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

Snakey

I've always had to work in open plan offices, the smallest was four of us and the largest must have been 250+. Where I am now, there are about 70 of us open-plan but the partners are in offices so it isn't as bad as the last place.

I much prefer working at home and I don't feel as if I benefit from being around people, but you learn to zone out from the distractions. When I'm getting on with something, you have to actually touch me if you want to talk to me - even saying my name won't work (Snakey is quite a common name, so I've learned to block it out).

I like all the lunch smells! Nobody tends to have horrible things like eggs or tuna, thankfully.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I hate old fashioned offices. It's like being locked away in a cupboard.

In eighteen months, I have only deliberately closed my office door three times; when each successive year group has been introduced to the blues scale and has been sent off to practice rooms (either side of my office) armed with xylophones, glockenspiels and permission to use the dodgy old piano to compose their own pieces. Thirty odd kids all making slightly different mistakes, none playing the same notes at the same time, different tempos and then warbling over the top. [shudder]


It's too claustrophobic to have the door shut.

Anatidaephobia

I'd love to have my own office but have always worked in open plan offices. In my last office, I worked with a good group of people and it did feel like a team working together. My current office is much bigger and very noisy. I don't mind the noise (unless it gets extreme which is rare); in fact if it's NOT noisy, I start to feel like everyone is listening to me when I'm on the phone and I don't like that, so I'd rather it was noisy.

I have hot desked for years although now have my own desk; while I am not particularly bothered about having a specific desk, it is nice to know that when you come to work a) you will get a seat and don't need to worry about finding one, and b) I now have my own space to store my things whereas while hotdesking I didn't have any storage.

DFlights

I haven't worked in an office in a while, but I despise open plan workplaces with a vengeance! I hate the noise, the watching, and you can't escape. It's hard when you have a deep intolerance of noise and a general dislike of other people. I much prefer being in a closed off room, it helps me to concentrate. I don't know how anyone expects people to get work done that requires a lot of concentration in those sorts of environments. Even worse when radios are introduced into the mix, as in factories. And you can't escape bullies in an open plan place, either. I was bullied remorselessly at one job and couldn't get away from her, as she'd just move closer to wherever I was on some excuse, when she had no need to move.
Now I'm self-employed with a part-time driving job, it's so much better!

thorsoak

Open plan offices are not a new thing - in the 1960s, I temped for an agency in Basildon New Town (as it was then called) - and for 3 weeks I worked in the "Typing Pool" at the large cigarette company there (forgotten which one it was!). It was horrendous! A large room, supervisor sitting at the front, looking down over about 8 rows of 5 typing desks - think about old school classroom set ups. Everyone starting at 8.30, everyone stopping at 10.45 for 10 mins - the tea trolley came round then, then again at 1.pm for lunch - in canteen - factory was too far from the town centre to go and get any lunch anywhere else - and carried on typing until the order came at 4.55 "covers on ladies". There were two people walking around, one handing out work, one taking away completed work - and if anyone stopped typing for any length of time, the supervisor would call out "is there a problem?" And definitely no stopping to chat to the person next to you - and heaven help you if the supervisor spotted errors in your work - she checked it all!

Needless to say - when they offered me a full-time job (with cheap fags!) I didn't take it!

Forgot to add - had to go up to supervisor to ask permission to go to the loo!

Edited: it came to me in the middle of the night - the cigarette factory was Carreras! They came down to Basildon from Edmonton, I think!

SeduLOUs

I have my own office which I love and all of my colleagues are always asking "how do you cope cooped up in their on your own?" and offering me a desk in reception area because they think I'm lonely!

Still get distracted much more than I'd like with door knocking and telephone, but at least I can get on with my work in peace for the most part!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Anatidaephobia wrote: »

I'd love to have my own office but have always worked in open plan offices. In my last office, I worked with a good group of people and it did feel like a team working together. My current office is much bigger and very noisy. I don't mind the noise (unless it gets extreme which is rare); in fact if it's NOT noisy, I start to feel like everyone is listening to me when I'm on the phone and I don't like that, so I'd rather it was noisy.

I have hot desked for years although now have my own desk; while I am not particularly bothered about having a specific desk, it is nice to know that when you come to work a) you will get a seat and don't need to worry about finding one, and b) I now have my own space to store my things whereas while hotdesking I didn't have any storage.

Having temped for many years, I have to say that 99% of the utter rubbish stuffed in desk drawers is completely unnecessary to man nor beast. And I don't know about you, but I know what my children look like, so don't need photos of them strewn about the place.

When the OH moved office buildings with the rest of his team, there were people having panic attacks as they had to finally sort out and pack up years of accumulated detritus. He picked up his three pens, a notepad and a calculator and was done. Others were still packing a week later. I know what I prefer.

SeduLOUs

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

When the OH moved office buildings with the rest of his team, there were people having panic attacks as they had to finally sort out and pack up years of accumulated detritus. He picked up his three pens, a notepad and a calculator and was done. Others were still packing a week later. I know what I prefer.

My drawer is mostly full of stationery - post it notes, highlighters, stapler, hole puncher, ruler, calculator. All ordinary stuff, but the kind of stuff that disappears and is like gold dust if left where someone can see it!

I'll admit there is probably some junk in there too - a packet of paracetamol and some chewing gum etc, but nothing that would take me more than 5 minutes to sort out if I was suddenly moved to another office.

ellay864

I'm in an open plan hot desking office but get in early and always take the same seat. I like knowing the chair will be set as I like it, the leads for my laptop will be where I want them and that nobody will have stolen my headset charger base. We have a ratio of 1 desk to 1.2 people on the basis that not everybody is in at any particular time
Next year we move to a new office where there'll be even less desks per people but we get new furniture arrangements with movable pods, chairs that have high backs and wings for small less formal meetings (already in another building and now known as love seats!), and standing areas. It's not an office - it's a flexible working environment!

victor2

Having been involved with the set-up of an open plan office, one of the best things we did was to put the A/C control in the secured computer room. This meant that only the IT staff (of which I was one) could adjust it.
Standard responses to a request to change the temperature included "I've just done it, but it takes about 20 minutes to take effect" and "I'll go and do it now." The latter required you to disappear into the computer room for 30 seconds and come back having changed nothing. After which, the first answer may have become applicable...;)