Cubicle, oh cubicle, how I miss thee ...

[Yarnstormer]

Doesn’t it seem ironic that everyone is looking for adhd meds - and yet people are expected to in such distracting environments?! I really can’t work in a room with other people unless I wear earplugs or earbuds

 

[athena53]

Wow! Two bodies per hotel ROOM, not suite??

Yuck! Haven't done that for w*rk since grad school...

That would be a dealbreaker for me. I liked many of the people with whom I worked, but not THAT much- male or female!

 

[FreeBear]

This thread reminds me of one of the advantages to being self-employed: being able to create your own office space. I converted the master bedroom in my house into an office; I use one of the smaller rooms as a bedroom. This gives me an executive washroom - ooh la la. If I had a wife, she would probably strongly object to my priorities regarding the utilization of space in the house, which is one of the advantages to being single.

Some insight here. I have a DW and the master bedroom IS her office, complete with a sunny window and an executive washroom. My office is in the basement, just like the stapler guy in Office Space.

Can't complain though, we both are FIRE'd and now we do whatever we like in our home offices.

 

[Souschef]

When we bought our home., we got 2 semi triangular computer desks for our office. We are back to back at about a 90 degree angle. That way neither monitor is a distraction to the other person.
If need be, one or both of us put our headphones on.
Life is good

 

[socca]

Some insight here. I have a DW and the master bedroom IS her office, complete with a sunny window and an executive washroom. My office is in the basement, just like the stapler guy in Office Space.

Future wife: "I'm taking over the master bedroom as my office. You can move your crap into the basement."

Me: "There is no basement."

Future wife: "Dig one."

 

[CaptTom]

Wow! Two bodies per hotel ROOM, not suite??

Yuck! Haven't done that for w*rk since grad school...

I've done volunteer work that involved travel paid for by Uncle Sam. Same deal, IF you're lucky enough to be put up in a hotel instead of a barracks.

 

[NW-Bound]

Wow! Two bodies per hotel ROOM, not suite??

Yuck! Haven't done that for w*rk since grad school...

That would be a dealbreaker for me. I liked many of the people with whom I worked, but not THAT much- male or female!

I did like that much a female and young engineer at megacorp, but she was in a different department. Never a chance of sharing a hotel room anyway.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Does productivity really improve when you plop a lone gorgeous female engineer into an open floor plan with 19 male engineers? Call me skeptical.

This thread reminds me of one of the advantages to being self-employed: being able to create your own office space. I converted the master bedroom in my house into an office; I use one of the smaller rooms as a bedroom. This gives me an executive washroom - ooh la la. If I had a wife, she would probably strongly object to my priorities regarding the utilization of space in the house, which is one of the advantages to being single.

Ah, the home office! We have two areas that could be called "office" like, one upstairs that is off the LR. This is where our primary desktop (with two large monitors) is. The view is great as the large desk/table is catty corner to two large picture windows. In our furnished basement, we have a "proper office" where the DW can w*rk when she chooses to stay home. It's quite nice there, too...quiet and comfortable. The best part? No annoying people to bother us!

 

[kgtest]

Until recently my workplace at a large company was a sea of cubicles. But they were pretty nice; 10 x 10 feet with privacy (tall walls) and autonomy; I filled mine with my photos (big hobby). And the overall layout was good in terms of team collaboration ... but we all had our own sacred domains. I'm an electronics hardware engineer, so my cube was also my lab, with microscope, soldering station, network analyzer, oscilloscopes, power supplies, components, wires ... which equals "home" for me.

Then some very senior manager got the open floor plan bug. Now we all sit in 7 x 7 foot stalls, with low partitions, ending any semblance of privacy. The place looks like an Ikea showroom. And the distractions of overheard conversations, people walking by, and the sense that the guy behind you is looking at your monitor, is the pits. Not enough room for my gear, so we use a communal lab area, much less convenient. I'm the most senior engineer in the company but my work space is now the same as a call center employee's.

THE GOOD NEWS: Next week is my last. At age 61 I'm out of there as of January 2. Given the above, it's just in time! Adios!!

