Anonymous wrote:I work at a Tysons-based company that uses the open concept to monitor employees. Real and simple.

So you work for a company with really bad management.

I work at a Tysons-based company that uses the open concept to monitor employees. Real and simple.

Anonymous wrote:Where would you put tampons in a closed office that you wouldn’t put them in an open office?

Who cares about tampons, it’s not like I am looking for a place to hold my assault rifle.

No, but unless they have private phone booths for people to take calls they inherently suck for all parents and anyone responsible for the medical conditions of another (including their own parents).

Anonymous wrote:My view is that women like this make it harder for women in general. When people go to extremes like this "where will we put our tampons?!?" It makes people roll their eyes and discredit any valid points someone may have.

As a staunch feminist, I agree.

A few points I didn't note elsewhere:

- Less control over the temperature. When I had a proper office, I could block the vent, use a heater or a fan or close the door. In open space, you're stuck. Women are more sensitive to temperature changes. My fingers are honestly getting numb as I'm typing now (despite the sweater in August)
- Pumping. Women who are pumping can't just close a door and keep working if they're in open space. Treking to a special room is a PITA and a waste of time

Where would you put tampons in a closed office that you wouldn’t put them in an open office?

It’s proven fact that open work environments are bad for women. Women repeatedly report feeling like they are on display and being watched.

Anonymous wrote:A lot of open offices these days (yes, nicer ones) have booths and flexible seating so that private calls are a non issue because they allow for conversational privacy either via enclosure, sound proofing, or remoteness.

Feminine supplies: purse or bathroom stash. Advocate for supplying them IN the bathrooms. Most workplaces are not gonna fight this.

My very nice open office at a Fortune 500 had lots of small conference rooms for private calls. They were made of glass and you could hear everything the person one booth over was saying.

I don't care about tampons, it's easy to slip one in your pocket or just carry a purse to the bathroom. But having a serious medical issue working in that office was horrible -- no matter what I did to try and maintain privacy, everyone knew my business. It made it harder to focus on work, which I wanted to do because it took my focus away from my medical issues. But working in a glass cage is distracting under the best circumstances, and it's worse when you are dealing with highly personal and sensitive challenges.

Open concept is dehumanizing for everyone, not just women. The manager overlord arrives and gets to survey his vast empire of workers. Anyone not there when the boss arrives is duly noted without the tedium of walking around the office space.

I find this mindset insulting.

As an intelligent, professional woman, I can think of dozens of ways to conceal tampons in an open concept workplace. If I was really concerned about being seen carrying a tampon to the restroom, I could advocate for myself and request office services start placing feminine products in the restrooms (my prior firm did this, it was great). I also am professional enough to be aware that holding confidential conversations - whether about work or about personal matters, like school pickup or pregnancy appointments - is not appropriate in an open office, so I would find a private location to take these calls (most places with open concept have private rooms you can take calls in, I would just duck into these rooms when I needed to speak privately).

Open concept sucks, but women can figure these issues out on their own.