Office plan Vs. Productivity
Office plan Vs. Productivity
(OP)
Well
I don't feel much like working at the moment, so I though I would start a discussion. I have been pondering something lately, and thought perhaps some of you might have some input into this subject.
How do you feel an office plan effects your productivity as an engineer? What I am questioning in particular is an open office idea (ie. no cubicle walls) compared to a closed off land of cubes. I my self find I am most productive in an environment where I keep my privacy and do not have a direct line of sight or sound to my nearest co-worker. My first college internship company had an open office plan and I could easily look over the shoulder of the guy in front of me as could the guy behind me. Also, I found it very distracting to so easily hear their phone conversations. Then my first job out of college I was in a land of cubicles. They were 6' tall and made of sound absorbing cloth. This made it very easy to drown out the outside world and I felt more productive. Well now, I am in a smaller company where there are 3 of us, a manager, me and a co-worker. The manager has an office roughtly 20' x 15' and my co-worker and I have cubicles which are the same size as his office. They are 6' tall, but half way up they become a blurry sort of glass. I personally love it, I feel private in my work, I do not have to listen directly to conversations, but yet I can still see who is around. Well today the question was asked that since we are such a small department, do we want to remove all walls and go completely open... I strongly voiced my opinion against this idea... So I thought I would see what you all think...
I don't feel much like working at the moment, so I though I would start a discussion. I have been pondering something lately, and thought perhaps some of you might have some input into this subject.
How do you feel an office plan effects your productivity as an engineer? What I am questioning in particular is an open office idea (ie. no cubicle walls) compared to a closed off land of cubes. I my self find I am most productive in an environment where I keep my privacy and do not have a direct line of sight or sound to my nearest co-worker. My first college internship company had an open office plan and I could easily look over the shoulder of the guy in front of me as could the guy behind me. Also, I found it very distracting to so easily hear their phone conversations. Then my first job out of college I was in a land of cubicles. They were 6' tall and made of sound absorbing cloth. This made it very easy to drown out the outside world and I felt more productive. Well now, I am in a smaller company where there are 3 of us, a manager, me and a co-worker. The manager has an office roughtly 20' x 15' and my co-worker and I have cubicles which are the same size as his office. They are 6' tall, but half way up they become a blurry sort of glass. I personally love it, I feel private in my work, I do not have to listen directly to conversations, but yet I can still see who is around. Well today the question was asked that since we are such a small department, do we want to remove all walls and go completely open... I strongly voiced my opinion against this idea... So I thought I would see what you all think...





RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
As for the closed plan, I agree that it can help to promote productivity in some instances, especially where you work on projects solo. Then again, a pair of earbuds can accomplish much the same thing.
Both instances have their place in the world, it's just a matter of what sort of business you're in.
Jeff Mirisola, CSWP
http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
Most engineers tend to be introverts, so having walls makes them more secure and comfortable.
TTFN
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RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
Depending on the co workers it was usually great. However one bad apple...
I've found it useful in a team work kind of way up to a point.
My current 'cube' I can only see 2 interns and one permanent person. The other 3 people, although in the cube, are behind a partial barrier. I work closely with at least one of them and it's a pain not being able to see if he's there or what look he has on his face without getting up. I used to sit the other side where I could see him and I prefered it that way.
However, not having had my own cube/office I can't say for sure if I think it would be better.
I know I've been able to nip a lot of bad ideas in the bud, especially with junior staff/interns, by just over hearing conversations. That said others may find my butting in annoying so they may prefer their own cube.
KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
One shutdown I came back early to do a job that normally takes me 10 days. I finished it in 4. No chatter, no interruptions, and, no background noise.
The latter is very mportant to me - when I drive on twisty bits I often turn the radio off, and at home when I am working hard on something the CD player gets turned off. At work the closest I can get to that is to wear sound cancelling headphones and listen to quiet music, but that is not as good.
So, if the clever people in my organisation wish to DOUBLE my productivity they'll give me a /quiet/ office with a functional door. They won't, since an office of that quality could only be provided to a manager two full grades higher than me!
There would admittedly be downsides to that level of isolation - I wouldn't overhear the horrible discussions that badly need a dose of experience (eg 'Can we remove one of the three bolts that hold this bracket on as a cost saving ?' (on a safety critical part)).
Cheers
Greg Locock
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RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
My first favorite office was a tiny, odd-shaped room above a staircase in the engineering building. I smoked a pipe, more or less continuously, in there every day for ten years. When smoking became A Bad Thing, the smokers would come to my office just to smell the carpet. It too, was quiet and out of the way, and productive for me and for the company.