We just had a sr guy quit, the day he was to move into his smaller, lesser cubicle. It does send some people packing.

I always ask in the interview if I can see the spaces I will work and collaborate in, if they don't show me, I thank them for their time.

 

[kgtest]

Mega moved us into a wide open table space, that was collaborative. The next day everyone came in with the biggest head phones we've ever worn. So much for collaboration. Eventually moved back to cubes, and I ended up with a view.

 

[MRG]

That would be a dealbreaker for me. I liked many of the people with whom I worked, but not THAT much- male or female!

I traveled with some folks from a local area bank, 1990, they were 2x to a room. You only had to share with same sex others. Obviously that plan could have issues. I don't know if that's still their policy.

 

[braumeister]

At the last place I was employed, nearly everyone I worked with had a CD player on their desk and wore headphones all day. Sometimes we turned the CD player on, but mainly we wore the headphones to block out the sound from all the others in adjoining cubes.

But one of the most interesting situations was my very first job in the military.
My office was literally inside the computer. It was the (physically) largest computer ever built (all vacuum tubes) and took up an entire floor of the building. Unfortunately, my office was in a corner right next to an enormous line printer and when they ran reports on it you had to really speak up to make yourself heard across the room.

 

[MRG]

At the last place I was employed, nearly everyone I worked with had a CD player on their desk and wore headphones all day. Sometimes we turned the CD player on, but mainly we wore the headphones to block out the sound from all the others in adjoining cubes.

But one of the most interesting situations was my very first job in the military.
My office was literally inside the computer. It was the (physically) largest computer ever built (all vacuum tubes) and took up an entire floor of the building. Unfortunately, my office was in a corner right next to an enormous line printer and when they ran reports on it you had to really speak up to make yourself heard across the room.

I often wore the foam rubber ear plugs. For a couple years I'd cover them with shooting muffs. Didn't hurt they had a prominent S&W emblem on them.

Cool story about the system.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

Very interesting reading about experiences of the engineering types. I've been gone almost 30 years now and still miss it in some ways. My wife never lets me forget it. We recently moved and wife wanted some wall shelving in her sewing room to display some of her goodies. Now that I'm somewhat handicapped, we have to hire most things, like shelving, out to a handy man.
Rather than rely on verbally instructing him on how I wanted this done, I made an "engineering drawing" on an 8x11 sheet of paper, with dimensions, and specifics on which corner of the room to begin laying it out. When we met to go over the layout he looked at the drawing as if he had never seen anything that detailed. The look on his face was odd. He said, "why didn't you just tell me what you wanted?". Not knowing his skill level, I said "I thought this might be an easier way of describing the job details". He said, "I know what you want and I can do that, but this drawing is way to complicated". My wife then chimed in and said, "see, I told you". She was right again. It was kind of like me getting back into the old days. Had to get involved. PS: The shelves look great.

 

[Ronstar]

^ you done right by making the drawing, JOHNNIE. You could have told the guy what you wanted, but who knows if he would have understood or followed your directions. Your drawing is documented evidence of what you want. A picture is worth a thousand words.

 

[MooreBonds]

Then some very senior manager got the open floor plan bug. Now we all sit in 7 x 7 foot stalls, with low partitions, ending any semblance of privacy. The place looks like an Ikea showroom. And the distractions of overheard conversations, people walking by, and the sense that the guy behind you is looking at your monitor, is the pits. Not enough room for my gear, so we use a communal lab area, much less convenient. I'm the most senior engineer in the company but my work space is now the same as a call center employee's.

THE GOOD NEWS: Next week is my last. At age 61 I'm out of there as of January 2. Given the above, it's just in time! Adios!!

Does the person in the cubicle behind you know you are retiring? Why not create some interesting stories for the office cube farm by surfing on some interesting websites before you go? See if they are looking over your shoulder....

 

[Scuba]

^ you done right by making the drawing, JOHNNIE. You could have told the guy what you wanted, but who knows if he would have understood or followed your directions. Your drawing is documented evidence of what you want. A picture is worth a thousand words.

+1