Companies Move Away From Cubicle Culture 509
Makarand writes "According to this Mercury News article companies are
freeing employees from
their cubicles to save on corporate real estate costs. By eliminating the
need for offices for thousands of employees they are reducing their building
needs by thousands of square feet.
Employees now work in shared areas or from home or elsewhere outside the traditional cubicle.
Those who prove to be unproductive when they have to share space with others risk getting fired. This trend is expected
to accelerate
as wireless technologies are making workers more mobile and capable of working from anywhere.
About 13000 of Sun Microsystems' 35000 employees working in Santa Clara (CA) currently lack offices."
Environment (Score:5, Interesting)
Obviously some jobs will require you to be there, but for development, it's not necessary. There are arguements for having devs in work, because people fear they might be slacking off, but the proof is in the pudding!
not fond of homw work any more (Score:3, Interesting)
There's something about actually phsically going somewhere in order to work that makes you feel ready for work. The only problem is if you have to travel too far to get there of course.
Because of this some home workers have a dedicated study to work in.
While this is better than a cubical the employee is paying for it. Another way to reduce pay in effect?
Re:Good Thing (tm) (Score:3, Interesting)
Mike Bloomberg mentallity (Score:1, Interesting)
The way we've been doing it all along. (Score:5, Interesting)
XP and open spaces. (Score:5, Interesting)
FairlyGoodPractices [fairlygoodpractices.com] has photos of our layout. Business people use the semi-cubes in the center (there is only the one wall running along the center of the cubes and it's made of glass).
A lot of smaller XP groups simply take over meeting rooms for the duration of their projects. The onsite customer usually has their own desks but the coders share workstations and because of pair programming move from workstation to workstation frequently.
Those who don't learn the lessons of the past... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Well that sucks (Score:5, Interesting)
To me the big downside is that others may not always know how to find you. I know sometimes I would rather walk over someone's desk/cubicle and have a conversation then do it through email or chat. With people logging in at different machines day to day it could become a hassle to find people.
Plus having your own workspace is always nice. I like being able to put what I want up on my cub wall, in a shared environment this could not happen. Not a huge deal, but people do like having a place to call there own, even if it is just 3 small walls.
Re:Well that sucks (Score:2, Interesting)
I HATED cubicles, because I had no-one to talk to.
Used to be one of them (Score:5, Interesting)
Ofcourse, you can't store your books there, or put up your feet or have a messy desk with papers & stuff, cause you have to be out by 1pm. You can't even use the workstation for development, since you have to check out by 1. So you basically work on your laptop, but use this slot to ftp your work to the server, & that's it.
You feel quite disconnected from your team, since you never meet your colleagues unless there's a scheduled group-meeting. Everything gets done by email & phones.
Sounds ideal but in reality, its far from that. You are spending far too much time communicating, booking these slots & doing admin work when you should really be coding.
It didn't work out for me...but some of my former colleagues have gotten used to it. I like having a dedicated cubicle to myself, some bookshelf space, dedicated workstation, colleagues bumping into each other so we can bounce off ideas, exchange gossip at the watercooler etc I guess I'm too old-fashioned, but work to me means camaraderie, not living out of a laptop.
Re:They SHOULD fire them (Score:5, Interesting)
The problem occurs because of two major issues. One, you simply can't work efficiently in that chaotic environment and two everyone's minor problems hold up people on projects who aren't even involved as they get called into meetings simply because they are happening in their area.
The best set up we've used so far is a common area used during project architecture then we move off into 2 man offices broken down by function for the project. That is you're always sitting with someone who's doing the same basic job as you. Finally we group all the offices together for one project to make communication better. We also have video conferencing gear and session sharing software for impromptu help sessions with those not in the office and no one "owns" an office as we rotate in and out of them. All we own is a laptop that we plug in to the docking station in our new office when we get assigned to one and a rolling file cabinet/box with our "stuff" in it.
It's a cluster fuck when commmon workspaces get implemented and it's a classic example of short sighted management looking at building costs only. Good luck to those MBAs who think this is a good thing and implement it.
Re:They SHOULD fire them (Score:5, Interesting)
Then how do you explain that the vast majority of patents on file list fewer than 5 inventors? It doesn't make sense. Surely teams of 5 friendly people should come up with more patentable inventions if they ALWAYS outperform the grumpy loners. I'm sure we'd all be much better off if everything was designed by committee.
Re:They SHOULD fire them (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Environment (Score:5, Interesting)
I've worked with a couple of people that have done the telecommuting thing. It seems like a really cool deal. I'm opposed to outsourcing, but there might be downsides too.
Re:They SHOULD fire them (Score:5, Interesting)
What a load of crap. The three most productive people in our workplace are the ones who sit down, shut up and get on with their work.
Unfortunately we are forced to share our workspace with someone who simply cannot shut up - he is forever finding the most inane and stupid things to attempt to make conversation with, which inevitably interrupts us.
People are not cattle and should not be treated as such. A bit of privacy and a workplace in which they can get away from loud-mouth social climbers on mobile phones can do a considerable amount for productivity and company morale.
