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I wouldn't attribute the movement to Google, strictly speaking. I worked at a large insurance agency for a few year. They had partially open cubes (low walls).

I wouldn't attribute the movement to Google, strictly speaking. I worked at a large insurance agency for a few year. They had partially open cubes (low walls). I don't presume they've ever been influenced by what Google does. The low walls were a blessing and a bane. My team worked well like that. None of us are particularly loud people. We all had headphones and quiet music. The flow of the pen allowed easy communication and rolling between each others cubes. The bane came from other teams around us. There was a woman that was going through an extremely messy divorce (attempted murder of herself and children by arson). She was understandably upset. Rather than taking family medical leave she would talk to her mother for hours in her cube. Her voice was particularly grating to me. I ended up leaving one day to buy a pair of firing range headphones and firing range earplugs. Sadly the headphone/earplugs only sort of worked. They're designed to reduce low noises like a gunshot. Her voice was higher. They did help. I was able to concentrate.

hamitron 12y ago
I used to have to work in an office with 2 industrial printers, a large cooling fan, and at least ten mailroom employees with no respect for indoor voices. My solution was I purchased professional musician custom fitted earplugs. They were a godsend.
darkstar999 12y ago
> large insurance agency > she would talk to her mother for hours in her cube Hello HR, they would be all over that.
- virmundi 12y ago
  I know, but two things kept me from doing that. 1) I was a contractor. Historically that made me little better than dirt at the client. So I didn't want to rock the boat. 2) Given that her husband tried to kill her, I felt that the emotional toll on her having to get a talking to might be a bit much at that time. That was entirely an emotional argument, not a rational one. I could be wrong. On the plus side I have firing range headphones now. So I can go to the actual firing range a few blocks from my house. I am also prepared if I ever have a child. Crying gets to me. So I'll put those on and be one of the most loving fathers ever. I'll probably have music earbuds in too.
bmj 12y ago
I wouldn't attribute the movement to Google, strictly speaking. I suspect that during the first dot-com boom, open offices were all the rage because they were cheaper. When I entered the industry in 1998, my employer (a start-up) had an open office, as it was less expensive to find used desks and skip cubes altogether. In fact, I didn't work in my first cube farm 'til I took my current job seven years ago--instead, my employers generally had four person cubes/pods. Heck, in the late 1970s, my dad's engineering firm had "pods" for certain functional groups.

hamitron 12y ago

I used to have to work in an office with 2 industrial printers, a large cooling fan, and at least ten mailroom employees with no respect for indoor voices. My solution was I purchased professional musician custom fitted earplugs. They were a godsend.

darkstar999 12y ago

> large insurance agency > she would talk to her mother for hours in her cube Hello HR, they would be all over that.

virmundi 12y ago
I know, but two things kept me from doing that. 1) I was a contractor. Historically that made me little better than dirt at the client. So I didn't want to rock the boat. 2) Given that her husband tried to kill her, I felt that the emotional toll on her having to get a talking to might be a bit much at that time. That was entirely an emotional argument, not a rational one. I could be wrong. On the plus side I have firing range headphones now. So I can go to the actual firing range a few blocks from my house. I am also prepared if I ever have a child. Crying gets to me. So I'll put those on and be one of the most loving fathers ever. I'll probably have music earbuds in too.

bmj 12y ago

I wouldn't attribute the movement to Google, strictly speaking. I suspect that during the first dot-com boom, open offices were all the rage because they were cheaper. When I entered the industry in 1998, my employer (a start-up) had an open office, as it was less expensive to find used desks and skip cubes altogether. In fact, I didn't work in my first cube farm 'til I took my current job seven years ago--instead, my employers generally had four person cubes/pods. Heck, in the late 1970s, my dad's engineering firm had "pods" for certain functional groups.