Randall Schulz
Jul 30, 2017 · 2 min read

I gather this is a minority opinion, but…

I have worked for 4 decades in software, the first few years in academia (as an undergraduate but paid to write code and operate systems) the rest in commercial software development. The job I have now and have for nearly 7 years is my first at a company with open-plan seating (for every single employee, even the C-level executives).

I cannot see the problem. As someone approaching 60 years of age, I should be the one more distracted by environmental factors (it’s pretty well established older people do not tolerate potentially distracting environmental stimuli as well as younger people do), but I do not find this to be the case with our open-plan office.

I do work one day each week from home, but mostly because it makes more time available for work by eliminating the commute.

Nor do I find anyone I work with expressing discontent with working in our office due to its open-plan seating. We have plenty of things to complain about, but this is not one of them.

Frankly, the large-screen monitor that happens to be both close to my desk and within my visual field, even when I’m looking at one of my monitors, is more distracting than the acoustic environment or the incidence of interruptions from coworkers.

On the other hand, the very rich exchange of information and the fact that I can be aware of issues arising within my team and contribute as appropriate whereas otherwise I might be unaware of things that transpire through the day.

Perhaps it’s that my current employer is a “cloud” computing provider and not a “shrink-wrap” software vendor. We’re also a so-called dev-ops shop and that means all developers are effectively (if not formally and literally) on-call all the time. We’re all expected to contribute as needed and able in order to address the ever unfolding status of our fairly complex service.

Lastly, we do have quiet rooms with desks and doors in which the only rule is silence. I rarely seem them used. We also have privacy booths used when people need to make phone calls that they don’t want overheard.

My bottom line is that I’m perfectly happy in an open-plan office and think that were I shut away in an office alone or with one or two others, my overall contribution would be diminished.

    Randall Schulz

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