Anyone work for a startup?

[baydude]

What's it like in open seating work environments where you're next to your peers 8 hours a day? Does this really promote collaboration or does does it get annoying?

I've always worked at established companies and either had my own office or some cubicle in a corner away from my boss's direct visibility, I'd always leave early when I'm done with my work too as it's pretty common in the office, but does sitting in front of your peers and boss discourage you from leaving even 15 mins before 5pm?

 

[Markbnj]

I work for a startup, and they have an open seating arrangement, with trendy desks that go up and down, and a basketball hoop, ping-pong table, x-box, all the trappings.

Fortunately I don't work in that office. I work from home. Every time I am in that office it's like trying to work at a table in an airport bar during a busy travel season. When I am working at home and calling into that office it's like trying to talk with someone who is yelling into a mobile phone while elbowing through rush hour crowds in Grand Central Station.

Personally I think open office plans are horrible for software engineering. They take what was basically a startup necessity and turn it into some sort of virtue. I have no doubt they negatively effect productivity and quality of work.

 

[maddogchen]

you are never done with work at a startup. there will always be more work to do. so don't worry about being discouraged from leaving early because you will be too swamped to leave early.

 

[cbrunny]

I posted a thread a while back about giving up an office with a door for a cubicle... let me see if I can find it.....http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2449166

FWIW, I ended up staying at my bad office and it was easily the right call.

LOL just looking at the old poll results, 50/50 split on that one... Yikes.

 

[core2slow]

Whatever you do, dont take stock options as a form of compensation.

 

[Cal166]

The open office space gets kind of loud and annoying so most of the time I have my over-the-ear headphones. We have two employees who for some god reason talks really loud.

As for promoting collaboration, it's great for lunch and coffee breaks where the whole teams goes together.

 

[Tweak155]

I work in an open office space now... since the beginning of last year. I like it for collaboration reasons but sometimes it can get annoying. Overall I think the pros outweigh the cons.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

I work for a medium sized company with open office.

I'm a huge fan, really easy to collaborate. Can just turn around and ask senior engineers questions.

 

[Sonikku]

I hear start ups tend to work their people to the bone. 80 hour work weeks are not uncommon.

 

[Carson Dyle]

Whatever you do, dont take stock options as a form of compensation.

Unless ...

a) you know what you're doing and can honestly evaluate and predict the chances of success and the potential for profits and/or company valuation (unlikely)

and

b) you want to be very wealthy

 

[Carson Dyle]

I hear start ups tend to work their people to the bone. 80 hour work weeks are not uncommon.

And it can be a blast if you're young (or young at heart).

Life is about taking chances.

 

[smackababy]

I don't work at a start up, but we do have an open office concept. It isn't bad. We have tons of amenities (arcade cabinet, standing / sitting desks, free soda, massage day, flex hours) and it's fine. It is great communication and discussions about work, but it also tends to be just as bad when a few people are off topic and going on about Star Wars or flying around on one of those "hoverboards".

Since nobody really keeps hours, as long as you're here from like 10-3 every day, nobody cares about when you come and go. Granted, you're getting all your work done and getting in your hours for the week.

 

[JM Aggie08]

I work for a large corporation and we just adopted the open office environment. We've taken it further and use use hoteling; no one has an assigned seat, but a designated area of seats. All of the desks have the same exact setup, so no matter where you're sitting it's the same equipment.

I rather enjoy it, since I get to actually see and work with people. Old-timers can't grasp the concept of not having an assigned seat or office.

 

[JM Aggie08]

And it can be a blast if you're young (or young at heart).

Life is about taking chances.

Foooock that.

 

[Markbnj]

I'm a huge fan, really easy to collaborate. Can just turn around and ask senior engineers questions.

I can't stand them. Every time I try to focus on my work some wet-behind-the-ears young'un turns around and asks me a question.

 

[Stopsignhank]

I just found out that my sisters company is going to the open office concept. They seem to be taking it a step further in that there are no desks. They have tables and no assigned seating. You just show up one day and sit somewhere. The next day you may sit somewhere else. You have to keep all of your notebooks in your locker. Need something from a notebook? Go to your locker. They are a pretty large company and have many buildings. So it seems like it would be impossible to find someone who you are looking for. This type of set up is for everyone, engineers, managers, directors, VPs.

