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Large Tech Companies Moving Beyond the Cubicle
statemachine writes in with a story from Silicon Valley about how Intel and Cisco, among other companies, are experimenting with cubeless, open, and unassigned seating. "Beginning this month, [Intel] will set up three experimental work sites. Open areas, comfortable armchairs, extra conference rooms and tables where people can plop down with laptops will replace the ubiquitous cubes that have been standard issue for decades. Each morning, Intel employees will log onto the corporate network using wireless connections. Their phone numbers will follow them. White boards that employees use to sketch out business plans and project strategies will be outfitted with electronics so drawings and plans can be transferred to laptops and e-mailed to colleagues. 'People feel much more comfortable coming up to me. It's more of a friendly atmosphere,' Cisco senior manager Ted Baumuller said. 'I hope I never have to go back to cubes.'"
central europa I personally think the cubicle system is nothing more than a sick joke. :-(
The company I work for recently had to move offices because it was not conformant to working laws anymore, every person hat about 5 times the space a single cubicle has
Over here normal offices with 2-3 people are the norm, cubicles would not even remotely adhere to the law, and when I see them I usually think on those chicken farms where chicken are in the boxes only to be in there to lay eggs.
There are plenty of writings about this - Wired did a piece years ago about BBWA Chiat Day in the US, there's the famous management course Oticon case study and recently I just read a nice book by Ricardo Semler. Normally the open plan offices translate into qualitative benefits in the company (people are happier, more collaborative, less secretive etc...).
It's odd to read the comments here along the lines of "Send me back to the server room, I can't stand the lights....", but I guess there's no pleasing some people.
29 mpg. YMMV.
While that part may be true, the worst part is that notebooks on laps or on conference tables are not ergonomically correct and really cannot be made to be correct without a bunch of equipment lying around (for example external keyboard and mouse, silly looking device to hold the machine with the screen in the right position, etc.). The way we are setup at my company (80,000 machines) - notebook users are issued port replicators with real monitors, actual ergo keyboards, real ergo mice, etc. Everyone also gets some training on how to best setup in a hotel room for the limited ergonomics you can get there.
While this "big open environment with nice chairs and conference tables" sounds nice and all - it will HURT people. Wrist, arm, neck, and shoulder problems will follow this around like crazy.
Oh, and like others in the thread have said: The company requires me to keep certain paperwork and some few receipts. Where do I put those?
will be forced to repeat it.
Behold exhibit A, TBWA Chiat/Day.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/7.02/chiat.html