Submission + - Dealing with moving into open-space offices?
KlaymenDK writes: The team of developers I'm part of will soon be moving into our country headquarters from a branch office. The branch office consists of 2-3 person offices, with more space for managers and meeting rooms. The headquarters, on the other hand, was rebuilt some years ago into the then-fashionable "open-space" format; apart from the print rooms there are now only a few huge 60-80 person open-space offices; even the hallways were included so people must walk right between the tables (talking to one another or into cell phones) and there are no meeting rooms or manager's offices. Of course we have our share of colleagues who are plain noise-makers, or who just happen to have "fog horn" or "buzz saw" voices (poor souls). My awesome boss and team leader have been unable to secure any kind of "quiet space" for us developers.
So I ask: How can we, as developers, best deal with this? (I don't want to quit over it, so that's one suggestion you can skip). I could work from home several days a week, but I really don't have room for a permanent home office in my flat. I am looking into noise cancelling headphones/earbuds (I don't want to drown out noise with more noise (music), I would "just" like a bit of quiet) and even considering DIY egg-carton cubicle partitions. I am also trying to locate some of the studies and reports that debunk open-space offices (convincing management is a reeeaaal long shot, but I have to try turning every stone) so if you know where to find 'em, links please. I fear I'll be the guy who jumps up twenty times a day and shouts SHUT THE HELL UP EVERYONE! I clearly need some help before that actually happens!
So I ask: How can we, as developers, best deal with this? (I don't want to quit over it, so that's one suggestion you can skip). I could work from home several days a week, but I really don't have room for a permanent home office in my flat. I am looking into noise cancelling headphones/earbuds (I don't want to drown out noise with more noise (music), I would "just" like a bit of quiet) and even considering DIY egg-carton cubicle partitions. I am also trying to locate some of the studies and reports that debunk open-space offices (convincing management is a reeeaaal long shot, but I have to try turning every stone) so if you know where to find 'em, links please. I fear I'll be the guy who jumps up twenty times a day and shouts SHUT THE HELL UP EVERYONE! I clearly need some help before that actually happens!