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I used to think like you guys, how the fuck would I get any work done if I'm in the middle with so many people doing so many different things in the same time.

I used to think like you guys, how the fuck would I get any work done if I'm in the middle with so many people doing so many different things in the same time. Someone is narrating his/her life story, other one talking about his views on x and so on. However, after working on similar environment for a year and now working on a really private cubes. I prefer the open spaces, it's more fun. YOU CANNOT SLACK IN OPEN SPACES. I used only code code code whole day and now in a private cube I spent hours on HN, reddit and 2/3 hrs for work. Yes, the company is fine but I don't feel I'm producing as much as I can. Why? Because I can slack in private cubes unlike in open spaces where I want to prove among these peoples. edit: Sorry for bad English. I cannot slack in open spaces, that's why I like them.

TeMPOraL 12y ago
So which one is it? Do you slack more, or less, in private space? I personally find open space distracting. When I'm separated, I do browse a lot of HN and stuff - but at some point I eventually concentrate, gain speed, and start getting the work done. Not so in open-space; there I find it hard to do anything else than read HN or talk on IRC. Partly because I find the presence of other people unnerving and annoying when I'm working.
- Nannooskeeska 12y ago
  I'm the exact same way you are. I get more work done in the couple of hours per day that I'm at work before the rest of the team than I do the rest of the time.
rilita 12y ago
Slack should be handled by effective management. Having clearly defined deadlines and checkups on progress prevents people from wasting time in a detrimental way. Instilling fear in your devs by threatening to expose them when they goof off is not how you should treat professionals. So I goof off. Perhaps I don't even work for an entire day. Am I meeting the schedule laid out for me? Am I producing as much as expected while being happy and carefully managing my output? Forcing engineers to work nonstop is a good way to create buggy software. There needs to be a shift in the industry to respecting what people get done rather than how many hours they spent working on it.
jakobegger 12y ago
I work in a large open space but often I'm the only one there. I find that the amount of time I spend slacking depends more on the nature of my work and on my personal condition than on wheter there are other people around. When I'm tired and I have lots of dreadfully boring things to do, I end up reading HN. When I have a challenging task, and I'm well rested, I get into the zone and everything around me fades away and I'm really productive. The surrounding (people or no people) seems less important.
Fomite 12y ago
> YOU CANNOT SLACK IN OPEN SPACES. You're not trying hard enough.
- collyw 12y ago
  Believe me you can. In my last workplace I used to have the occasional unproductive day, spending more time than was reasonable on facebook and the internet. Toward the end of the day I would start to feel guilty about it. Then I looked around. There were some serious slackers in my previous workplace. I would occasionally finger a couple of peoples terminal sessions, and right enough they hadn't touched a terminal in 3 hours.

TeMPOraL 12y ago

So which one is it? Do you slack more, or less, in private space? I personally find open space distracting. When I'm separated, I do browse a lot of HN and stuff - but at some point I eventually concentrate, gain speed, and start getting the work done. Not so in open-space; there I find it hard to do anything else than read HN or talk on IRC. Partly because I find the presence of other people unnerving and annoying when I'm working.

Nannooskeeska 12y ago
I'm the exact same way you are. I get more work done in the couple of hours per day that I'm at work before the rest of the team than I do the rest of the time.

rilita 12y ago

Slack should be handled by effective management. Having clearly defined deadlines and checkups on progress prevents people from wasting time in a detrimental way. Instilling fear in your devs by threatening to expose them when they goof off is not how you should treat professionals. So I goof off. Perhaps I don't even work for an entire day. Am I meeting the schedule laid out for me? Am I producing as much as expected while being happy and carefully managing my output? Forcing engineers to work nonstop is a good way to create buggy software. There needs to be a shift in the industry to respecting what people get done rather than how many hours they spent working on it.

jakobegger 12y ago

I work in a large open space but often I'm the only one there. I find that the amount of time I spend slacking depends more on the nature of my work and on my personal condition than on wheter there are other people around. When I'm tired and I have lots of dreadfully boring things to do, I end up reading HN. When I have a challenging task, and I'm well rested, I get into the zone and everything around me fades away and I'm really productive. The surrounding (people or no people) seems less important.

Fomite 12y ago

> YOU CANNOT SLACK IN OPEN SPACES. You're not trying hard enough.

collyw 12y ago
Believe me you can. In my last workplace I used to have the occasional unproductive day, spending more time than was reasonable on facebook and the internet. Toward the end of the day I would start to feel guilty about it. Then I looked around. There were some serious slackers in my previous workplace. I would occasionally finger a couple of peoples terminal sessions, and right enough they hadn't touched a terminal in 3 hours.