Item — HN Reader

This fascinates me. I find open-plan offices really hard to work in. Meanwhile—perhaps surprisingly—my favorite places to work are coffee houses or college libraries. I'm surrounded by strangers, but their anonymous presence starves off the feelings of loneliness that I can get working from home.

I think the difference between a public place and an office is that it's really unlikely for any of those strangers outside of an office to interrupt your work. In an open office, every conversation and set of footsteps feels like a potential disruption.

6 comments

> I think the difference between a public place and an office is that it's really unlikely for any of those strangers outside of an office to interrupt your work.

Yes, I think this is the difference. The noise around you becomes background/white noise.

But honestly, I don't know how you can work in these areas. Doesn't it prevent you from making phone and conference calls? Assuming yes, maybe that's another reason you can become more productive.

I'd agree. Back when I was working on campus (now, mercifully, purely remotely), I'd sometimes head off to the main coffee joint instead of the completely open-plan office. Whilst it was hardly any quieter, it somehow worked much better for me, probably just as you describe.

For my part, I avoid phones anyway - which seems more commonplace than I'd imagine, amongst other technically-minded sorts.

IMO it really depends on how open they are, and what your company/team size is.

I love open cube "bullpens" for a team of 4-5 people working on a shared goal, but a completely open office where anyone can disturb you has given me issues in the past.

For me I think that is very close to the sweet-spot. Both for number of people I can put up with working in the same room with* and conveniently the size of a team which I find work best together.

* Exaggerated a little, I'd probably drive myself nuts in an office alone.

Agreed. I am working in an open-plan area right now and it is deeply & subtly uncomfortable in all sorts of ways.

I'll put a finer point on it: in a coffee shop, you're guaranteed that zero of the conversations will require your attention. In an open-plan office, almost all of them will concern you even if you don't have anything direct to contribute. By this relationship, all voices in an open-plan will steal your attention.

>> Meanwhile—perhaps surprisingly—my favorite places to work are coffee houses or college libraries.

Totally agree, on days when I WFH, I drive my wife a bit crazy in that I like the TV on, yet get a bit perturbed if she interrupts with something not too important. :) The TV eases the pain of silence and does not require me to answer it. At work, there are at least a dozen direct potential possibilities for someone to interrupt me at any moment.

That is an interesting dichotomy that could use further study.