Anonymous
08/19/2014 18:38
Subject: Open floor plans--a vent
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Everything is cyclical. Right now, trends are away from offices. Same think happened in the 80's. Personally, I don't care one way or another. I would much rather have a comfortable chair than an office
Everyone keeps saying it's a trend but it's been going on since the dot-com creative office stuff really went mainstream, so what, 14 years now? Is it time to cycle back to offices? Or is the next cycle all telework?
At some point, they will look at all of the distractions and realize that offices mean less distractions....not sure when, though.
Anonymous
08/19/2014 18:14
Subject: Open floor plans--a vent
Anonymous wrote:Everything is cyclical. Right now, trends are away from offices. Same think happened in the 80's. Personally, I don't care one way or another. I would much rather have a comfortable chair than an office
Everyone keeps saying it's a trend but it's been going on since the dot-com creative office stuff really went mainstream, so what, 14 years now? Is it time to cycle back to offices? Or is the next cycle all telework?
Anonymous
08/19/2014 18:09
Subject: Open floor plans--a vent
I am with you, op. It's an awful trend.
Anonymous
08/19/2014 18:03
Subject: Open floor plans--a vent
The transition from office to cube is a very tough one. I agree you will never convince anyone this is a bad idea, especially after they have feathered their own nests.
Suck it up or look for another job or try to get promoted, these are your only options.
Suck it up or look for another job or try to get promoted, these are your only options.
Anonymous
08/19/2014 17:58
Subject: Open floor plans--a vent
Wear headphones, burp and fart a lot without shame, eat at your desk. Whatever.
Anonymous
08/19/2014 13:13
Subject: Open floor plans--a vent
Open floor plans are the worst if you need to concentrate on something. Thankfully the one I worked in had some rooms with doors you could go hide in if you needed to do something uninterrupted. I don't miss it.
Anonymous
08/19/2014 11:08
Subject: Open floor plans--a vent
Everything is cyclical. Right now, trends are away from offices. Same think happened in the 80's. Personally, I don't care one way or another. I would much rather have a comfortable chair than an office
Anonymous
08/19/2014 11:01
Subject: Open floor plans--a vent
My company did this 15 years ago - just as I had "earned" an office. Thems the breaks!
Anonymous
08/19/2014 09:53
Subject: Open floor plans--a vent
I like the open floor plan, increases awareness between the team. Also, you can go outside or at least get away from desk to make calls, which I enjoy just to get away from the desk for a bit.
Most open floor plans have small 2 person "phone booths" for calls requiring a calming atmosphere. If they are not going to build these into the plan it is a poor setup.
Also, only the most senior people should be given offices if this is the setup. Which is hard to implement because older workers are often difficult to convince any change is good, whether it be new IT software or a new chair.
Most open floor plans have small 2 person "phone booths" for calls requiring a calming atmosphere. If they are not going to build these into the plan it is a poor setup.
Also, only the most senior people should be given offices if this is the setup. Which is hard to implement because older workers are often difficult to convince any change is good, whether it be new IT software or a new chair.
Anonymous
08/19/2014 09:49
Subject: Open floor plans--a vent
Anonymous wrote:I work for a midsize nonprofit/ think tank that is experiencing a huge amount of growth. To deal with it, our management has apparently decided to convert us to a more open floor plan. They haven't really bothered to communicate this to staff and I found out from a colleague who is in the know. We do a significant amount of policy-oriented research as an institution. Mine is a research position that also involves a lot of project implementation with partners overseas. I'm constantly on calls with partners abroad, mostly in Africa where phone and Skype connections are poor and sound quality on calls can be difficult. I've had my own office for the past several years, which lets me handle constant calls as well as shut the door when I need to buckle down to read, research, and write.
Under this new plan, my office will be taken away because I'm not quite senior enough. Of course they are leaving enough real offices with walls and doors so that anyone with actual power in our organization can still have privacy. Perhaps this is a disproportionate reaction, but I am livid!! I worked my way up into a position with an office, I had a cube before that and it was ok. But to have one and then have it taken away is really frustrating me. Not to mention our current cubes, which are a decent size and have barriers on 3 sides, look like they will also be converted into smaller ones that resemble study carrels you see in university libraries.
Anyone dealt with this situation, or successfully made the case to management that it's a terrible idea? Our work runs on people having the time and space to think, read, and write. And yet all we hear from management is how we need to be more collaborative, as if dumping all of us mid-level researchers into an open space is going to magically spark creative thinking rather than just make everyone miserable and unproductive.
End rant.
My non-profit did this almost 15 years ago. You are never going to convince anybody this is a bad idea, it is most likely completely money related. I also went from office space where almost everybody had an office. We put research on one side of the office and the communications/gov't relations folks on the other. Rather than having a bad attitude about the move, I would come up with concrete suggestions on how to create some quiet, shared workspaces for those that will need it. Having a positive attitude about the move will go a long way to build up huge amounts of brownie points with your boss. You will be seen as a team player and morale builder. The two biggest complainers in my research group were assigned the worst space! Loved it!
