… analysis from Inc.'s Productivity column.
https://www.inc.com/magazine/202203/brit-morse/2022-regional…
Open plan was always a deal breaker for me when interviewing for a job.
intercst
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Wrong link?
In the case of the open plan office collaboration/nimble/innovation pseudoscience, the psychological undertow is the boss’s need to monitor and control employee behavior. The advantage of open plan to management was always that it enabled “Management by Walk-Around.”
As I suggested when Musk announced that anyone that did not show up at the office would be deemed a voluntary quit: when you are a swaggering, tin-plated, dictator, with delusions of God-hood, you like having people close at hand for you to beat up when the urge strikes. When I was at the pump seal company, the VP of marketing would come upstairs and “walk-around” the department just after 8 each morning and just before 5 every afternoon, unless he was out playing golf, to make sure everyone was at their desk, working hard. His first name was Robert, so I quickly dubbed him “Bobby bed-check”.
Steve
Open plan was always a deal breaker for me when interviewing for a job.
intercst,
Working in an office was pretty much a deal breaker for
me.
While this job is pretty good, I have a 250 square foot office with a 120 square foot private break room with Futon and easy chair (Hurricane preparedness you know) I only drop
by there a fee times a week when I need to take an online class, write a long email or take a nap. The rest is on my balcony or in my truck.
So, pretty good job. Best though was offshore oil. Drive to the heliport, or docks, take a flight or boat ride to the rig, get the phones working, eat, sleep and wait for a ride back to the beach.
Cheers
Qazulight
In almost all cases, open plan is terrible. For every perceived increase in efficiency (large scale management, collaboration, etc), there is a real decrease of efficiency (noise, lack of focus, difficulty using phone, zoom, whatever, etc). Not to mention that it is much more likely to contract illness from the guy that is so dedicated that he insists on coming in while ill (regardless of COVID, this also applies to the common cold, flu, and other airborne types).
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For every perceived increase in efficiency (large scale management, collaboration, etc), there is a real decrease of efficiency (noise, lack of focus, difficulty using phone, zoom, whatever, etc).
Remember what preceded panel systems? Free standing desks, with no panels, and a lot more noise.
https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/picture-shows-an-office…
Panels also make it a lot easier to route power and comm cables to each worker bee. When I was at the pump seal company, in their newly remodeled offices in late 70s orange, I had an early panel system on three sides of my desk, but power and phone line both came from the fixed wall behind my desk.
And panels can be easily reconfigured so it isn’t obvious how many people have been RIFed.
Steve…made a living off panel systems for about 15 years
Remember what preceded panel systems? Free standing desks, with no panels, and a lot more noise.
https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/picture-shows-an-office…
Yep, those were insane. Everyone, even proponents of the open space system realized that thsi was insane.
Steve…made a living off panel systems for about 15 years
A few years ago I bought a bunch of panels from a company that failed … to set up a new company office I was setting up. That one failed about a year later, but I just left the panels in the rented space we had to give up.
Remember what preceded panel systems? Free standing desks, with no panels, and a lot more noise.
I had an interview at Boeing in Seattle in the early 1980’s. When they showed me the “drafting room”, I said “no effing way”.
http://www.tecnetinc.com/Arch2O-Life-Before-Autocad-013.jpg
intercst
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That one failed about a year later, but I just left the panels in the rented space we had to give up.
You’re lucky the landlord didn’t bill you for removal. Folks are generally required to leave the space free and clear. When Carly was running HP we made a nice stack installing several offices around metro Detroit. After Carly was fired, we made another nice stack tearing all the furniture out. I don’t recall what happened to all the furniture. Probably went to scrap.
Steve
You’re lucky the landlord didn’t bill you for removal. Folks are generally required to leave the space free and clear. When Carly was running HP we made a nice stack installing several offices around metro Detroit. After Carly was fired, we made another nice stack tearing all the furniture out. I don’t recall what happened to all the furniture. Probably went to scrap.
We were good tenants. I paid the whole year’s rent in advance. And we improved the space dramatically - good quality dividers, network cabling, neat cable modem install, etc. And we cleaned up the place very well before we left. Landlord wants that kind of stuff there! It makes it much easier to rent to the next tenant.