Re: I work...

[talexb]

Well, not quite 'shoulder to shoulder' .. we sit in pods that hold five people, in an open concept office. No one, all the way up to the CEO and CFO, has an office -- we all sit in pods, and it works -- it means you can go up and ask someone a question without having to go through the formality of knocking on a door and then opening it.

Of course, we use E-Mail and MSN as well, but sometimes you need some face time with someone for a thorough discussion or explanation. It's not for everyone, but I like it, a lot.

[apl]

I've worked in a semi-private office, a pod, and a cube. Just before Bear, Stearns spontaneously combusted, they had us working on long tables, 15 programmers at a table with nothing but a PC in fron of us, and a rollable three-drawer cabinet between us.

Another row was parallel to ours (with a programmer immediately opposite us), with four such pairs of rows duplicated three times on our floor. It was the closest I've ever been to being a literal cog in the machine.

Hence my including "shoulder to shoulder". 8-)

[gwadej]

I worked in a similar layout in a large financial institution.

When people asked me what my work environment was like, I used to say that things would be a little better if the next guy in line would stop thinking so loud.

I much prefer a quieter environment.