Right now I share an acoustically hard office with another guy who also doesn't talk much. I got the desk nearer the door opening, which serves as a good re-radiator for the loud talkers and speakerphone users down the hall. I don't care to hear most of their conversations, but there's no choice.
Yeah, there's a door, but nobody else's is closed, and the walls are thin. Speaking of which, we share one thin wall with the shop, and the traveling crane is equipped with an incredibly loud horn that sounds continuously when it traverses, and of course starts without warning. The guys who work next to the hook all day must be deaf.
I've worked in two kinds of cube farm.
I hated the modern one with high walls, carpet, and sound absorbent everywhere, because you could not fail to overhear any nearby conversation, even a whispered one, and you could not hold a conversation at normal levels without annoying everyone around you.
I didn't mind the ancient desk farms with or without short hard walls and with a tile floor, because the general hubbub drowned out the details of conversations in which you were not actually participating... and I think the net constant noise conveyed a sense of urgency, or at least made you think that you should be working because everyone else clearly was.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
However, given the way most of my jobs have involved a lot of interacting with others, being locked away in my own office or even cube may not have worked so well.
Hmm, now you've got me thinking.
KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
I am a civil engineering project manager and have worked in an open office, cubes, and individual offices. I much prefer the latter. Sometimes I want to close the door for quiet, sometimes I need to for privacy.
The type of work matters, at least for me, with respect to the environment. For instance, I can review drawings and do calculations in a noisy room. However, when I have to read and write, I prefer either quiet or some classical music in the background. (I know virtually nothing about music, but classical doesn't distract me).
To me, though, the most distracting thing is the telephone and worse yet paging via the intercom, which is VERY loud. It's so ingrained in the culture of this office that even though many of us have requested that we stop paging, it still goes on.
Fred
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
Here is a rough sketch I did in paint, incase I did not describe it very well.
http://i7
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
I agree that there are benefits both ways. Ultimately, I think I prefer a more open environment. I'm not a nosey person by nature, but can't help interjecting when I overhear coworkers discussing a problem and I think I know a better solution, or when I'm pondering a problem and they can offer help.
In a cube farm, wrong choices seem to be followed longer before they are corrected than they would in an open room.
There is always my ipod to block distractions when needed.
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
Anyway, this means I will have a corner slot from next week where I can either stare at one wall or another. Great! I'm threatening to hang some "specialist" calendars.
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
Being a young engineer, this can also be beneficial however. I can eavesdrop on interesting issues and observe the way my cohorts deal with them (for better or worse).
One thing I don't like is that the company now forbids headphones, ostensibly for safety reasons (damn consultants). Now we each have a boombox and the background noise can get a bit extreme even with volume levels low; there is also no way to block out the music if you want quiet or can't stand the likes of Bob and Tom.
Here's a related article I found via lifehacker, "How proximity kills productiviy".
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
David
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
"Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?" Oddball, "Kelly's Heros" 1970
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RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
My current situation is 6' cubicle walls...I just wish I could put a lid on it and a cardboard door. We have a drafter that has hygiene problems....and those walls help with blocking the office air flow. Then their is the design lead whos voice can be heard halfway around the world.
Heckler![[americanflag] americanflag](https://www.tipmaster.com/images/americanflag.gif)
Sr. Mechanical Engineer
SWx 2007 SP 4.0 & Pro/E 2001
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"Avoid the base hypocrisy of condemning in one man what you pass over in silence when committed by another." -- Theodore Roosevelt
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
And I hate wearing headphones.
Hg
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RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
No one else 'round these parts can handle the lab, 70F +/-4F <50% humidity, year round. They say its too cold, thats where I go to hide.
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
Overall I definitely prefer the open concept I was even offered a switch to an office and declinded it.
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
macmet I'm probably that person butting in so appologies, but especially with some of the wacky ideas that come up around here I find it hard not to.
I definitely think my old 4 to a cube place was more productive than where I am now (7 in a large 'cube'). And like I said when I was working on a specific task 100% having less distractions was better but in my current situation where I have to help mentor/supervise some junior staff it's useful to be able to hear what's going on, although it does limit my direct productivity.
KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
I really liked it when we moved into this area, because I could turn my chair around and see the team and get the attention of anyone I needed. Now they all wear headphones. I wonder why?
In any case, I would have a LOT less interruptions and no background noise if I had a private office, I admit. However, keeping the project on track by resolving the roadblocks is one of my primary responsibilities, so in reality it is probably a good thing that it is easy to interrupt me.
