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I'm a member of a small engineering department (25 engineers across several disciplines). For the last 5+ years we've been spread across several small offices between 2 buildings awaiting a remodel of one large office space.
The space is now complete and IT is wiring up our new desks. Dual large wide screens on fancy devices that allow work while sitting or standing. Solar powered wireless keyboards. Seemingly infinitely adjustable chairs. Pop-up 110v plugins and USB chargers on the desktop. Wireless charging pads. The space has a kitchen / dining area, a conference room and a recreation room where they tell us a pool table and foosball table will eventually live.
The downside is the office area is one big room with no walls (not even cubicles).
We're calling it "Gen Pop". 
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You must get scooters to move around in the office.
Everyone is born right handed. Only the strongest overcome it.
Fight for left-handed rights and hand equality.
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The CEO has a Tesla Model S.... Hmmm?
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I turned down a 6-figure job offer partly because of a similar seating arrangement. The room was huge and had six large round tables that sat 8 people each.
No way was I gonna work in that room. This other reason I turned it down was because they expected everyone to work at least 60 hours per work week.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote: six large round tables that sat 8 people each.
That sounds pretty awful. We'll have individual desks just no office (or cubicle) walls around them.
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John Simmons / outlaw programmer wrote: they expected everyone to work at least 60 hours per work week
Run away
At any interview, when asked if I have any questions: "How many hours per week do you work for your check?"
If they get uncomfortable - I expect it is more than 40.
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Mike Mullikin wrote: The downside is the office area is one big room with no walls (not even cubicles).
That seems like a huge distraction. Time to buy some noise cancelling headphones. Last time I sat around a table with 25 engineers... there was an obscene fusion of death metal, rap, beethoven and trance/electronic music leaking out from headphones.
Is there any benefit to having everyone sitting at the same table?
Best Wishes,
-David Delaune
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Randor wrote: Time to buy some noise cancelling headphones
I forgot to mention - the company is supplying Bose QC35II for all.
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I wish! Growing up near Chicago in the 60's I used to watch Bozo's Circus all the time. 
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Jealous, we didn't have it over here in Holland !
But to be honest that Bozo looks a bit like a horror clown to me 
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Growing up with Bozo on TV every day helped desensitize us to clown phobias. Not to mention, this was all well before "It". 
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I'm wondering how effective noise canceling headphones will be. I used to work in a machine room with heavy duty air conditioning. We had noise cancelling headphones available to us for extended visits. They were great at canceling out the noise from the a/c, and we could converse in a normal voice. Basically, anything without a repetitive waveform was passed through mostly unchanged. So if you're in an environment where people are talking to each other, I would expect that would come through as 'not noise'. But that was from 25 years ago, so maybe the parameters/algorithms for what is considered noise is much better now?
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Yeah, I own a pair of Bose QC25's and the noise cancelling part works great on airplanes to kill the engine noise. Its the music I play that quiets the voices of passengers.
I'm cautiously optimistic about headphones in the new office.
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k5054 wrote: I used to work in a machine room with heavy duty air conditioning.
Mmmmmmm, Yeah... Milton we're gonna need to go ahead and move you downstairs into storage room B. We have some new people coming in, and we need all the space we can get. So if you could just go ahead and pack up your stuff and move it down there, that would be terrific, OK?
Best Wishes,
-David Delaune
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The wife purchased those headphones to watch stuff on the computer (we life in a 1 room apartment in Singapore) they seem to have migrated to work where I sit on a bench with many others. They are excellent.
I am living JSOPs nightmare environment.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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It's supposed to encourage "collaberation" (think of David Henning saying Magic)
Any self respecting person would hate it hence why it is popular with the millennials.
I have a near 3 foot tall stack of books on the corner of my desk to create some visual interference with the rest of the room, and I always wear my headphones even if I'm not listening to anything.
Give me back my damn walls!
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The seating arrangement that you describe comes in different flavors but its main purpose is to "foster collaboration". I used to work at a Goldman Sachs sister company, and that is how they did it. Very weird at first, but it works.
Many software companies do this now, Google, etc.
It works. You would think everyone would be talking all day and no work would get done, but the opposite to this is true.
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Mike Mullikin wrote: one big room with no walls (not even cubicles)
Hopefully the office culture will organically enforce a quiet work environment. Private phone calls will need to be very brief or will need to be conducted away from your desk.
/ravi
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So the ongoing nightmare of whitespace continues?
The horror, the horror, the horror ...
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If you are of an age, then you'll remember Les Nesman making his own door... 'nuff said.
And for the USB charging ports? Depending upon your device, they may not work... be prepared to have your charging block and plug it into a regular outlet.
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That was such a good show!
/ravi
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Good luck sounds like you can't fart without everyone hearing it.I guess there's some value in getting a warning, assuming sound travels faster than smell.Not worrying abpout doppler phenomena.
CQ de W5ALT
Walt Fair, Jr., P. E.
Comport Computing
Specializing in Technical Engineering Software
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