What is Digg?92 Comments
- mac26, on 12/05/2007, -1/+55I prefer the cubes, open spaces makes it hards to watch porn at work...
- saiyanate, on 12/05/2007, -1/+31The benefit of open floor plans: they encourage conversation.
The drawback of open floor plans: they encourage conversation.
When spirits are good, the open floor plan encourages creativity and productivity. When morale is down, the openness turns gossiping and complaining into public events. - LetsGoHawks, on 12/05/2007, -2/+28"new workplace design that saves space and money"
ie - cram 'em closer together while pinching nickles.
Seriously though, whether or not this is for a particular company depends on what the company does. I'm in my cube for 40 hours a week. The cube walls are about 4 feet high. So I get a mix of privacy and my teammates being readily availble. "Unassigned space" is my version of a nightmare. Sorry, I don't want to have to work on a freakin' laptop all day. Laptops suck. And, I need a place to keep my reference material.
Anway, in other news, they've been predicting the death of the PC for almost 20 years and it's still here........ - writh3n, on 12/05/2007, -0/+23I'm in the open floor plan right now, I'm not a big fan. I prefer to be reclusive and not looking at 5 people constantly if I peer over my monitors in any direction.
- allaboutdatiki, on 12/05/2007, -2/+24cubes, open spaces ... they're all shackles of the man.
- Bing11, on 12/05/2007, -1/+21Or be on Digg.
- WordsnCollision, on 12/05/2007, -2/+17When i was in 6th grade, my class went on the 'Open Plan' and it worked really well. That was in 1968, btw...
- Misaiato, on 12/05/2007, -0/+15Live and worked in a Japanese office for two years - open is good for communication, bad for 'clearing your head', good for staying on task, bad for 'taking a breather'
At my present company in LA, we're in half-cubes side-by-side that makes it easy to poke your head around and have a chat - we also have some privacy and get to decorate as we like (zen fountains/gardens)
I'm not a huge fan of the open platform - and I've lived through it for long enough to feel the ill effects. - staxofmax, on 12/05/2007, -0/+12I get angry enough when I have to hear my cube neighbor blathering incessantly about her cute little "poopsie-woopsie." If I had to hear her and see her doing it, I think I'd go postal. I heart my cube. Screw open layouts.
- scitz0frenic, on 12/05/2007, -0/+12I cried because I did not have an office with a door. Until I met a man who had no cubicle --- Dilbert
- brenbart, on 12/05/2007, -1/+12HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!! Open floor plan and cubes suck!
I'm in an office again and it has a door with a lock!!!!
I find both Open and cubes to be very distracting and my personal morale plummets when I'm forced to listen to the yammering of my coworkers. Generally speaking I keep my door open but there's nothing like needing a few moments of privacy and being able to just shut the door.
It's not even just coworkers talking but rather listening to them sniff and blow their nose, fight with their spouse, post-lunch bodily noises, make doctor's appts (Hey coworker! How's that yeast infection going?), discuss the latest sporting event (I hate sports) and their IM alarms constantly dinging. If I need a coworker I simply call them, IM them or hoist my butt out of my chair and stroll to their office. - RobbieF, on 12/05/2007, -0/+11If they do that to our office, then I'll have to go to the bathroom EVERY TIME I have to pick my nose :(
- carfey, on 12/05/2007, -0/+11I hate open floor plans. I've worked in open plans, cubicles and small offices with a few other people. Open plans generate way to much noise and distraction for me to do my work (programming), while cubicles tend to stifle discussion in groups. I think a small area where you are close to those you work with most closely but aren't exposed to the noise of many coworkers is best. Open plans are just a fad from management trying to push people even closer together at lower cost, while pitching as something hip.
- plarp, on 12/05/2007, -1/+11open plans blow for developers.. true story
- MattB123, on 12/05/2007, -0/+10But where would you put your flair?!?! Your kitten calendar!?!?
- spiritditch, on 12/05/2007, -0/+9"The drawback of open floor plans: they encourage conversation."
Which is not very helpful when you are focused intently on your computer monitor, watching the changing values of 5 variables at the same time as you are debugging. - lewhich, on 12/05/2007, -0/+8Next before you know it will be "Stand Up Plan" in which no chairs will be given to employees
- skyteria, on 12/05/2007, -0/+8I wipe my nose with my keyboard when I run out of Kleenex.
- Otto, on 12/05/2007, -0/+8Open plan? That's just their way of attempting to take away my walls! First they took away the doors from the offices. Then they took away the upper half of the walls. Now they want to take away the rest of the walls and most of my storage space.
What's next? Ceilings? Floors? I can't write code while balancing on the pipes in the rain! - Nougat, on 12/05/2007, -0/+7Seriously. Let me know when they come up with a laptop that has a decent keyboard and a 19" screen, and get back to me.
On the other hand, there's a few places doing terminal server with thin clients. Add that in, and this might work. - SocialSound1982, on 12/05/2007, -0/+7Down with the corporate cube culture and up with the bunk desks! I got dibs on top!
But when do I get to get rid of the office all together? - Butros, on 12/05/2007, -0/+7yeah, we need more work from home days. Maybe like 2 in office days a week for meetings, and then just work at home with teleconference lines set up (ideally voip channels or something). Would save money, the evironment, etc....
- erkokite, on 12/05/2007, -1/+8That's all good and nice, but where am I going to store my reference manuals, CAD drawings, pencils, notebooks, etc...
How am I supposed to work if people around me are making noise gossiping and talking about the weather?
