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Improving Productivity (With Science)
An anonymous reader writes "It's common knowledge that multiple monitors increase productivity, but there isn't actually any research to support that assertion. However, studies have shown that there are a few simple tweaks to the work environment that do increase productivity. Among them: use high temperature light sources and keep office plants."
I'm pretty sure I would get fired for running a grow house in my office.
The only surefire protection against Microsoft infections is abstinence. - The Onion
Make sure the office plant has a comfortable chair in his cubicle.
Multiple monitors make it easier to appear productive with less effort.
Did they just give up on the idea of a window for actual sun-light?
#1 improvement to productivity) Closing Slashdot!
Not everything can or has to be proven with research. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, claiming a second monitor helps is hardly extraordinary.
I never got this two monitor thing.
When I started working here, they gave me a machine with two monitors, and after some months I asked to stay with just one.
Alt-tab is faster than turning my neck and re-focusing my eyes.
factor 966971: 966971
I actually bought that exact chair as mentioned in the article, with the additional $200 chrome upgrade, about 4 years ago, it was awesome for the first few years, and then I had a huge problem with lower back pain. I went to the doc, tried stretching, muscle relaxers, massages, sleeping differently, it turns out it was the chair, after switching to a $39 Ikea chair http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70133761 my back pain finally went away after a few weeks and has been awesome since. I tried switching back to the Aeron a year ago for a month, but my back started hurting again soon after. The point of my story is just because a chair is expensive or has many adjustments does not mean its the best for you, and you may very well find a very comfortable chair for a lot less.
I used to have a co-worker who kept (in his cubicle) three puppies in tight sweaters.
Never heard of keeping chickens in the office before. Sounds messy. Oh, that must be what the tight shorts are for...
Some googling turned up a description of 3 studies (the fourth actually doesn't look at dual monitors) http://www.kevinkane.com/2010/12/4-studies-which-show-that-using-a-second-monitor-can-boost-productivity/ Maybe not high quality research, but they all show an increase in productivity due to a second monitor
The single biggest line item on my (and probably many people's) productivity costs is interruptions of the form, "hey, I need to answer a question that takes more than a goldfish brain's worth of thought. I'd like you to do that thinking for me."
The second would be, "As my work product, I took a big dump into our codebase. Given that I don't care about anything but going home at 5, and none of our leadership understands what I did anyway, especially since I have two monitors and therefore look smart, why don't you clean it up for me if you are interested in finishing your own work?"
I'd settle for just dumping some dead weight instead of any new technology. Really.
It was an ag school, so it made a little bit of sense. I think the RA just pretended not to notice that we were hiding them whenever he came by.
I read the article and bought a new plasma furnace for the desk but it really gives my monitor a warped and melted look.
Just Use KDE or Gnome, Both have a window manager that will allow screen switching.
I would hazard a guess this article was written without the consultation of someone with facility management experience. Medium socket bulbs aren't often used for primary lighting in a work environment. HVAC has many ramifications and complications besides possible productivity effects. Nice views and indoor green spaces have all sorts of costs and considerations that may or may not work out.
I find that arguments for increased productivity are usually used to rationalize the purchase of some new expensive hi tech toy. And then subsequently used to raise expectations from the workers without increasing costs to the company (do more work in less time without a raise).
"The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well."
Multiple monitors may increase productivity, but I'd be willing to bet it would be easier to prove that they reduce paper and toner expense. How many people stop printing wedges of dead tree if they can have more than one document readable at a time?
Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/news/features/vibe.aspx
The article is utter garbage.
possibly, the most productive workers are rewarded with an extra monitor.
wow, you guy were awesome.
the RA was probably avoiding your dorky asses.
Yes, and your point is?
If you're running your own show, increased productivity means you can spend more of your time doing fun stuff, and less doing grunt work.
If someone else is paying you, increased productivity means that for a small expenditure, they can make more money.
What's not to like?
All ideas^H^H^H^H^Hprocesses in this post are Patent Pending. (as well as the process of patenting all postings)
Rather than the ultra-megawide screen setup that 2 monitors provide, I own a large 26" monitor (and am planning to get a 30" in the future when I can afford it). You get great height (good for coding), decent width, a unified desktop so that you don't have a big black bar down the middle (the space between the monitors!), and a bigger screen for watching movies from a more comfy chair.
Why OpalCalc is the best Windows calc
I wish they had done some studies about the effects of music on productivity. I have some of those very nice Bose headphones and by far my most productive hours are spent wearing them.
Any music that I am able to "zone out" to will do, classical, jazz, techno - usually long tracks with many subtle transitions.
Granted I am a programmer, and listening to music while working is perfectly reasonable while it may be totally unacceptable for others.
while [ 1 ]; do echo -n -e "\xe2\x95\xb$((($RANDOM&1)+1))"; done
I think they got it backwards, keeping a plant alive is only possible by people who are productive (hence my plant died, and I am posting to slashdot...)
