4 ms·
Why We Don't Need Offices
- waterlion 13y agoGood for you. I'd rather be in my office. I like delineating working space from fun space. I've worked a day a week from home for a few years. Every time I think it'll be a Good Thing and every time I regret it. And that doesn't lead to particularly good productivity. I have a desk job. I spend a lot of time sitting. Who's going to shell out for a nice desk + chair? Who's going to pay for my internet connection? Heating costs? Lots of problems can be solved by walking over to a colleague. More problems than I can think of are caused by remote working, including code quality. You probably have the opposite point of view. Everyone's different. For lots of people an office is more suitable. For lots of people home is suitable. For lots of people a mixture. We do need offices.
- henrik_w 13y agoI submitted the link, but I don't agree with the article (but the great thing about HN is the discussions). I think face-to-face time in software development is essential. Virtually every day I discus different aspects of a problem or a design with colleagues (often using a whiteboard), and it is quite striking how often I come away with a better solution and a better understanding of the problem. I've used video conferencing in the past, and I doesn't come close to being in the same room. I touched on this subject in one of my blog posts "Programmer Productivity – Interruptions, Meetings and Working Remotely" http://henrikwarne.com/2013/04/02/programmer-productivity-interruptions-meetings-and-working-remotely/ http://henrikwarne.com/2013/04/02/programmer-productivity-in...
- waterlion 13y agoI didn't mean you personally! I meant the author of the article. And 'you' at the end referred to anyone reading. Not particularly clear, sorry.
- AndrewDucker 13y agoI can work from home. It is vastly less effective than being able to rotate my monitor towards a team member and say "What do you think of this?" and get an instant answer. Shared spaces lower friction, and this is incredibly useful when working closely.
- lotsofcows 13y agoforbes.com == full page advert == close the page I really need to get into the habit of checking the URL before clicking on articles.
- icecreampain 13y agoMay I recommend the same link but via unvis.it? http://unvis.it/www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2013/10/01/8-indisputable-reasons-for-why-we-dont-need-offices/ http://unvis.it/www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2013/10/01/...
- lotsofcows 13y agoNice, now I just need a scriptlet to do that automatically...
- mvkel 13y agoAs a person who has worked in an open office environment for the past five years, our next office will not be open. There's nothing more frustrating to a developer than hearing four sales calls happening simultaneously.
- od2m 13y agoBullshit. The "We don't need offices" cheerleaders are always upper management--WHO HAVE OFFICES.
- vampirechicken 13y agoIf I had an office, with floor to ceiling walls, and a door that closed and even locked, I would like it very much.