Honestly, did they actually put ANY thought into this? It sounds nice and hip from the point of view of someone who really doesn't do any work. When you actually want to sit down and do things, you need a workspace of some sort. A laptop won't do but for reading the news. - thcobbs, on 12/05/2007, -1/+8Yeah, but mine are gilded because I got a good education and worked my ass off.
- lewhich, on 12/05/2007, -0/+7Americans please wake up. You deserve offices not cubicles. Now in an attempt to stop you from asking for an office or work from home, they want to repossess the miserable cubicle they gave you in the first place. Next you know they will take back your chairs
- yikiad, on 12/05/2007, -2/+8wow, they do all that in the 1st grade?
- JasonCox, on 12/05/2007, -0/+6We have the whole 'open workspace' at work and let me tell you it doesn't have nearly the same amount of wall space or privacy as my cube at my last job.
- mfawcett, on 12/05/2007, -0/+6Where I work we all use laptops, but everyone has a docking station, dual LCD monitors, and a regular keyboard/mouse they use. The nice thing (for both the employee and employer) is that at the end of the day, you just undock and take the laptop home with you. Employee gets a really nice computer for home use, employer might get a few extra hours of free work out of the employee.
- polyGone, on 12/05/2007, -0/+6You just need very good hearing and a quick "CTRL + Tab" ability. As soon as I hear the bosses chair squeak, BAM!
- inactive, on 12/05/2007, -0/+6Totally Dugg, they did this at Motorola and crammed everyone from two buildings into one.
- jspegele, on 12/05/2007, -0/+6My company has "digg this" links on our website. I'll take that as permission . . .
- inactive, on 12/05/2007, -0/+6Goddamn, if I had to hear women talking all day I'd ***** shoot myself.
We only have one woman in our team, and thankfully we sexually harass her enough so she keeps her stupid trap shut. - gfeldt, on 12/05/2007, -0/+6...don't forget stinky food, gum chewing and being forced to watch/listen to every dork in the office flirt with the cute IT girl. I've been in all three settings and find offices with doors to be the most relaxing/productive environment.
- 11oops, on 12/05/2007, -0/+6I work in a wonderful open environment where myself and the other IT guy get to share a room with the three accounting ladies. Ever try to code while three women are pounding on their calculators for seven hours a day and gossiping for the eighth?
- scitz0frenic, on 12/05/2007, -0/+6The floor, the ceiling, and your happiness are the only things left to take away. I dont believe they will remove the first 2.
- inactive, on 12/05/2007, -0/+5Silly, this was the model at one time in office pools, saves a small amount of space but lowers the overall quality of the work environment due to noise and other distractions. Also gives your clients a cue that you are in a sweet shop and that doesn't help company image.
As for me I must have an office with a big door an a strong lock. - inactive, on 12/05/2007, -0/+5This idea is in the same vein of changing the intensity of the lighting to increase productivity.
It only works for a while because people think they are being watched. - Butros, on 12/05/2007, -0/+5That's why I miss VB6's old breakpoints on value change. Please don't tell any of my coworkers I said something nice about VB6 btw...
- sublimemm, on 12/05/2007, -0/+5Next to the TPS reports. Didn't you get the MEMO?
- nicko68, on 12/05/2007, -1/+6Open floor plans complete the realization that you are, in fact, just part of the herd.
At least a pen.. er, um, cube.. gives you some personal space. - coldcoffee, on 12/05/2007, -0/+5Screw the whole 'going to work' idea: Work From Home FTW!
- jspegele, on 12/05/2007, -0/+5If you totally agree with salyanate, you should try replying to his comment.
- moryarti, on 12/05/2007, -0/+5a friend i know works at Cisco and he hates this Open/Shared space business... he spends most of his days working from home
- edwartica, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4Hmnm, sounds great for extroverts, but hell for those of us who aren't so extroverted. Maybe its an extreme solution. I think the four foot wall is a great idea myself. Gives you the best of both worlds.
- echo2501, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4Completely agree! I was way more productive in an office setting. I couldn't get anything major done in the morning because of the constant yammering about the "game" the previous night or general gossip. The 'solution' I was once given was to use noise canceling headphones. All that did was swap one distraction for another.
When I was in an office, the other people I worked with were in adjacent offices so I just had to pop my head out the door or IM them. Being in an open / cube setting does have that open communication thing... provided you're sitting next to/across from the people you're working with. More often than not, you're just stuck where they can find a place for you. - Calabahn, on 12/05/2007, -0/+415 years working out of my house. I could never work in a cube again. Or an open floor plan either. Hell I don't think I could ever commute again.
"Splendid Isolation." -- Warren Zevon - heathuff23, on 12/05/2007, -1/+5I don't know if you can classify a janitors closet as an 'office'. So when you want a few minutes to yourself, do you close the door, move the toilet paper overstock down far enough so you can rest your behind on the second shelf of the utility closet?
- echo2501, on 12/05/2007, -0/+4I forgot to mention one case of really strong and nauseating perfume.
I used to work long hours and get a lot done in an office. Even work at home because I'd want to continue the momentum I'd have at work and push through a project.
Since I've been in a cube, all I can think about is when I can leave... how I feel constantly watched over by the people around me... etc. Oddly enough, the "open plan" makes me feel more claustrophobic. - mr.hostility, on 12/05/2007, -1/+4Then eliminate offices as well. Nobody deserves any privacy I guess.
With IM programs, people can chat quietly and not bother me in my space with their retarded diatribe about the icon coming in Corn Flower Blue. - echo2501, on 12/06/2007, -0/+3What about when the people immediately around you are collaborating on a project completely unrelated to what you're working on?
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