Open layout vs closed layout? Something in between? What's the ideal office layout?

Comments

[Trent Harvey]

Closed or something in between. Open layouts tend to be loud and littered with distractions. They yield no privacy for the person to separate themselves from what's going on and just focus on solving a problem and getting things done.

Something in between can be a nice compromise so that you don't end up with everyone in an endless maze of totally private offices. Something with high walls that mostly encompasses the person into small work groups but easy enough to navigate if you want to step over and look at something with a co-worker.

Ideally, this would be coupled with adequate "common" space that's open and casual to allow for informal meetings and discussions in small groups but isn't the primary working space for people. Informal doesn't mean strictly business either. It should be comfortable enough space that people can take breaks and come lounge and shoot the breeze with co-workers. Conference rooms should only be needed for more formal presentations and private discussions which require phone, projection, or whiteboards for drawing things out.

[Yokim Pillay]

Yeah, I'm in an open office, and it's a nightmare 99% of the time.

The 1% is when I'm the only one in the office. 😅

[Andrew Lucker]

Polar layout. Pay people to move as geographically far apart as possible.

[Martin Himmel]

Remote - no need for an office that requires a commute (read: waste of time) and the overhead costs of having an office. Okay, now that that's out of the way... 😁

As an introvert, I can't stand open offices. Where I currently work is an open office layout. I've staked claim to a corner in the lounge area - it's still open, but it's a smaller area and far enough away from everyone to avoid most of the random interruptions.

It's also my experience that the higher ups, who generally dictate the open office idea, end up with private offices away from the masses. This reeks of hypocrisy.

An ideal (other than remote) would be somewhere in between - a hybrid layout. Have gathering spaces large enough for a single team (not open to the entire company) and have plenty of individual space. Teams can gather as needed, people have a smaller common area if they prefer it, or they can duck out when they need solitude.

[Dave Cridland]

I like a desk in one corner, and an old armchair my dogs sleep on in the other. The video camera sits on top of one of the monitors, and points past me to the blank wall - useful for video calls with clients. I like to face a window, personally.

Or were you talking about actual offices? Where everyone has to work in the same room, distracting each other and wasting their day - and their money - travelling in just to do something they're perfectly well able to do from their office at home?

You're surely not that daft, are you?

[rhymes]

I've yet to encounter a single developer narrating the wonders of the open space and the interruptions. I think open layout works for a small unit. Like 5 people in an office with open layout but inside a room with a closed door. One of my clients has literally 50 or so people in the same open space and it's ridiculous, they all wear headphones to try to get isolation. But this way the company saves money on office space...

These big open spaces are one of the many reasons why I remote work

[Jen]

Depends on the team. Currently working in an open layout (every desk is hotdesked 🙃), it's pretty easy to get tapped on the shoulder. If I have my headphones in (busy mode) I try to ignore people unless they invade my personal space (waving hand in front of display/ poking) where I physically cannot ignore them. Often when a couple of people are collaborating at someones desk, there's just not enough space so I have to move up and invade someone else's space.

The company I used to work at had a giant office, with pretty big desks so you had a sense of personal space. All the devs were sat together and slacked first if someone looked busy. Or even not busy. We were all pretty introverted lol. I tend to communicate better over message too, I get a little panicked and stumble on a bunch of words when trying to explain something. :S

[Jaymie Rosen]

Open layout! 💯
I currently work in a cubicle (very old-school corporate environment), and while at times I like it because it gives me some privacy, sometimes I find it hard to communicate with my other team members. I feel very closed off from everyone else. I prefer having a lot of natural light coming in (I have these awful fluorescent lights above me), a larger amount of desk space, and the ability to easily chat with my team members if I need to. There are definitely issues with open layouts too, like having little to no privacy, being easily distracted, etc., but if I had to choose, I'd pick an open layout almost always.

[Gabriel Guzman]

I think the key is flexibility. Personally, I like to have some quiet space w/out distractions to get work done, my ideal space at work would be a private office. But that's not for everyone, some of my teammates much prefer being out in the open with everyone around so they can hear what other people are working on and get conversations going about different things. I've worked a few places where they have a mix of both, you can sit out in the open if you want, or you can book a small (one person) room to take over for the day, as well as the opportunity to work from home when you want. I find that system works the best for the most number of people. Let them choose what works best for them.

[Ben Greenberg]

Something in between works best for me. Right now, I'm in a totally open environment with neighbors who play radio music and are on the phone all day. It's either put headphones on, which I can't tolerate on my head for hours at a time, or try and ignore them, which doesn't work if I really need to focus. I'd really prefer remote, but not every company's culture has caught up to that yet and if a company is not "remote-first" then as a remote worker you might end up getting left behind.

[Chris Raser]

The best work setup I've had was a huge, sturdy desk with capacious drawers, with my back to a wall, in what was otherwise an open office plan. Didn't hurt that we could open the windows, and were close enough to the ocean that we could smell the salt air on a nice day ;)