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It may not be for everyone, but for people like me it really boosts productivity. The last office I worked in was a massive open-office in a warehouse which so

by maxk42 13y ago

It may not be for everyone, but for people like me it really boosts productivity. The last office I worked in was a massive open-office in a warehouse which sounds just miserable, but it was great. If I ever had a question, I could just lean over and ask the person I had a question for. No waiting for emails to bounce back and forth or for people to get back to their IMs. If I needed to make a private phone call, I'd just walk out of the office to do it. Plus, having people around me made it easier to focus on work instead of fucking off on Hacker News or Facebook. Now, as a self-employed individual I rent a seat in a shared open office to maintain that focus. It's far too easy to turn on the TV or play a video game or linger on the phone with a friend when I'm working from home. In a different setting -- with people around: all focused on work -- it's much easier to maintain a focus on work and getting done what's important.

tixocloud 13y ago
Just to play devil's advocate, your productivity might have gone up but what about the people that you've been directing your questions to? They might have been disturbed and thus, their productivity might have gone down. I get asked a lot of questions which always breaks my train of thought. I'm not advocating for an open office or a closed office but I do appreciate something balanced. People around me are always collaborating and discussing a great number of things which really makes me lose my focus. I usually come in early when it's really quiet and no one's in yet to get things done. After that, headphones on but even then, I miss the sound of silence rather than drowning out noise with more noise.
- mjolk 13y ago
  >but what about the people that you've been directing your questions to? That was actually going to be my response. Speaking as the person typically on the other end of the "hey, quick question" it's crazy-distracting and it typically takes me 5-10 minutes to get back to whatever I was coding. It's demotivating that my time in the office is split between meetings and interruptions (direct or just general office roar), as well as why I'm currently receptive to interesting job offers.
- maxk42 13y ago
  Absolutely valid point. But I think most of us just put on headphones if we wanted to be left alone. And in those cases, I'd absolutely email someone instead of interrupting them -- unless it was both important and urgent.
  - rschmitty 13y ago
    Small or urgent is the same level of distraction http://heeris.id.au/2013/this-is-why-you-shouldnt-interrupt-a-programmer http://heeris.id.au/2013/this-is-why-you-shouldnt-interrupt-...
- maxk42 13y ago
  And I have a habit of just putting in headphones with no music if I want to be left alone...
Segmentation 13y ago
I read this argument a lot, but closed offices work easily with a chat room. We have an IRC channel (and we create separate channels when we need specific group chats). No one feels alone, communication is instant.

by maxk42 13y ago

tixocloud 13y ago

Just to play devil's advocate, your productivity might have gone up but what about the people that you've been directing your questions to? They might have been disturbed and thus, their productivity might have gone down. I get asked a lot of questions which always breaks my train of thought. I'm not advocating for an open office or a closed office but I do appreciate something balanced. People around me are always collaborating and discussing a great number of things which really makes me lose my focus. I usually come in early when it's really quiet and no one's in yet to get things done. After that, headphones on but even then, I miss the sound of silence rather than drowning out noise with more noise.

mjolk 13y ago
>but what about the people that you've been directing your questions to? That was actually going to be my response. Speaking as the person typically on the other end of the "hey, quick question" it's crazy-distracting and it typically takes me 5-10 minutes to get back to whatever I was coding. It's demotivating that my time in the office is split between meetings and interruptions (direct or just general office roar), as well as why I'm currently receptive to interesting job offers.
maxk42 13y ago
Absolutely valid point. But I think most of us just put on headphones if we wanted to be left alone. And in those cases, I'd absolutely email someone instead of interrupting them -- unless it was both important and urgent.
- rschmitty 13y ago
  Small or urgent is the same level of distraction http://heeris.id.au/2013/this-is-why-you-shouldnt-interrupt-a-programmer http://heeris.id.au/2013/this-is-why-you-shouldnt-interrupt-...
maxk42 13y ago
And I have a habit of just putting in headphones with no music if I want to be left alone...

Segmentation 13y ago

I read this argument a lot, but closed offices work easily with a chat room. We have an IRC channel (and we create separate channels when we need specific group chats). No one feels alone, communication is instant.