But robots can do it much faster and cheaper. That's how productivity is measured. Doesn't matter what the goal is, or that there is one.
For justice, we must go to Don Corleone
I happen to have 2 big ass monitors at work. Running Windows... At home I have a not so big ass single monitor that displays an Ubuntu desktop. I am vastly more productive at home. And that's thanks to the proper multiple desktop implementation that's simply not possible on Windows. It allows me to swap between virtual desktops much faster than I ever could move my eye/head to the second monitor in a dual monitor setup. And it gives me much more virtual desktops (I prefer 4) and much more overview thanks to transparent windows and the transparent Compiz cube. Add to that that a desktop spread over multiple monitors is simply too wide to be ergonomical.
So if a dual monitor setup increases productivity I'm pretty sure that's only on Windows and it's only as a compensation for Windows' braindead desktop implementation. Thank you very much.
0x or or snor perron?!
The rest of us get to use Linux...
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
My office is down in the basement, in a room full of routers and firewalls and other random gear we're testing. We finally scrounged up some spare sound-baffle stuff so it's a bit quieter.
Occasionally we get surveys from the Corporate Real Estate Droids about how well they're supporting us. They do ask what floor we're on, and for our building the choices are "1-6". Ummm, no, we're on floor 0 here.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Single big CRT at work, two big Sony Trinatrons at home, X windows on both. The single screen and multiple desktops get the jobs done with the ability to only have related task on each desktop. The two screens let me run WoW on one and web browser etc on the other with multiple independent desktops on each monitor (Enlightenment E17) - so I can switch desktops on the right screen while the WoW window stays put on the left. :)
That makes it one screen better for work and two better for play. I'm still getting my head around the desktop switching being independent on each monitor on the home computer but it is useful.
I'm using CRTs because there's a big difference between the best CRTs you can find and a cheap LCD. I'll be on CRT until there are decent 1600x1200 or better LCD screens at sane prices. It also gets completely around the "you IT guys save the best stuff for yourself" argument that can come out every time somebody wants an upgrade
I was subjected to monitors and plants in a NASA computer controlled operating system. The building was remote from the machinery it controlled. One problem made itself evident soon after the building was finished, there was no fresh air intake for the building. This led to high levels of CO2 that put people in a very drowsy state. NASA's recommendation required plants that scavenged excess CO2, plants were potted in a hydroponic system, activated clay with water and nutrients. After about six months the plants died and they were removed. Nothing more was said about the experiment. The conclusion recommended an air intake be cut into the building wall to allow a complete air exchange.
As for the monitors, the central control building monitored four separate systems;
an electrical system distribution and
a lab-wide piping system that controlled and monitored the status of valves for compressed air at various pressures and valves for altitude exhaust used by test cells requiring specific psfa and flow rates. These two watch stations utilized four monitors each. The other two stations monitored and controlled two separate air service equipment buildings, also having four monitors each. The first two stations were manned by one person each and the two equipment service building stations were manned by two people each due to the complexity of services offered.
The electrical distribution and valve control stations were most active prior to service operations and then became static (only monitored conditions, unless more services were added, then became static again). On the other hand, the two air services stations were dynamic, conditions changed as flows and temperatures changed. The issue then became one of data real estate. each operator had two monitors watching up to four, five or six different systems (compressors, exhausters, cooling water, refrigeration, hydraulics, lubrication, turbo-expanders), requiring a constant flipping between data pages on two monitors for each operator. This does become tedious.
So, where am I going with this?
One side of the control building had four monitors per person watching a basically static system whereas, the other side had two monitors per person watching several dynamically active systems, two data pages at a time, with constant flipping through the other data pages. A better system would have more monitors (six or eight monitors per operator) for the dynamic systems and fewer monitors for the static systems. Personally, I wouldn't change the number of monitors for the static systems, but would increase substantially, the number of monitors for the dynamic systems. Contrary to popular belief, the eye is quicker than the hand. The hand is only quicker when misdirection is involved.
The mind conceives, the body achieves, the spirit manifests.
The bluest blue sky is about 15000K, so 17000K, is more blue than anything naturally occurring, and this is more productive?
Weird....
They talk about improving concentration yet they recommend flickery distracting fluorescent lights? Not a source I'd go to for reliable advice on productivity.
I do like plants in the office though.
TO BUY A NEW CAR WOULD MAKE YOU SEXUALLY ATTRACTIVE.
Since no one (above a score of 3 at least, which is what I'm reading at right now) has mentioned this, I will.
It's high COLOR temperature lights - completely different from high temperature. It means bluer lights, more like sunlight, instead of more yellow/orange lights like tungsten lamps. It does not mean hotter lights.
For reference, if you're not familiar with color temperature: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_temperature