Re:not fond of homw work any more (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Well that sucks (Score:2, Interesting)
As most of the people in our office are field techs or sales reps, we really have no need for an assigned office about 75% of the time.
We have locking storage cabinets that we put our books and things in, as well as a file cabinet with a handle and wheels that we can pull into the office we've reserved for the day/week/whatever.
There is a reservation system in the suite where you can reserve an office/cubicle/work area for up to 10 days at a time. Most of the time, I only need a work area for a few hours before I'm off on another call or customer visit.
Alternatively, I can work from home. I have a Sun workstation that has full access to the Sun network via VPN, my office phone can be programmed to forward calls, I have a pager, cell phone, and company issue (solaris x86) laptop. I can call any Sun internal number by accessing the 800# system, and when I do go into the office, my mail etc is automagically synced up by my badge/smartcard, or by punching in a few numbers on the phone system.
The only downside to the whole scheme is this: Some jerkoff co-workers don't bother to check the reservation system and just plop down in any office or open work area they see. If I have it reserved for the day, they're in my way and I have to ask them to move or I have to go find another workspace. THAT pisses me off to no end.
Snow Crash (Score:5, Interesting)
I think this is the plan. Instead of management having to understand what their business does, they just assume the drones are substitutable or know what they're doing as much as anyone else and then hire or fire them based on how much they're willing to surrender of themselve to acheive the corporate "vision". Whatever that is today.
It's a fairly inevitable outcome of seeing employees as commodities or resources. How else can you discriminate between them? It's not as if management are going to bother learning their names for God's sake!
Re:So they fire people (Score:5, Interesting)
I bet that the cost of firing and replacing these employees was larger than the savings associated with the open seating plan. By far.
Re:They SHOULD fire them (Score:5, Interesting)
The days of the techno primadonna are over. If you were part of the social group associated with the beginning of the computer age, cool, but you need to understand that inability to communicate or work well with others is and always has been a liability. In the heady days of signing bonuses and six figure salaries, the idea was that you had to tolerate sociopaths if you wanted IT talent. Today's rule of thumb with regard to IT labor goes something like this - is outsourcing your job to an Indian programmer who will work for 10% of what you make more difficult for me than dealing with your bad attitude?
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
I do most good work after hours (Score:3, Interesting)
When I code I do not need anyone distructing my attention because it is not easy to get back into the 'zone', where you are running the program you are currently working on in your head. I am serious, I need my head to run the program that is not created yet in it, so I can copy it from my memory into the computer's memory. If only there was a faster interface than 60 words per minute.
A data point from Apple (Score:3, Interesting)
--Paul
Is this really a business decision? (Score:5, Interesting)
Since then, Silicon Valley real estate has become a lot more expensive. To stay in Silicon Valley, Sun has replaced their US work force with H-1b workers overwelmingly from India and China and proceeded to loose over 90% of their shareholders value.
I personally,think it would have been a wise business decision to set up a campus someplace like rural Utah or Oregon. If present trends continue, it appears likely Sun will eventually move operations to India or China.
Basically, there is a workforce that has proven itself able to build a company like sun-but they aren't real productive in high-rent situations. There is another workforce that is much more unproven. We haven't seen really major IT innovations out of India or China yet. We may, but that is still somewhat speculative.
It looks to me like Sun, HP, Compaq, Lucent are all killing the geese that have laid the golden eggs form them.
One big group (Score:3, Interesting)
If you can't afford desks... (Score:2, Interesting)
worksforme - if done right, can be great. (Score:3, Interesting)
when it came time for my group (6-8 people) to move in, we cut a deal with our business unit's leader: expand our lab space, give us two pseudo-real offices, and you don't have to give us any cubes. the result was wonderful: we got a largish lab, where we all set up our workstations (with convention essentially resulting in each person having "their" workstation), we had a place to go for one-on-one meetings, personal phone calls, or naps (we brought a couch into one of the offices), we had great information exchange, and it was just plain fun. we took all our technical books and put them in one of our new shared offices, essentially creating a library, again increasing the benefits of pooled knowledge. it was the best work environment i've ever been in.
the model we were going on was actually found in-house, existing for years: 1127. this is the Bell Labs Research group that made C, Unix, and most else that's still good about computing. everyone had an office they were hardly ever in. mostly, that core group hung out in the Unix Room (so called because, well, it's where Unix (and later Plan 9) was created). today, i work in two different locations for my employer. in one, everyone's got their own office (real offices, even!). in the other, it's open plan, with three offices and a conference room. i much prefer the later. i find myself more productive, more aware of what's going on in the rest of the company, and (being in IT) more able to respond to issues other people are talking about. in the former office, i'm routinely blind-sided by issues people have been complaining about - to themselves or their office mate - for weeks. the open environment hugely helps exchange of ideas and improves productivity, even after factoring in the seemingly "lost" time people spend just chatting - which, of course, makes the place a lot more fun to work, and improves morale.
good ideas require interaction. nobody - and i mean nobody - is smart enough to see all possible ends on their own. ask ken and dennis if they could've done what they did without easy collaboration from their peers.
