I always thought it was to punish us cubicle, bottom dwelling, nerds.
My new facility which I only have to visit, has an open office layout.
Seeing several management types always wearing headphones is kind of depressing.
It’s a cost thing. Productivity falls drastically when people cannot think. Even customer service representatives need some level of space and quiet. They typically need to be able to see and communicate with each other, but that doesn’t mean open space and asses to elbows.
Open office, and open laboratory etc. plans are an absolutely stupid idea propagated by hierarchical morons who all have private offices.
I love open office designs, no windows, lots of cameras, and raised supervisors’ desks so they can watch me all day. It’s helps if the temperature is either below 65 degrees or over 85. An intrusive HR diversity program combined with a large screen tv blasting MSNBC all day is the real key to productivity.
Another company resides on our floor. They have the open office arrangement (not the big cheese- of course- he has his own office). It is a software company. By open, I mean they all work on a long table with no partitioning at all. Both companies share the restroom facilities. Long story short... those folks NEVER interact with each other in the hall. I never see ANY of them smiling or having any kind of spring in their step. It just looks to TOTALLY suck.
Open office spaces cater to gossipers who want to spend their days yammering about how the color dress Sally Sue is wearing doesn’t suit her.
I read an article a while back that intelligent people needs their privacy and space in order to think and be productive.
One of the places where I saw an open office situation was at a certain recruiting office and they had about 20 workers there around the common conference table. Whenever you would call in there were no less than 8 people grabbing at the phones at the same time to answer it. I noted it and thought to myself "Yup, this is indeed a tough place to work."
It was rare for you to wait 2 rings before they answered you calls.
Oh, can I get in on this?
I’m the lead software engineer at my company. I manage my team on 3 and of course, and contract team in India. Just last year, we went from cubicles to the wonderful “open space” - weird furniture and all.
I HATE IT.
And so does the team that sits by the hallowed “I.T. collaboration space”. Most of the I.T. meetings happen there. This means the people who sit near this area can’t be in a teleconference because of all the background conversations, and vice-versa. Earphones? Headphones? Yes! Why? because you can’t concentrate with 3 to 5 other conversations going on around you all the time.
Then there’s always the constant interruption when you’re on a call because someone thinks you’re just using your headphones.
So, yeah - many of us find ourselves having one-on-ones in a huge conference room, or outside, or yes - in the men’s room. I actually took my guys out to lunch once just to have a talk in my car on the way to the restaurant.
Oh and here’s more:
Since anyone can walk behind you and see what you’re doing, you always have those who like to comment on the web page you have open - even if work related, tell you what you should be looking at instead for better info.
The temperature is never right for someone. Neither is the lighting. At my place, there’s an ongoing war over the light switches, and we have to put the thermostat under lock and key (Nest thermostats; account passwords changed and removed from the network).
And yes, there are times during the day when I need to address financial, domestic, medical, or other concerns like everyone else during break periods that are really NONE OF ANYONE ELSE’S BUSINESS. But with the open-office concept, your life is an open book.
Fortunately, our company strives to be a ‘green company’, where working remotely (i.e. home) is allowed. This helps mitigate the chaos. Yes, they want you working and collaborating in open space. Problem is that when everyone really *IS* working, the place sounds like Grand Central.
One final note: They had to go back to cubicles in customer service because customers heard all the reps during the call. Ironic, isn’t it?
jimjohn - OUT.
Back in the 1970’s Broward county (yes, that Broward county) schools experimented with open classrooms. It was an expensive disaster. Stevie Wonder could have seen that coming.
My boss hates talking on the phone at work. One of our sales managers sits in his car.
I have the pleasure of working from home
Worked for him.
*Enter through the door.
How can you have sex on your desk if you don’t get a cubicle?
My building is about to be torn down to create space for a new building. During that process, my department is going into temporary office space that’s being styled as a cube farm/bullpen to reduce cost to create. The director and assistant director will have small private spaces but have already told the group that since it is mostly a customer contact group, they don’t expect to see much of us in the cube farm. They even got some of us new Chromebooks with a full copy of our CRM for remote work. Think I might like cubing...
-PJ
I hated being a cube rat. Too many distractions.
Company I work for had an open space model then moved to high wall cubes now we’re in lower wall cubes. I think the reason people interact less is due to electronic media. It’s easier and faster to send an email than to engage in the chitchat just to ask a question.
I do not think that word means what you think it means.
Who wants to be able to see the hot office chicks all day, knowing if you so much as compliment their hair or dress, you’ll be in H.R. within the hour, and at unemployment the next day?