I recently had a tour of one of the most open offices, where teams sat alongside each other on what looked like a long table lined neatly with the latest Mac laptops all artfully decorated with novel stickers to allow one to express ones identity on top of what is now a quite uniform symbol of individuality. There was an unnatural hush in the room, and then I noticed all those team members wearing one brand or another of the best and most artful $200 noise canceling headphones. The old saying that "good fences make good neighbors" seems to have been lost in the modern workplace designs and is now replaced by a less artful "good headphones make good neighbors".
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I don't care how many architect and interior designer inspired buzzwords (e.g. whimsy, playful, etc) are used to describe the typical office space for non-executive level workers; the bottom line is that what works for one person won't for another. Utopia doesn't exist, and neither does the perfect office environment.
I'm so glad to be out of the cube-farm.
I'm so glad to be out of the cube-farm.
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First, only the elite (no matter the profession) get to work in these "fanciful" environments. Most corporate offices still look like offices. And, those who do NOT work in offices (basically 80% of the work force) do so in dreary and dirty environs (go ahead and visit the back side of any retailer, restaurant, warehouse or factory in your own city to see).
Second, such open spaces are terrible for the ability to concentrate due to the conduction of noise. Corporate management only like these floor plans because it saves on office furniture.
Third, the lack of privacy is a BIG issue. A bunch of kids in college may not mind running around in their undies but, in the real world, such things matter. You cannot operate in such an environment where certain LEGAL requirements exist for privacy of corporate, vendor and customer information.
The unfortunate reality is that the people who write on such subjects are often doing it from home or executive offices that do not all resemble the experience of most workers.
Second, such open spaces are terrible for the ability to concentrate due to the conduction of noise. Corporate management only like these floor plans because it saves on office furniture.
Third, the lack of privacy is a BIG issue. A bunch of kids in college may not mind running around in their undies but, in the real world, such things matter. You cannot operate in such an environment where certain LEGAL requirements exist for privacy of corporate, vendor and customer information.
The unfortunate reality is that the people who write on such subjects are often doing it from home or executive offices that do not all resemble the experience of most workers.
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I never quite understood the thinking behind the open-plan office. Whatever it is, it must be a compelling one: even the "re-imagined work spaces" shown in the pictures had at most two floor-to-ceiling walls to each unit... Could it be that the kind of work space I'm about to describe occupies too much real estate?
For the last 10 years, my work space has been a room that is a 15-foot by 14-foot square (i.e., not too large), but with four floor-to-ceiling walls, windows and an actual solid wooden door. Every afternoon -- rather than crawling into some skanky loft where who knows who might've lain -- I get to spread out my beach towel, lock the door and take a 20-minute nap. I am able to change my clothes in my office if I have an evening on the town right after work. Oh, and yes: I also do real work in this space! I am not even particularly high-up at my organization. In return, my organization has got some pretty quality work out of me -- to which the nature of my office, I'm sure, has been a contributing factor.
This is what one would call a win-win situation, and -- as some other readers have also commented -- good evidence for having more such work spaces. The only downside to (almost) everyone in a white-collar role having this sort of an office that I can see -- which, I speculate, is the reason that we don't see more of this type of work space -- is that it certainly occupies more real estate.
For the last 10 years, my work space has been a room that is a 15-foot by 14-foot square (i.e., not too large), but with four floor-to-ceiling walls, windows and an actual solid wooden door. Every afternoon -- rather than crawling into some skanky loft where who knows who might've lain -- I get to spread out my beach towel, lock the door and take a 20-minute nap. I am able to change my clothes in my office if I have an evening on the town right after work. Oh, and yes: I also do real work in this space! I am not even particularly high-up at my organization. In return, my organization has got some pretty quality work out of me -- to which the nature of my office, I'm sure, has been a contributing factor.
This is what one would call a win-win situation, and -- as some other readers have also commented -- good evidence for having more such work spaces. The only downside to (almost) everyone in a white-collar role having this sort of an office that I can see -- which, I speculate, is the reason that we don't see more of this type of work space -- is that it certainly occupies more real estate.
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Please, someone speak the truth: open offices are about saving money on real estate. The NYT's article would have been a better piece of journalism if it would have focused on the typical open office -- not offices with lofts, greenery, and a lot of open space. A lot of open space? That's an extra expense waiting to be cut.
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To me this is all about the downside of, "Knowledge Work." Are the concepts behind these designs enhancing work, or are they distractions and novelties to allow workers to cope with the drudgery of sitting in front of a PC monitor 8-10 hours a day?
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I have worked in private offices, cubicles and open space. I felt the most productive and professional in the private office. You could talk on the telephone without background chatter and noise and, more importantly, you could control your environment and not engage in mindless, non-work related chatter.
I always suspected the the managements' support of open space was motivated by cost savings and an Orwellian desire to have the employees monitor each other.
