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"As the new space intended, I’ve formed interesting, unexpected bonds with my cohorts. But my personal performance at work has hit an all-time low. Each day, my associates and I are seated at a table staring at each other, having an ongoing 12-person conversation from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It’s like being in middle school with a bunch of adults."
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pduffie 8 years, 11 months ago
As someone who works in real estate, i think this concept does work for some industries but many companies are going to the open concept for the sake of minimizing their footprint and cost to build out their space. As someone who leases office buildings, i'd love for this trend to go away selfishly.
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glen 8 years, 11 months ago
I agree. I think there are some industries where this could be helpful, but jobs where lots of independent, critical thinking probably suffer most (ie. tech, etc.). Can you imagine a writer working in an open office plan? Yow.
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ben.terry 8 years, 11 months ago
Many video game companies have adopted/started this model but they have rules such as no interrupting anyone with head phones on, and they are not in one large office they circle desks into pods or groups and they all share the same space, it is also helpful to have workstations that are flexible or desks that can be moved easily should a pods personnel change. Another note is the use of head phones, as a person with diminished hearing i worry about the repercussions of constantly have headphone piping sound right into my ears, thanks workplace for taking my walls.
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TheStinker 8 years, 11 months ago
Meh. I'm glad for my cube walls. There isn't a ton of privacy, but dang I can at least scratch my nose without someone staring at me from across the room.
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