All of my team can instantly determine if I have a visitor in my cube, and if I don't, the invitation is wide open. I believe I would harm productivity if I were more separated from the team.
Our manager is down the hall, around the corner, with a private office which is definitely needed for his responsibilities. And he has to make a specific effort to leave his office and come back here to bother (oops, I meant counsel, motivate and direct) us!
debodine
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
Seriously, I would guess the two problems are noise (there is always someone who has to shout down the phone) and interruptions.
I think you have to learn how to manage your space whether it is a closed office or open plan so that you can control the impulse behaviour of some people who if they can see you will open their mouths and ask (across several partitions) when if they couldn't see you, they'd look it up because they're too lazy to go find you.
Of course, when critical stuff comes up, take the laptop and hook up to the intranet in one of the conference rooms and close the door. Most people will take the hint (be sure to tell reception or all you'll get are tannoys pages and messengers come looking for you).
JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
This allows me to have essentially a closed-door environment, without having my door closed.
TTFN
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RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
Other places have varying types of cubes and depending on the people around determined how good or bad the experience was, normally the more experienced/aged the crowd was, the better.
But once I got my own office with a regular door, it was really nice to close it when I wanted to. I found it very easy to concentrate there.
I visited a company in Japan, in a room with ten employees there was a twelve foot table (like a western lunch table) with employees facing each other and only laptops in-between them. They were all very quite and I thought it initially a terrible concept but it worked for them. Later I entered another room with five 30 foot tables and about 200 employees and no laptops. The tables were short and the employees were sitting on the floor, most had their heads down and focused on their work. The noise here was kinda high from coughing and sniffling. I can only imagine what it is like in countries or companies with little money.
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RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
Based upon the posts, what do we have???
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
But then again, I'm blessed with the ability to tune out background noise if I'm busy and can't handle the distractions. And sometimes the job I'm doing is sooooo boring the distractions are the only reason I don't go completely insane!
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
Hg
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RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
Cheers
Greg Locock
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RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
I've been reading this forum for some time now and decided to join and put my 2 cents worth in.
Quite frankly, both options are unproductive. I used to work in "cube" land and then an open office and found both are crap. Especially when so called managers and other incompetent higher ups have a private office. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
I finally left that company and the work environment was a contributing factor for my departure. Now I work for a consulting company and have my own office. Oh what a difference it makes.
Don't let anyone fool you, especially someone who has a private office. It's not about productivity but about control.
Troll
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
Regards,
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
Hg
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RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
You mean not everyone has to juggle multiple projects at least 2 of which are top priority!
KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
debodine
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
"What current TOP priority progam would you like me to drop while I work on this?"
Regards,
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
We had our office move. I now sit facing an internal window which acts as a partial mirror. So even though others can see what I'm doing, I can see them coming first and block my screen.
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
Maybe it is the industry I am in (petrochem), or perhaps it is the geriatric status of people I work with, but I feel that engineering is turning away from a technically advanced profession and into an art form. I feel there is a serious lack of the use of technology in the work environment. It feels archaic and less efficient than a 1976 jaguar. I saw a report on the news about the future of Corporate America and how some businesses are eliminating base offices and allowing employees to work from home – or wherever they so choose. I am a firm believer in accountability for WHAT you get done, not WHERE you get it done so this sounds extremely reasonable. Not to mention the environmental relief of a non-commute. Are there engineering companies out there that utilize technology in this aspect? Who are they? What industries are they in? If 85% of the people I work with are at or around retirement age, are we going to be able to keep up after they retire or will engineering “as we know it” die off and a new way (GASP!) will be born? Are these folks going to stay in the work force longer – further compounding the lack of technology use? Will the engineering world be the last to convert to the new ways of Corporate America? Stubborn Engineers!
Can anyone list engineering companies that are up to speed on telecommuting?
Or perhaps I need someone to open my eyes as to why telecommuting will never work in the world of engineering and engineering will eventually become a lost art.
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
I've seen reports questioning how well telecomuting works out.
I've got to say that while I loved working in my PJs or bath robe I don't think it's a widescale solution for Engineering.
KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
A study has found that the energy consumed by a solitary worker in his home compared to his share of the energy at the workplace plus his commute is the greater.
Of course, we might also question this research, especially if it is based on tax returns and what the individual users are claiming they use rather than what they actually use extra... but none the less it is another one of those claims that sounds reasonable on the face of it but needs testing.
JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
RE: Office plan Vs. Productivity
Obviously a generalisation about society as a whole rather than individuals in their own personal circumstances. I for one would need the interaction to aid motivation.