Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!att!bellcore!rutgers!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!pdn!dinsdale!reggie From: reggie@dinsdale.nm.paradyne.com (George W. Leach) Newsgroups: comp.software-eng Subject: Re: Office Survey Results.................. Message-ID: <6478@pdn.paradyne.com> Date: 9 Aug 89 11:37:52 GMT References: <10440004@hp-lsd.HP.COM> <6474@pdn.paradyne.com> <17357@bellcore.bellcore.com> Sender: news@pdn.paradyne.com Reply-To: reggie@dinsdale.paradyne.com (George W. Leach) Organization: AT&T Suncoast Division, Largo FL Lines: 111 Hi Scott! In article <17357@bellcore.bellcore.com> duncan@ctt.bellcore.com (Scott Duncan) writes: >In article <6474@pdn.paradyne.com> reggie@dinsdale.paradyne.com (George W. Leach) writes: >>I have to disagree here. The privacy is not nice on occasion. It is >>essential when performing tasks that require thinking and concentration. >>*I* never had to close the door at Bellcore. >I've almost never closed the door (only for interviews of candidates or when >other people in the room wished it closed). And I never felt I had to due to >any noise. Well, I sorta bent the truth. There was a time where I had an interior office and the door was perpendicular to the hallway where the elevators were located. So naturally at the times of day when people would congregate in that hall to wait for the elevators (lunch time and quiting time) the noise level would be rather high. However, this was a unique situation. >> At other places I have worked there is *NO* >>escape from the noise. I also arrive at work very early in the morning so >>that I can get something done before the noise starts around 8AM. >Actually, I got into the habit of arriving early almost ANYWHERE that I worked >to get things done, not before noise began, but before meetings began and un- >scheduled tasks arose. I have always found interruptions by people actively >wanting my attention (rather than area noise) to be the biggest problem no >matter where I've worked. And I have worked in single office, double-office, >and open architecture places -- at least two different jobs with each kind of >layout. Right, that is also a major reason for arriving early. >>>I agree with the noise and the phone pick-up. I am not so sure that the of- >>>fice privacy comes without its down side. I have been to various HP loca- >>>tions (as well as those of many other companies). I do not feel that the >>>open style at HP was noisy or invaded my sense of "privacy" in any meaning- >>>ful way. >>I find this rather hard to believe. How long did this person work in any >>such environment. >Sorry, but this is my experience after 3.5 years and 1.5 years in open layouts >of this nature. For certain types of tasks, this may be true. However, once again if you are involved in anything that requires concentration or thinking I can not see how anyone could be in favor of such an arrangement. All it takes is one particularly noisy person to have an impact upon the performance of everyone. People type loud, cough and sneeze, talk constantly in a loud tone, etc...... All sorts of machinery emit noise, eg. PC printers. I have had moments where there are three of four different conversations taking place around my cube area. The noise levels are completely intollerable. >> there are some people who are not affected as much as others >>when it comes to noise. I don't know if this is conditioning or what. >>All I know is that I have worked in a variety of situations and having >>a room with walls is essential. At least *YOU* may choose when you want >>isolation. With cubicals, as many pointed out in the article you are at >>the mercy of those around you. >This is, to me, the important issue: the element of personal choice. So I >actually favor some sort of semi-private (if absolutely private is not feasible >due to space/cost) office arrangement to the open one even though I don't mind >the latter. I think natural light and the ability to choose the level of >noise/privacy is important. There was one AT&T facility I saw in Piscataway, I think it was Knightsbridge, where they piped white noise onto the floor to mask the noise. This had a major impact on noise in the cubical area. >Has anyone ever worked where the offices are glass from about midway up all >around -- you see this in TV shows sometimes in police offices, etc. I did >work in one place (the old DP shop) where they walled my boss off and the two >of us who programmed with such a set-up. Again, it never bothered me one way >or the other. Yes, I have. Typically the materials that the walls were made of were not sound absorbant. In addition, the floors were linoleum so that if the secretary in high heels came down the aisle you could hear her from a mile away. We also have five button hand sets which were constantly ringing. The terminals were the old Teletype 43 paper type. There were four or five people to a cubical. World War II surplus furniture, etc...... >Oh...one more comment. The major problem with the cubicles and distractions -- >again, just for me at least -- was that discussions overheard were not WORTH >listening in on in many cases. They were often of a more personal than techni- >cal nature, so the interruption wasn't worth the time it took. When discussion >was on a technical subject, it was -- for me again -- quite often worth it to >notice and join in. But which is the more frequent situation? Furthermore, if a technical discussion is taking place then perhaps the people involved in the discussion *don't* want your participation! I mean, time management may dicatate that people not get involved in each and every technical discussion that pops up during the course of a day. If I have a technical question, I know who the appropriate people are to get in touch with. I don't necessarily need all sorts of people joining in. Too many cooks spoil the broth. George W. Leach AT&T Paradyne (uunet|att)!pdn!reggie Mail stop LG-133 Phone: 1-813-530-2376 P.O. Box 2826 FAX: 1-813-530-8224 Largo, FL USA 34649-2826