Cubicle farm!!!

[troutnut1]

I was lucky

I was lucky. Just about the time I could no longer stomach being in a cubicle, my agency decided we needed laptops and wifi so we could work in the field when needed. I was ready to quit/retire anyway so one day I decided to make a hostile takeover of a relatively unused conference room. 12X18. Corner office. Window. Locking door. Giant table and chairs. I rewired my desk phone to ring in there, grabbed my laptop and mouse, and camped out in there for the day when I could no longer stand the women in adjacent cubies. And a funny thing happened....which was nothing! Nobody said a word. So I did it again the next day. When it came time for the weekly meeting the boss asked me if it they could disturb me. I said sure! Then I went right back to working. 7 years later at a training session one of the newer ladies scowled at me and said “I’d like a private office too!”. I said “well, you have to work here more than 5 minutes or so to get one” (I had 19 years in the job by then). Knowing what I know now, I should have made that move a decade sooner. But it got me 7 additional years in the company before I finally retired last December.

 

[kgtest]

I played magical conference rooms in protest when I was put at my latest table. It worked...for now. 5' cubicle wall. Not much privacy but I'm against a rarely used wall with natural light. Learned for everyone's sanity in the office, I need natural light daily.

I can work remote, but have been told to limit that now too. 2 years ago CEO said awesome year guys, just do the same thing next year...now they say, we need to change it ALL! LMAO HELP!

 

[meridiver]

Ugh, this thread brought back the horrible memories of my last 4 or so years at work (I retired last year). I did accounting projects mainly at software companies who all used the dreaded rows of picnic tables in a big, open office. I would have killed for a cube with actual walls, even low ones.

The millennials I worked with would all just pop in their earphones. I find them really uncomfortable, but I finally realized that I could listen to audio books and podcasts and no one would be the wiser. I'm on COBRA now and was considering going back to work for a few months next year to requalify but I'm getting a full-body shudder at the thought of going back to that environment, so maybe I'll go on ACA after all (didn't want to do that because I don't qualify for the subsidies and it's more expensive then COBRA).

 

[doxiemama]

So many funny posts. I was only in a "cube" job for two years out of my 37 year career but oh the memories. One gal was on the phone scheduling her "bikini wax" that made me want to throw up. Another gal spent two hours per day on the phone with her boyfriend and complained about her lack of promotions. The Department Manager had her own office and would spend 3 days holed up in her office booking cruises and vacations with strict orders to "not be disturbed." The other 95% of the people actually worked.

 

[NW-Bound]

Some years ago, I did contract work at a mid-sized aerospace corp. They treated their engineers well, and gave them all a walled office with a door. That included entry-level engineers.

I thought that was smart, as my own productivity was higher when working there: less socializing, less distraction, better concentration.

 

[NW-Bound]

I was lucky. Just about the time I could no longer stomach being in a cubicle, my agency decided we needed laptops and wifi so we could work in the field when needed. I was ready to quit/retire anyway so one day I decided to make a hostile takeover of a relatively unused conference room. 12X18. Corner office. Window. Locking door. Giant table and chairs. I rewired my desk phone to ring in there, grabbed my laptop and mouse, and camped out in there for the day when I could no longer stand the women in adjacent cubies. And a funny thing happened....which was nothing! Nobody said a word. So I did it again the next day. When it came time for the weekly meeting the boss asked me if it they could disturb me. I said sure! Then I went right back to working. 7 years later at a training session one of the newer ladies scowled at me and said “I’d like a private office too!”. I said “well, you have to work here more than 5 minutes or so to get one” (I had 19 years in the job by then). Knowing what I know now, I should have made that move a decade sooner. But it got me 7 additional years in the company before I finally retired last December.

Yes, you are lucky. They could have sent you down to the basement where you could work alone, like they did Milton.