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Well written and funny! ...but I'm weary of the first world whining about open plans. I spent many years in traditional floor plans and many with open. I prefer
by dweinus 11y ago
Well written and funny! ...but I'm weary of the first world whining about open plans. I spent many years in traditional floor plans and many with open. I prefer open and find that headphones and slack provide 90% of the privacy I need without sterile cubes or isolated offices. YMMV. It also makes business sense: it's cheap and flexible like cubes without feeling like a filing cabinet for people. Again, just my opinion, but if the worst part of your job is that you don't like the floor plan, you should count yourself as very lucky.
- JoeAltmaier 11y agoClearly you don't have the issues other people have. There are real productivity hits to being interrupted constantly, and we can't all substitute music/headphones because that's just as disruptive for some. Its disingenuous to imply they're just lazy whiners.
- dweinus 11y agoNope, I'm not calling anyone lazy! It is certainly whining. Maybe it is justified whining for some, but in my experience it is not. Either way, I think there needs to be some perspective here. To your point: there are noise-cancelling headphones that don't require music. Constant disruption is a cultural issue. I work in an open layout where I am rarely disrupted because people know better than to bug that guy with the intense look on his face and his headphones clamped on. The open layout means that they can see clearly when it is ok to engage me and when it is not.
- JoeAltmaier 11y agoYeah I work in a 4-person office and its ok. Definitely more chatter than being alone. I can live with it. Not a private-office guy. But a big room is very different.