Re:Peace and Quiet (Score:5, Interesting)
The basic rule is lead by example & then skrew em.
Figure out how to reduce the ringer volume on your phone. Turn it down.
Listen for & locate the clowns who have theirs on max.
Come in on the off hours & turn theirs down. (Asking them to do it is polite but usually useless)
When you go away on vaction or whatever, turn your ringer off.
When somone else goes away, do unto them. A post-it with "Ringer Off." stuck on their phone is polite.
Figure out how to up the volume in the phone earset & turn yours up. (Reduces the tendancey to SHOUT into the phone.)
Off hours, do unto the shouters.
If there is someone in the farm that uses a speaker phone to check their voice mail, have a "friend" leave them a detailed pornographic voicemain from a payphone over the wekend. (VERY effective.)
For the clown who would rather use you as a talking data retrieval servent rather than flip open a manual, start by answering their question with the instructions on how to look it up themselves. If the clown does not "get it" the answer becomes "I don't know." and then go back to work. If that fails, start returning the "favor". (Whats the format of...?) If that fails, it is now time for for a heart felt face to face (loudly: "Look it up yourself you %&#*!")((If saying it to your own manager, be ready for trouble. Personal experience.))
Hail-Fellow-Well-Met syndrome:
If the morning ariaval of a co-worker is met with a rousing corus of "Hi" and "Good Morning", along with inquiries into last nights activities including but not limmetted to: sleep patterns, food consumption, road conditions and recreational activities, then be the last one in. Or spend the usual arrival period doing some non-local activity. (Collecting/stealing office supplies, user group visits, anything that gets you out of there. )
In a standard poorly designed cube farm, all hall chats will be beside someones cube. There is no way aroud this one. (Good time to clean you desk, and other assorted administrivia.) Or just join in the conversation and say things that are so stupid, everyone leaves.
The foul stench of someones lunch wafting through the air and peeling the paint requires a loud statement of fact. "Wow, that really stinks. I think I am going to be sick. I have to go home." Then leave.
When it gets to the point that nothing is getting done by anyone, anywhere, state the facts in writting. To the boss. Eventually their boss will figure out somthing is wrong & a paper trail comes in handy.
These things come and go. When they come, it's a good time to take advantage of "Developmental assignments". On the last one, I took a position on the 24 hour support dest. Yep it was that bad.
Meeting Mania & how to be a wee bit less unproductive:
When someone attempts to schedule a meeting within 30 minutes of the regular quitting time, have a long standing personal issue that requires you to leave early that day & on that day leave early, no matter what.
The only valid answer to the question of "When is a good time this morning to have a get together?" is: "Now." Then start the meeting.
When handed printed material at a meeting, as soon as you leave, throw it out and e-mail a request to have a replacement e-mailed back. If you get something, you are now free to read it. If valuable, save it on disk, else delete. Next step, if required, is to actaully do what the meeting was about and/or reply in e-mail. Now the meeting Bozzo has a copy they will be able to find in 2 weeks.
When you call a meeting that has an agenda, send out the agenda when you call the meeting. (Give the attendies the chance to come prepared, but don't expect a miracle. You will be the only one prepared.)
After showing up at the correct place, when the clock strikes meeting time, start the meeting, even if you did not call it. There is nothing more productive than a room full of people wait
Re:This is "freeing workers" ... (Score:3, Interesting)
We all communicate just fine. The doors to all the offices are almost always open, unless things are noisy outside (e.g., my office is right next to the engineering area.) It takes less than a minute to walk from any office to any other office. If someone has a question, he gets up, walks over, and asks the question. Any of us is usually happy to answer anyone else's question. If we need to meet as a group, we IM each other to that effect, walk down to hall to the conference room, sit down, talk about whatever we need to talk about, and then get back to work.
And when we're working, we can sit there in our space, with our stuff, at our machines, and we get our work done. It's a beautiful thing. You may feel it's "shitty for [my] company," but apparently my company -- having experimented with cubicles and open-plan workspaces in the past, BTW -- disagrees. Thank God.
Re:They SHOULD fire them (Score:3, Interesting)
Think of it this way. If it takes someone 40 minutes to get their brain back into gear to remember and manipulate a 4000 line piece of code, do you really want to interrupt their concentration? A couple of days of not being able to get any work done because of interruptions can turn the most friendly, interesting person into a raving psycho.
Re:Cannot expect one-size-fits-all workplace to wo (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Cannot expect one-size-fits-all workplace to wo (Score:3, Interesting)
Funny, There are a lot of schools abroad where one do not have any personal space at all (like locker). One just come everyday with all stuff needed for today and leaves with it, which sucks.
Re:Are cubicles and American thing? (Score:3, Interesting)
You don't want this trend to catch on in Europe. I used to work in the UK and we used to have a huge big room with 12ft ceilings amongst three of us and we couldn't be happier. Big bright room with three desks in three corners. Mmmm... those were the days!