I imagine if you are 21 years old and enjoy the social aspects of the open office it would be like happy hour. But a person who is a professional and wants to be productive, is not going to get as much work done with those distraction and starting and stopping constantly because of the interruptions.
I always suspected the the managements' support of open space was motivated by cost savings and an Orwellian desire to have the employees monitor each other.
I imagine if you are 21 years old and enjoy the social aspects of the open office it would be like happy hour. But a person who is a professional and wants to be productive, is not going to get as much work done with those distraction and starting and stopping constantly because of the interruptions.
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Wonderful article. Last year I spent several months looking into the research on office design and productivity, and by research I mean REAL research (for a client and a book), not just using Google. If you Google these terms you will turn up all the marketing pieces from design firms and others with skin in the game. But real research starting with the Hawthorne Experiments through the Coding War Games to the brilliance of recent researchers such as industrial psychologist Matthew Davis can tell us a lot about what really works --including what he calls "pull-based user-owned design." Not surprisingly, getting input from employees tends to work better than bringing in design experts. For a review of this research see: Finding Reliable Information Online: Adventures of an Information Sleuth- Chapter 3 available on Google Books, many libraries, and, of course, Amazon.
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Some of these are nice, but I'm a little disconcerted by the ones that look like pre-school play areas or cocktail lounges.
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Dont neglect the late Steve Job's new monster circular campus for Apple in Cupertino. Still under construction but perhaps the most interesting concept of integrating a business, research and natural (orchard) space.
Another interesting open concept is the cluster of design businesses that often fuse together in old but affluent commercial districts such as "little Apple" in Palo Alto near Jobs home or Venice in SoCal. Such places have an energy and delight hard to dismiss.
Another interesting open concept is the cluster of design businesses that often fuse together in old but affluent commercial districts such as "little Apple" in Palo Alto near Jobs home or Venice in SoCal. Such places have an energy and delight hard to dismiss.
Don't any of these designers consider ergonomics anymore? I see young people hunched over laptops in these spaces and wonder how comfortable that can be for hours on end...every day. My writer daughter has a very sore neck from such work. Looks groovy, though.
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What's really interesting is the incredibly awful posture of most of the people in these photos: Slouching, chins jutting forward, necks and shoulders curled inwards... whatever happened to the notion that your workspace should provide, first and foremost, a safe, healthy, comfortable space to, you know, work in?
If all your chairs curl you into a ball, and your tables are too low to reach without contorting yourself, the workspace might be "cool" but it's failing its primary purpose....
If all your chairs curl you into a ball, and your tables are too low to reach without contorting yourself, the workspace might be "cool" but it's failing its primary purpose....
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I work in consulting and have seen a wide variety of office spaces - beautiful and airy to dark and drab. Quite frankly, I could care less about the aesthetics of an office (as long as the bathroom is clean). At the end of the day, as long as the work is engaging, I'm treated with respect, the hours are reasonable and my pay is fair then I am content. I'm guessing most workers feel that way. Save the money on fancy art - make the effort to fire or coach lousy managers, pay well, have enough workers so hours are not insane and that will make for a happier work force. I guess art and a cool office are cheaper than my suggestions (although I get it that sometimes an attractive office is needed to impress clients).
My favorite year of my career was on a project in a horribly drab building which was a former chemical plant which was occupied by a bank with faded carpets, harsh lighting and old chairs in a room packed with 200 people affectionately called 'the bingo hall'. The work I was doing on the project was interesting and engaging, my managers and colleagues were fantastic and my hours were sane. I'd take that over the opposite in a beautiful office ANY day.
My favorite year of my career was on a project in a horribly drab building which was a former chemical plant which was occupied by a bank with faded carpets, harsh lighting and old chairs in a room packed with 200 people affectionately called 'the bingo hall'. The work I was doing on the project was interesting and engaging, my managers and colleagues were fantastic and my hours were sane. I'd take that over the opposite in a beautiful office ANY day.
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The open office concept can be a positive experience, if the personalities mesh, but can also be soul destroying. Examples of the latter include: the creepy feeling of somebody constantly looking over your shoulder and watching your every move (and I am not normally particularly paranoid); a colleague on the other side of a work station wall repeatedly engaging in extremely aggressive, loud and disputative telephone conversations; somebody a few desks away with such a dreadful chronic hacking cough that loss of a lung seemed imminent; theft. It squeezes all of the joy out of the work experience.
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Lot of theft, bro. Makes the case for lockers.
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I have yet to experience the positive benefits of an open office. The reality is that the human brain naturally responds to people moving about. If someone stands up in my field of view, I will (briefly) interrupt my train of thought to inspect this activity. Then, after some period of time, I'll get back to what I was doing. And don't get me started on people yammering, both on the phone and to each other. Half of the time it has nothing to do with work, 90% of the time is has nothing to do with your work. Yet some fraction of your attention is wasted on following that conversation.
Oh, yeah, then there are the sick people, yeech.
Oh, yeah, then there are the sick people, yeech.
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