Re: On Creating an Effective Work Environment

[Abigail-II]

in reply to Re: On Creating an Effective Work Environment
in thread On Creating an Effective Work Environment

I was about to write something similar to your post. I've seen quite some replies that suggested one uniform environment. Silly, because people are different. While some people prefer a big "office garden", others prefer offices. I would hate working in an "office garden", a large open area. I really dislike it when people watch over my shoulder - and such an open area would make me all itchy. I rather prefer cubicles over a big open area. But in my opinion, offices are best. Meeting rooms of various sizes are good too. Some people say the less meetings, the better, but I disagree. Sometimes, things need to be discussed, designed or reviewed, and you need space for that.

Grouping your coders (by personality type) in pairs in offices with windows and doors like they do often in academia,

I'm currently working in a place where everyone has an office. Most offices are shared between two people. Over the weekend, we have a large (internal) move, and starting on Monday I'll share a good sized office with one person, with a window overlooking a train station.

Abigail

[Anonymous Monk]

I agree. And to emphasize just how strong personal preferences can be, I find my productivity nearly triples when I have a window. Especially if I can look out at something and just stare for a few minutes a couple of times a day. A train station sounds absolutely perfect.

In my current position I share an office with three others who *always* bounce in and out, up and down. Fortunately we have flex hours, so I've started working 12-9 to minimize overlap, so I can get some *real* work done.