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I have seen a ton of open plan offices, and the office where I work is in fact an open plan office showroom, but I've never seen the layouts advocated here. I s

by Joeri 11y ago

I have seen a ton of open plan offices, and the office where I work is in fact an open plan office showroom, but I've never seen the layouts advocated here. I suspect it's because the primary reason for open plan offices are related to cost reduction, and putting desks in long rows is the most compact way to arrange things (with clustered groups the closest proxy).

iamdave 11y ago
> but I've never seen the layouts advocated here I work in one right now as a sysadmin and I absolutely hate it. The very first image you see up there? The 8 desks just rammed against each other? I work in one of those. I absolutely despise it to the point where I'm most often sitting in the server room at a table against a wall more than I'm at my own desk.
a8da6b0c91d 11y ago
I think you can cover the deficiencies mentioned in the article with some tasteful screens or curtains in almost any space. I'd make some tasteful 2"x2" frame and canvas screens for less than $20 per station. Not even cubicles; just enough to provide some visual privacy.
- tjradcliffe 11y ago
  Visual privacy is great, but noise and the other senses are an issue too. Employees with allergies, employees who use heavy scents (especially in combination with employees with allergies) and various food smells can all be problems even in cubicles. Employees who sing, hum, and make other (often unconscious) sounds are likewise problematic in full distraction office layouts. The claim that there is a cost savings is irrelevant, as "costs less" is never a justification for anything in business. What matters is productivity per dollar spent, so if you can hire four developers with private offices to do the work of five in an open plan, it's a wash. People who run businesses based on cost savings and not productivity per dollar aren't the kind of people you want to work for if you can help it.
  - a8da6b0c91d 11y ago
    The noise thing can easily even be a problem in places with proper offices. I was at a site where taking conference calls on high volume speakerphone with the door wide open struck everybody as natural. Open plan or not, you have to make it OK to ask people to shut up.

by Joeri 11y ago

iamdave 11y ago

> but I've never seen the layouts advocated here I work in one right now as a sysadmin and I absolutely hate it. The very first image you see up there? The 8 desks just rammed against each other? I work in one of those. I absolutely despise it to the point where I'm most often sitting in the server room at a table against a wall more than I'm at my own desk.

a8da6b0c91d 11y ago

I think you can cover the deficiencies mentioned in the article with some tasteful screens or curtains in almost any space. I'd make some tasteful 2"x2" frame and canvas screens for less than $20 per station. Not even cubicles; just enough to provide some visual privacy.

tjradcliffe 11y ago
Visual privacy is great, but noise and the other senses are an issue too. Employees with allergies, employees who use heavy scents (especially in combination with employees with allergies) and various food smells can all be problems even in cubicles. Employees who sing, hum, and make other (often unconscious) sounds are likewise problematic in full distraction office layouts. The claim that there is a cost savings is irrelevant, as "costs less" is never a justification for anything in business. What matters is productivity per dollar spent, so if you can hire four developers with private offices to do the work of five in an open plan, it's a wash. People who run businesses based on cost savings and not productivity per dollar aren't the kind of people you want to work for if you can help it.
- a8da6b0c91d 11y ago
  The noise thing can easily even be a problem in places with proper offices. I was at a site where taking conference calls on high volume speakerphone with the door wide open struck everybody as natural. Open plan or not, you have to make it OK to ask people to shut up.