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AT&T and Amazon have the right idea. Conference calls with offshore teams are far more effective when done in an open office environment, surrounded by people f

by tivert 2y ago

AT&T and Amazon have the right idea. Conference calls with offshore teams are far more effective when done in an open office environment, surrounded by people from unrelated teams doing the same thing. The collaborative energy of hundreds of tightly-packed people trying to focus on different things together is amazing.

malfist 2y ago
Last time I was in the amazon office, I got to see how absurd it is, especially since this has all, supposedly, been in the name of productivity. The office my team is in is setup so there's a long hallway that has the security corridor, then a coffee shop, then a convenience store then the elevators. Anyone coming into the office has to walk through all of these to get to the elevators to go to their floor. Last time I was there, they'd put desks in hallway between the coffee shop and the convenience store, and they were always full. You'd think if they were doing this for productivity, they wouldn't be sticking desks in the hallway everyone has to walk through all the time.
- pintxo 2y ago
  Maybe it’s about the productivity of the lay-off HR team? Than desks in hallways sound like a good idea.
- Balgair 2y ago
  > ... then a coffee shop ... Okay, I want to be super clear on this one: Do you have to pay for the coffee once you pass security / they know you work there? Or is that coffee shop not part of the company and just so happens to be onsite?
  - tivert 2y ago
    > Okay, I want to be super clear on this one: Do you have to pay for the coffee once you pass security / they know you work there? Or is that coffee shop not part of the company and just so happens to be onsite? Don't know about Amazon, but there are two coffee options at my employer (past security): 1. A chain coffee shop you have to pay for. No discount that I can perceive. 2. Free coffee machines. #1 used to be extremely popular when #2 consisted of Douwe Egberts machines that used some weird coffee concentrate that made terrible and weak coffee. Now I think #1 closes early and has low staffing because the #2 got upgraded to espresso machines that use decent beans and can also do basic espresso drinks (Americano, Latte, etc).
  - malfist 2y ago
    Why is that material? But to answer your question, the coffee shop is not part of the company, you do have to pay for your coffee and it is past security.
    - Balgair 2y ago
      Thanks for the answer. It's not all that germane to the article, more of an aside, so thanks for that indulgence. The motivation is from this old post here: https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-earth-%E2%80%93-soda%E2%80%99s-are-no-longer-free/ https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-ear...
      - malfist 2y ago
        Ah, for context, to encourage people to RTO during the pandemic, coffee there was free. Once we started an RTO mandate it changed to one coffee a day was free. Now that we're moving to mandated 5 day RTO, even that is gone. Things get shittier and shittier in a company known to be shitty to it's employees
pro14 2y ago
> The collaborative energy of hundreds of tightly-packed people trying to focus in different things together is amazing. Imagine this. You are trying to write a Python script to produce another report for your manager. You can sit anywhere in the amazing open office. You accidentally sit next to the Anti-Money Laundering team, and have to listen to that. The next day you choose a different floor. Your manager shows up wearing a mask and says she has a flu. The rest of the day, you listen to small talk, while trying to focus on implementing the report. Whenever you walk to the coffee machine, people stare at you and wonder who you're sleeping with. Finally, you revolt and refuse to come in to the office. Then you don't have a job.
- 77pt77 2y ago
  But how is your manager going to get the immense health benefits he gets from constantly making your life hell? Be considerate of his feelings, you selfish child.
- dagw 2y ago
  The rest of the day, you listen to small talk The office where I work we have a whole section of one floor that is strictly no talking and phones must be on mute. If you want silence you can sit there. I cannot imagine that we are the only company that has come up with this idea. That being said, I still work from home when I feel like it.
  - siva7 2y ago
    But what's the point of being at the office? I can get the same at home
    - dagw 2y ago
      I can get the same at home Personally I find home more distracting than the office. The office is a clean work space with a desk with only my work computer and work stuff and everybody around me is also working. Home has chores and errands and 'fun' and all kinds of other Not Work stuff to tempt me away from working. Plus once my kids come home from school, quiet concentration time is effectively over. But as I said, I'm not advocating for mandatory return to office, and I do work at home 1-2 days a week.
InDubioProRubio 2y ago
Our metric shows that AIs productivity improved 20% compare to workers ever since return to office. The conclusion is inescapable, AI likes it when developers cluster together in glass towers and improves.
dtgm92 2y ago
I would rather stay unemployed than be forced to work with other people like that
xoneill 2y ago
The right idea? These companies have no problem outsourcing American jobs -- outside of the US! RTO my a$$, the strategy was and always will be displacement of American workers through attrition by hiring remote Asian workers -- 1 FTE = 4 Indian workers. 'Most' of these are American companies selling American products and services to Americans. If they like Asia so freaking much, leave the US and go sell your $hitty products and services over there!

