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>until I got stuck next to the boisterous accounts payable department Wait, seriously?! I've worked in a few open floor plan environments but none of them wou

>until I got stuck next to the boisterous accounts payable department Wait, seriously?! I've worked in a few open floor plan environments but none of them would ever dream of putting departments that spend lots of time on the phone - training, support, sales, accounting - beside the programmers. How the hell do they begin to think that's a good idea?

jessaustin 13y ago
Wait, seriously?! This was at a phone company. Phone companies do everything wrong. Billing IT was considered part of finance/accounting, and so was accounts payable. (Actually, so was about a third of a 14-story tower.) To be honest, however, this was a temporary (couple of months? it's been awhile) condition, and with sufficient headphone volume I found the A/P yokels distracted me less than other IT people had when I'd been in with them. Perhaps that was my manager's theory? I'd hate to give her too much credit, but when I moved again it was to a quieter location even farther from the rest of Billing IT.
pasbesoin 13y ago
I'll add my anecdotal data point (several, across my personal experience) that it's not that uncommon. There is also the phenomenon of in/at cube meetings. Seriously. In a development shop. Add to that, shared cubes or "cubettes" approaching a bullpen type arrangement. You're supposed to sit there and be productive while an hour long conversation takes place 3 feet away. Depending upon the personalities, over which you also have zero control, sometimes a quite animated discussion. Many people who complain about open space working environments do so for very good reasons. I'm to the point now of simply refusing to participate in them, and I suggest others consider this course, as well. Move on to something better, and trust/hope that when only those who "don't care" remain, the institution will fail under its own incompetence. And... investigate this topic during your hiring. If the person has actively participated in advocating/implementing an open-space plan, pass them by. Yes, this is a rather opinionated position, and many won't agree. Nonetheless, after too much misery in crap open-space arrangements and arrangements that have been forced into open-space, I'm done having anything to do with it and with those who inflict it upon unwilling participants.
jes5199 13y ago
yeah, I worked at a startup that hired six contractors to do phone surveys all day long, and they put them right in the middle of the big open room. They thought it was a good idea because what else are they gonna do, we only have one big room.

jessaustin 13y ago

Wait, seriously?! This was at a phone company. Phone companies do everything wrong. Billing IT was considered part of finance/accounting, and so was accounts payable. (Actually, so was about a third of a 14-story tower.) To be honest, however, this was a temporary (couple of months? it's been awhile) condition, and with sufficient headphone volume I found the A/P yokels distracted me less than other IT people had when I'd been in with them. Perhaps that was my manager's theory? I'd hate to give her too much credit, but when I moved again it was to a quieter location even farther from the rest of Billing IT.

pasbesoin 13y ago

I'll add my anecdotal data point (several, across my personal experience) that it's not that uncommon. There is also the phenomenon of in/at cube meetings. Seriously. In a development shop. Add to that, shared cubes or "cubettes" approaching a bullpen type arrangement. You're supposed to sit there and be productive while an hour long conversation takes place 3 feet away. Depending upon the personalities, over which you also have zero control, sometimes a quite animated discussion. Many people who complain about open space working environments do so for very good reasons. I'm to the point now of simply refusing to participate in them, and I suggest others consider this course, as well. Move on to something better, and trust/hope that when only those who "don't care" remain, the institution will fail under its own incompetence. And... investigate this topic during your hiring. If the person has actively participated in advocating/implementing an open-space plan, pass them by. Yes, this is a rather opinionated position, and many won't agree. Nonetheless, after too much misery in crap open-space arrangements and arrangements that have been forced into open-space, I'm done having anything to do with it and with those who inflict it upon unwilling participants.

jes5199 13y ago

yeah, I worked at a startup that hired six contractors to do phone surveys all day long, and they put them right in the middle of the big open room. They thought it was a good idea because what else are they gonna do, we only have one big room.