Cubicle farm!!!

[Amethyst]

This thread brought on a Four Yorkshiremen moment. When I started my govt career, we worked at battleship-gray metal desks all pushed together, so one's position was part of a long line of desks that faced another long line of desks. The bosses had small offices off the main room.

With the Reagan hiring push in the early to mid 1980's, things got so crowded that the double-lines of desks got pushed closer together, to fit in another line of desks. At that point, you literally could not push back your desk chair without hitting someone else's chair, and had to "negotiate" getting up from your desk!

Not to mention two-thirds of my [-]cellmates[/-] seatmates smoked and the air was so smokey, I couldn't see the other side of the room.

But at least people were fairly quiet.

 

[Breedlove]

This cube furniture looks nice new but falls apart quickly. I remember when this happened to us . They gave us these funky chairs that were so uncomfortable like torture. . Our boss was a jerk he kept saying stay with it . It will get more comfortable . We had a guy from Ireland who would not get rid of his old chair so the boss had maintenance come in after hours and throw his old chair out . Probably a 400.00 chair for an undersized 60.00 cubicle chair. Morons

 

[Amethyst]

I think we must have had better-quality chairs in our newer, open-plan spaces.

The old-fashioned desk chairs were prone to back-breakage by overweight men, who leaned way back in them as if they were recliners. I used to see whole meeting rooms full of men leaning back in broken chairs, faces in the air, bellies sticking up and arms hanging down, as if they were in their living rooms. For me, having to sit in one of those broke-back chairs was torture! The newer, high-back chairs don't seem conducive to the "recliner" attempts.

This cube furniture looks nice new but falls apart quickly. I remember when this happened to us . They gave us these funky chairs that were so uncomfortable like torture. . Our boss was a jerk he kept saying stay with it . It will get more comfortable . We had a guy from Ireland who would not get rid of his old chair so the boss had maintenance come in after hours and throw his old chair out . Probably a 400.00 chair for an undersized 60.00 cubicle chair. Morons

 

[target2019]

With something like 96 w*rk days to go, this thread becomes more important each week. Those days are spread out over 6-7 months, much more tolerable to me than most folks are getting in their j*b.

As for the cubicle farm, it seems more like an alligator swamp. We have lower walls, and you see the tops of heads rising from the swamp as you walk down an aisle.

And the cheap chairs, try to find some way to make that work for you. Missing or loose screws, broken lift cylinders, etc.

 

[aja8888]

I think we must have had better-quality chairs in our newer, open-plan spaces.

The old-fashioned desk chairs were prone to back-breakage by overweight men, who leaned way back in them as if they were recliners. I used to see whole meeting rooms full of men leaning back in broken chairs, faces in the air, bellies sticking up and arms hanging down, as if they were in their living rooms. For me, having to sit in one of those broke-back chairs was torture! The newer, high-back chairs don't seem conducive to the "recliner" attempts.

You mean there were no overweight women where you worked? Or if there were, they didn't lean back in their chairs?

 

[Ronstar]

You mean there were no overweight women where you worked? Or if there were, they didn't lean back in their chairs?

We had a receptionist who was a big girl. We used to send her chair to a welding shop for repairs.

 

[ransil]

Stand up computer desks are the thing now

 

[Amethyst]

In fact, there were not that many women, overweight or otherwise. And they had more class than to sprawl in their chairs with their legs sticking out straight - skirted suits, you know. 1980's and 1990's were the time of that type of furniture.

You mean there were no overweight women where you worked? Or if there were, they didn't lean back in their chairs?

 

[PatrickA5]

My first megacorp job we had 30 rows of 4 metal desks facing each other. There was one phone in the middle of the 4 desks and the lowest peon had to answer the phone. My other three deskmates were all chain smokers. Since I was on the first row, I could turn around and see nothing but heads and smoke for 150 feet. There were no windows. The "senior" person of the 4 desks got a chair with arms.

I'm pretty sure things got worse over the next 30 years, but I'm trying to block all of that out.

 

[EastWest Gal]

I had an office down a quiet hallway for many years. Then a major storm and a clogged rooftop drainage system caused a partial roof collapse that flooded my office. During reconstruction, I lived in the cubicle farm next to the engineering techs that did my work. It was great for workflow having our group close together.

I was down to 1-2 days a week at work when my office was rebuilt. But I never moved back in. The company moved to a new office across town, where I again had a cubicle next to the techs and close to my replacement. A convenient place for my transition to RE.

I had a strange group of cubicle people. They rarely made a sound.

They must all have been INTJ.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Plantronics has announced, but no shipping date, this. I predict they will sell "billions".

https://www.plantronics.com/us/en/product/plantronics-elara-60

I just had to take a look and now..well, I feel dirty and need a bath. I *almost* forgot all the stupid "buzzwords" used in the corporate world that I assume are still used (overused, I would guess) until I saw "turn your smartphone into a desktop collaboration tool." BELCH!!! Excuse me while I go take a mid morning nap.

 

[Amethyst]

ha ha! I told someone I was "just waiting on the electrons," and then had to explain that this referred to the electronic form he was supposed to be sending me. Workplace jargon can be hard to root out.