If you truly need absolute quiet to write, then perhaps you can arrange to work from home one day a week or something to get writing done.
Anonymous
08/19/2014 09:20
Subject: Re:Open floor plans--a vent
Our company did this and now there is always a battle for conference rooms, esp. since people booke them not just for meetings, but to make personal calls. They have to be booked sometimes weeks in advance. I could always hold a mini meeting in my remote, somewhat private cube, but now it is way too disruptive to do this. We have a lot of yelling across cubes now since all you have to do is stand up and call out to get someone's attention. That was kindof fun, more energy to the drab office environment until a senior person, with a private cube complaine about the noise!
It does promote more interaction since you are overhearring more conversations, but people are now holding conversations in the lunch room, outside, even bathrooms to lessen these interupptions.
Pros and cons - and you will get used to it.
It does promote more interaction since you are overhearring more conversations, but people are now holding conversations in the lunch room, outside, even bathrooms to lessen these interupptions.
Pros and cons - and you will get used to it.
Anonymous
08/19/2014 09:09
Subject: Re:Open floor plans--a vent
I'm in the same boat OP, but it is working out. I came from a place where everyone had a pretty nice office, and now I'm in cube land. Pros - in the office of the future, my team is lot more willing and able to work from home so I do that once a week which is HUGELY helpful in balancing everything (and I plan to add another day when things are more settled and I've been here longer and established myself). See if that is an option as a trade off to not having a carved out space at work.
Second, we have space for conference calls etc. - find out what the new set up is and communicate to management about the volume of your calls etc. At my office, even the most sr. people have to get used to people using their offices when they aren't around. We have a team conference room and a couple of other spots we can go, and we use my boss's office when she is not in. It works out, again, because on any given day we aren't all 100% here - somebody is working from home etc.
So, see if you can explore some trade offs to the new set up. I actually adapted really quickly and it turned out okay.
Second, we have space for conference calls etc. - find out what the new set up is and communicate to management about the volume of your calls etc. At my office, even the most sr. people have to get used to people using their offices when they aren't around. We have a team conference room and a couple of other spots we can go, and we use my boss's office when she is not in. It works out, again, because on any given day we aren't all 100% here - somebody is working from home etc.
So, see if you can explore some trade offs to the new set up. I actually adapted really quickly and it turned out okay.
Anonymous
08/19/2014 09:05
Subject: Open floor plans--a vent
I'm sorry, OP. Can you imagine them in their meetings to decide it all? "Of course, VPs and above will keep offices." "What, Bob is a Senior Director? OK, Senior Directors and above in offices. Everyone else in a cube."
Anonymous
08/19/2014 09:00
Subject: Open floor plans--a vent
Welcome to the future. We're doing the exact same thing with my company. I'm hoping it allows us more telework
Anonymous
08/19/2014 08:41
Subject: Open floor plans--a vent
I work for a midsize nonprofit/ think tank that is experiencing a huge amount of growth. To deal with it, our management has apparently decided to convert us to a more open floor plan. They haven't really bothered to communicate this to staff and I found out from a colleague who is in the know. We do a significant amount of policy-oriented research as an institution. Mine is a research position that also involves a lot of project implementation with partners overseas. I'm constantly on calls with partners abroad, mostly in Africa where phone and Skype connections are poor and sound quality on calls can be difficult. I've had my own office for the past several years, which lets me handle constant calls as well as shut the door when I need to buckle down to read, research, and write.
Under this new plan, my office will be taken away because I'm not quite senior enough. Of course they are leaving enough real offices with walls and doors so that anyone with actual power in our organization can still have privacy. Perhaps this is a disproportionate reaction, but I am livid!! I worked my way up into a position with an office, I had a cube before that and it was ok. But to have one and then have it taken away is really frustrating me. Not to mention our current cubes, which are a decent size and have barriers on 3 sides, look like they will also be converted into smaller ones that resemble study carrels you see in university libraries.
Anyone dealt with this situation, or successfully made the case to management that it's a terrible idea? Our work runs on people having the time and space to think, read, and write. And yet all we hear from management is how we need to be more collaborative, as if dumping all of us mid-level researchers into an open space is going to magically spark creative thinking rather than just make everyone miserable and unproductive.
End rant.
Under this new plan, my office will be taken away because I'm not quite senior enough. Of course they are leaving enough real offices with walls and doors so that anyone with actual power in our organization can still have privacy. Perhaps this is a disproportionate reaction, but I am livid!! I worked my way up into a position with an office, I had a cube before that and it was ok. But to have one and then have it taken away is really frustrating me. Not to mention our current cubes, which are a decent size and have barriers on 3 sides, look like they will also be converted into smaller ones that resemble study carrels you see in university libraries.
Anyone dealt with this situation, or successfully made the case to management that it's a terrible idea? Our work runs on people having the time and space to think, read, and write. And yet all we hear from management is how we need to be more collaborative, as if dumping all of us mid-level researchers into an open space is going to magically spark creative thinking rather than just make everyone miserable and unproductive.
End rant.