many others have the same opinion.

throwaway_fjmr 3y ago

> I actively enjoy being interrupted to discuss something unrelated to my current task wat

omnicognate 3y ago
> Humans are diverse.
- onetom 3y ago
  it just sounds like you might have ADHD. how many browser windows and tabs do you have open usually?

awelxtr 3y ago

So you're an active participant to the company's office politics instead of economic output. At least you openly admit it.

omnicognate 3y ago
... is precisely the sort of aggressive, cynical and unpleasant response I'm talking about.
- prendino 3y ago
  It's because they make up a minority whose needs have gone uncared for during their entire working life. Not everyone is like you. Some just want to go to work and finish their own tickets because the company's culture actively disincentivizes collaboration. Some have ADHD and lose their focus to every little movement in the room. Some are introverts who become much more mentally exhausted from such an environment than their extroverted colleagues. Some have a life besides work that sufficiently fulfills their social needs. Some are utterly disinterested in hearing about Bob's ongoing kitchen renovation or Netflix preferences. Some are employed at a place with poor camaraderie. Some have a position that makes the supposed collaborative benefits of open offices a moot point (work in a distributed team? On a single person project?). But always, they have a people-person manager who thinks everyone should work in-office because water cooler conversations are just so creative and open offices are so dynamic and vibrant. The office is dominated by extroverted people who love these ideas, and they tend to be the ones having their voices heard. Meanwhile, the little man or woman who just wants to work in peace resorts to Hacker News or a personal blog. And you effectively propose that these people should be filtered out because a few have grown tired of it to such a degree that they misdirect their frustration at colleagues or use toxic language. The west, especially the US, is so obsessed with diversity but only of the superficial skin color kind. Not diversity of the mind. Imagine if someone had grown cynical and tired of the lack of inclusivity for <insert-race-here> and someone suggested the lack of inclusivity is good because the people with bad attitudes would be filtered out. Have a good day.
  - Apocryphon 3y ago
    I don't think "they" are the minority, but rather the GP who you're responding to. That may be one of the very, very few times there's been a comment that's been stridently pro-open plan. I suspect most people are at best, indifferent towards open plans, though would probably prefer individual or at least team-only offices, or even cubicles. Very few individual contributors actually prefer open plans.

Apocryphon 3y ago

There is no “filtering out” when open plans are the de facto standard in an industry and there aren’t alternative workplaces for those who don’t prefer it to go to. > I enjoy helping my colleagues with things, and doing so helps me build a positive reputation in a way that has helped my career. I enjoy camaraderie and conversations about my colleagues' lives outside work. This can be achieved with all manner of offices! > Humans are diverse. Yes, but there are still distributions of opinions. It seems like there are many thinkpieces on why people don’t like open plans and why they’re bad for productivity, but never any in defense of them. Perhaps you should write one to give voice to that contingent and then we can see how many others have the same opinion.