I just had to take a look and now..well, I feel dirty and need a bath. I *almost* forgot all the stupid "buzzwords" used in the corporate world that I assume are still used (overused, I would guess)

 

[davebarnes]

I just had to take a look and now..well, I feel dirty and need a bath. I *almost* forgot all the stupid "buzzwords" used in the corporate world that I assume are still used (overused, I would guess) until I saw "turn your smartphone into a desktop collaboration tool." BELCH!!! Excuse me while I go take a mid morning nap.

I ignored the Microsoft Team collaboration stuff.
I am excited about Elara offering a big number pad and headset for my iPhone while sitting in my home office.

For 20 years I had this corded phone with a Plantronics headset connected to a landline. I dumped the landline on 28MAY2019. The big buttons and the headset were way more convenient than using my iPhone.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I ignored the Microsoft Team collaboration stuff.
I am excited about Elara offering a big number pad and headset for my iPhone while sitting in my home office.

It does look pretty nice and although don't talk on the phone often, the headset would be nice and the docking station looks sleek. I wonder how much that bad boy will cost, though?

 

[fh2000]

So, my lovely MegaCorp has decided to relocate us to
a new location in a major city where commuting will
be a nightmare.

One gift of the change will be moving into the latest
trend of office technology ... the farm.
Workers will be packed closer, having basically 6’ x 6’
of space.

So you get to tap away on your keyboard while
the guy across from you is picking his nose while
the neighbor to your left is nursing a terminal flem attack.
Meanwhile your neighbor to your right is doing
the left-cheek-sneak after a breakfast of refried beans
and stale tuna fish!

Can't wait to retire.

My condolences.

You and I may be in the same megacorp, except I resigned in January already. There is a plan to move everyone in IT across the country to few modern centers. I kept asking the moving date for our group so I can elect not to go and receive the package, to no avail. I finally chose to leave on my own.

 

[Lakewood90712]

" One gift of the change will be moving into the latest
trend of office technology ... the farm.
Workers will be packed closer, having basically 6’ x 6’
of space. "

So what are you complaining about. 6 x 6 is 36 sq. feet. Not like it's a 5 x 7 foot prison cell of 35 sq. feet. Stop with the complaining.

 

[GrayHare]

That's larger than the back seat of a car, and yes, I recall couples making use of a roomy cube as if it were a back seat.

 

[joeea]

It does look pretty nice and although don't talk on the phone often, the headset would be nice and the docking station looks sleek. I wonder how much that bad boy will cost, though?

About $180

 

[GalaxyBoy]

I once read the manual for an office phone. It wasn’t a phone but a “voice terminal” and it didn’t ring, it “signaled.” And that was in 1986.

 

[imoldernu]

aah... memories, memories... back in 1984, when I left MW, my office was on the 19th floor, in a totally open office environment. Moveable sound deadened curved 6 foot high partitions, ceiling to floor windows. The office was roughly 12X15, and my two secretaries had similar if smaller offices that I could see from mine. The entire building was like that... awesomely beautiful, and built only a few year before I worked there.

It almost made the train trip from Lisle/Naperville to Chicago worthwhile.
Now it's an upscale condo. BTW, you can buy one of the condos that just came on the market.... 3600 s.f. for only three Million dollars.

 

[Lakewood90712]

About $180

Even as cheap as I am, this is one gadget I am buying.

 

[WestUniversity]

So, my lovely MegaCorp has decided to relocate us to

a new location in a major city where commuting will

be a nightmare.



One gift of the change will be moving into the latest

trend of office technology ... the farm.

Workers will be packed closer, having basically 6’ x 6’

of space.



So you get to tap away on your keyboard while

the guy across from you is picking his nose while

the neighbor to your left is nursing a terminal flem attack.

Meanwhile your neighbor to your right is doing

the left-cheek-sneak after a breakfast of refried beans

and stale tuna fish!



Can't wait to retire.

I gotta quit reading these posts while drinking my morning coffee. Just about blew it through my nose... LOL!

 

[O2Bfree]

My company cleared out the 5' cubical walls and changed to an open office environment last year. The new, open space is supposed to improve communication. Yup, that it does. Some of the folks near me communicate all day about what they did over the weekend, what's going on with their families and home projects, what their vet said about the dog's blood test, etc., etc. Damned annoying it is. Others wear headphones so that when you go to ask them something you have to wave your hand to get their attention and then get that pained look as they pull off their headphones. Then there are the stand-up desks. When the fellas next to me raise their desks, they can look right down on me. I know they're usually focusing on their work, not watching my every move, but it's discomforting. Glad I am leaving soon!

 

[Murph]

Bahahaha!

So, my lovely MegaCorp has decided to relocate us to
a new location in a major city where commuting will
be a nightmare.

One gift of the change will be moving into the latest
trend of office technology ... the farm.
Workers will be packed closer, having basically 6’ x 6’
of space.

So you get to tap away on your keyboard while
the guy across from you is picking his nose while
the neighbor to your left is nursing a terminal flem attack.
Meanwhile your neighbor to your right is doing
the left-cheek-sneak after a breakfast of refried beans
and stale tuna fish!

Can't wait to retire.

? Enjoyed that one. It’s one of the things that helped me make up my mind to GTFO!

 

[bingybear]

I've worked in many variation of office space... just pull up your big boy (or girl) pants and deal with it. In most cases one just adapts to the new digs and works thru it.

when working I would be in a meeting.. answering questions and posing my own while running simulations and dealing with vendors. I did not see my cube all that often. So what is the big deal with cube farms? They still pay you.