Seems pretty chaotic to me. How do you find the person you are looking for if they are in a different building? Seems like people will just stay home and if someone calls them and says they are looking for them they will just lie and say you are in a different building.

 

[Drako]

They are a pretty large company and have many buildings. So it seems like it would be impossible to find someone who you are looking for. This type of set up is for everyone, engineers, managers, directors, VPs.

LOL, I worked at a company like that a few years back.

There were never any conference rooms available for meetings because the managers, directors and upper management always had them booked. I left there after about 9 months of that shit - it caused a lot more issues than it solved.

 

[Imp]

I just found out that my sisters company is going to the open office concept. They seem to be taking it a step further in that there are no desks. They have tables and no assigned seating. You just show up one day and sit somewhere. The next day you may sit somewhere else. You have to keep all of your notebooks in your locker. Need something from a notebook? Go to your locker. They are a pretty large company and have many buildings. So it seems like it would be impossible to find someone who you are looking for. This type of set up is for everyone, engineers, managers, directors, VPs.

Excellent plan if you want to maximize disease transmission. Sick and sneezed all over your keyboard/mouse? Don't worry, you can do it at a different desk tomorrow.

 

[thesmokingman]

I just found out that my sisters company is going to the open office concept. They seem to be taking it a step further in that there are no desks. They have tables and no assigned seating. You just show up one day and sit somewhere. The next day you may sit somewhere else. You have to keep all of your notebooks in your locker. Need something from a notebook? Go to your locker. They are a pretty large company and have many buildings. So it seems like it would be impossible to find someone who you are looking for. This type of set up is for everyone, engineers, managers, directors, VPs.

Seems pretty chaotic to me. How do you find the person you are looking for if they are in a different building? Seems like people will just stay home and if someone calls them and says they are looking for them they will just lie and say you are in a different building.

lol that's how you treat interns.

 

[yllus]

Open concept has its pluses and minuses. It really does improve collaboration and communication, I do believe that. I even like the no assigned seat model, because there's nothing as efficient and high-achieving as a cross-functional team that sits together to get a project done.

The minuses include that it is indeed harder to concentrate and get deep into your own head to figure out some tough code, and without good hoteling stations there's nowhere to conduct the private calls that you inevitably need to take. On the whole I'm for open concept over cubicles, I think.

 

[LevelSea]

I work in a lab and have too much equipment (power supplies, scopes, breakout boxes, etc) to be swapping sitting areas. I've got a cubicle somewhere, but I think they using it for storage lol. I've got headphones if it gets too loud, but the majority of the time there are only 3 or 4 people working in here, and none of us are working on the same thing.

 

[Imp]

My guess is that the no-assigned seating thing eventually becomes "assigned" seating like a high school cafeteria -- by way of cliques. A previous job I worked at was nothing but cliques, and the average age there was probably around 40. Even with assigned seating, you'd get the people in the cliques hanging out at one another's desks in groups of 3 or 4.

 

[brianmanahan]

I work in an open office space now... since the beginning of last year. I like it for collaboration reasons but sometimes it can get annoying. Overall I think the pros outweigh the cons.

agreed, i prefer open office spaces because it makes working with other people a lot easier to just happen at any time.

i worked with my team for about 5 hours today, planning a new project's architecture.

 

[maddogchen]

my friend hates her work's open office space. the person that sits next to her reviews all the videos users upload to their company that are flagged for breaking their rules. that person's monitor is viewable by anybody sitting around that person. so my friend sees disgusting things whenever she looks that way. i can't imagine working while the person sitting next to you is watching isis beheading videos and other crap

 

[Printer Bandit]

my friend hates her work's open office space. the person that sits next to her reviews all the videos users upload to their company that are flagged for breaking their rules. that person's monitor is viewable by anybody sitting around that person. so my friend sees disgusting things whenever she looks that way. i can't imagine working while the person sitting next to you is watching isis beheading videos and other crap

reviewing flagged videos would be my dream job.

i get a hard on just thinking about it.