by tivert 2y ago

malfist 2y ago

Last time I was in the amazon office, I got to see how absurd it is, especially since this has all, supposedly, been in the name of productivity. The office my team is in is setup so there's a long hallway that has the security corridor, then a coffee shop, then a convenience store then the elevators. Anyone coming into the office has to walk through all of these to get to the elevators to go to their floor. Last time I was there, they'd put desks in hallway between the coffee shop and the convenience store, and they were always full. You'd think if they were doing this for productivity, they wouldn't be sticking desks in the hallway everyone has to walk through all the time.

pintxo 2y ago
Maybe it’s about the productivity of the lay-off HR team? Than desks in hallways sound like a good idea.
Balgair 2y ago
> ... then a coffee shop ... Okay, I want to be super clear on this one: Do you have to pay for the coffee once you pass security / they know you work there? Or is that coffee shop not part of the company and just so happens to be onsite?
- tivert 2y ago
  > Okay, I want to be super clear on this one: Do you have to pay for the coffee once you pass security / they know you work there? Or is that coffee shop not part of the company and just so happens to be onsite? Don't know about Amazon, but there are two coffee options at my employer (past security): 1. A chain coffee shop you have to pay for. No discount that I can perceive. 2. Free coffee machines. #1 used to be extremely popular when #2 consisted of Douwe Egberts machines that used some weird coffee concentrate that made terrible and weak coffee. Now I think #1 closes early and has low staffing because the #2 got upgraded to espresso machines that use decent beans and can also do basic espresso drinks (Americano, Latte, etc).
- malfist 2y ago
  Why is that material? But to answer your question, the coffee shop is not part of the company, you do have to pay for your coffee and it is past security.
  - Balgair 2y ago
    Thanks for the answer. It's not all that germane to the article, more of an aside, so thanks for that indulgence. The motivation is from this old post here: https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-earth-%E2%80%93-soda%E2%80%99s-are-no-longer-free/ https://steveblank.com/2009/12/21/the-elves-leave-middle-ear...
    - malfist 2y ago
      Ah, for context, to encourage people to RTO during the pandemic, coffee there was free. Once we started an RTO mandate it changed to one coffee a day was free. Now that we're moving to mandated 5 day RTO, even that is gone. Things get shittier and shittier in a company known to be shitty to it's employees

pro14 2y ago

> The collaborative energy of hundreds of tightly-packed people trying to focus in different things together is amazing. Imagine this. You are trying to write a Python script to produce another report for your manager. You can sit anywhere in the amazing open office. You accidentally sit next to the Anti-Money Laundering team, and have to listen to that. The next day you choose a different floor. Your manager shows up wearing a mask and says she has a flu. The rest of the day, you listen to small talk, while trying to focus on implementing the report. Whenever you walk to the coffee machine, people stare at you and wonder who you're sleeping with. Finally, you revolt and refuse to come in to the office. Then you don't have a job.

77pt77 2y ago
But how is your manager going to get the immense health benefits he gets from constantly making your life hell? Be considerate of his feelings, you selfish child.
dagw 2y ago
The rest of the day, you listen to small talk The office where I work we have a whole section of one floor that is strictly no talking and phones must be on mute. If you want silence you can sit there. I cannot imagine that we are the only company that has come up with this idea. That being said, I still work from home when I feel like it.
- siva7 2y ago
  But what's the point of being at the office? I can get the same at home
  - dagw 2y ago
    I can get the same at home Personally I find home more distracting than the office. The office is a clean work space with a desk with only my work computer and work stuff and everybody around me is also working. Home has chores and errands and 'fun' and all kinds of other Not Work stuff to tempt me away from working. Plus once my kids come home from school, quiet concentration time is effectively over. But as I said, I'm not advocating for mandatory return to office, and I do work at home 1-2 days a week.

InDubioProRubio 2y ago

Our metric shows that AIs productivity improved 20% compare to workers ever since return to office. The conclusion is inescapable, AI likes it when developers cluster together in glass towers and improves.

dtgm92 2y ago

I would rather stay unemployed than be forced to work with other people like that

xoneill 2y ago

The right idea? These companies have no problem outsourcing American jobs -- outside of the US! RTO my a$$, the strategy was and always will be displacement of American workers through attrition by hiring remote Asian workers -- 1 FTE = 4 Indian workers. 'Most' of these are American companies selling American products and services to Americans. If they like Asia so freaking much, leave the US and go sell your $hitty products and services over there!