Open Plan offices never really worked did they.....

zarf2007

In a couple of the first jobs I had I was lucky enough to have my own little office.....now this was usually no bigger than a broom cupboard but it did give the advantage of being able to shut the door and concentrate when working without being interrupted by various background noises.....

fast forward and now the only sanctuary I get from idiots speaking at full volume on the phone, people leaving their mobile phones ringing on their desks while they go elsewhere and their desk phones ringing constantly (get the hint caller, theres noone there) is when I work from home!! Not to mention when you've been on holiday and get back and some scrote has used your desk and disconnected everything!! or left empty food packaging on it!!

I know that the open plan office was supposed to revolutionise the way we work and make us work as a 'team' but I hate it!! unfortunately the only people who have offices where I work are the directors so I just have to suck it up but was wondering if you, like me, hark back to the days of having your own office (if you had one) or do you prefer this style of working?

bagpussbear

I think we may work in the same building, lol!

Can't say I particularly like open plan working either, but I think working relationships can be built quicker, given you pass each others desks all the time.

Mobile phones have really added to the noise of an office environment though I agree.

Gloomendoom

I've got my own office and have worked in open plan offices too. I think they both have their pros and cons. I still have to hide myself away at home if I need to be undisturbed and uninterrupted. Either that or I lock the door, listen to loud music through headphones, and pretend that I am not in.

Rambosmum

I've only ever been in open plan offices, councils don't pay for walls! I can't say I mind, but my offices are fairly quiet.

j.e.j.

zarf2007 wrote: »

In a couple of the first jobs I had I was lucky enough to have my own little office.....now this was usually no bigger than a broom cupboard but it did give the advantage of being able to shut the door and concentrate when working without being interrupted by various background noises.....

fast forward and now the only sanctuary I get from idiots speaking at full volume on the phone, people leaving their mobile phones ringing on their desks while they go elsewhere and their desk phones ringing constantly (get the hint caller, theres noone there) is when I work from home!! Not to mention when you've been on holiday and get back and some scrote has used your desk and disconnected everything!! or left empty food packaging on it!!

I know that the open plan office was supposed to revolutionise the way we work and make us work as a 'team' but I hate it!! unfortunately the only people who have offices where I work are the directors so I just have to suck it up but was wondering if you, like me, hark back to the days of having your own office (if you had one) or do you prefer this style of working?

Yup, and add to that people all bringing in their various smelly foods for lunch and eating it at their desks. One eating tuna fish sandwiches, one with pot noodles, one with curry flavour something-or-other. It made you feel quite queasy.

Open plan offices are the work of the devil!

PlutoinCapricorn

"Yup, and add to that people all bringing in their various smelly foods for lunch and eating it at their desks. One eating tuna fish sandwiches, one with pot noodles, one with curry flavour something-or-other. It made you feel quite queasy.

Open plan offices are the work of the devil!"

I have managed to get away from all that, and am much the better for it. I like to concentrate very hard on what I am doing and immerse myself in the work, which is not possible in such offices. I remember someone cooking raw fish in the microwave once... someone else had some kind of cheesy beany soup and I was really afraid that I was going to be sick. And as for the never-ending wars between people who are too hot and people who are too cold... so much energy that could be directed into the work goes into enduring and surviving, at least in the case of hard-working introverts. Becoming a home-based freelancer is the best thing I ever did. Office life is hell on earth in my opinion.

PenguinOfDeath

I think it's less of the office layout's fault, more the people working in them...

PlutoinCapricorn

It is both. While some people are noisier than others, when you are surrounded by people having small meetings, taking phonecalls, getting up and coming back this may all be necessary and work-related but is is very distracting.

I remember another thing that used to really get to me - taking chairs. I once left my desk and came back to find my chair was missing. I saw a group of women (excuse my language) monopolising all the chairs and huddled together over a catalogue: they were looking for a present for someone who had just had a baby. They had forgotten all about work. Which reminds me of the never-ending baby talk...

Open-plan offices have been around for a long time, but not as we know it. I have seen old photographs of rows and rows of desks, all facing the same way. Someone would sit looking at them, to ensure that everyone had their head down, all very Dickensian.

meer53

I work in an open office the size of 2 football pitches. Even the CEO doesn't have an office. It's something you get used to. I find it quite easy to concentrate if i have to, people tend to respect others where i work though so it's never an issue.

I love it, no-one can hide away. We do have rooms where meetings can be held.

duchy

When I've worked in open plan offices the rule was always mobile phones on silent- worked pretty well. Once in a while someone would forget and would be reminded by those around them and they'd put it back on vibrate only.

Buzzybee90

I'm not sure I could deal with huge offices, there's only three people in mine.

I like it.