Open Plan Office - good idea or big mistake?

[PanamaPattie]

My employer (NHS) has made the decision to take down walls and make our office space open plan. Over 100 people will be sharing. Hot desks and lockers will replace the current arrangement of individual desks and drawers.

I don't like this idea at all - I imagine fighting over desks, lack of privacy, heat (we're losing the air con), noise, no eating or drinking at desks.

It sounds like utter misery.

AIBU?

[PixiKitKat]

Depending on my location im either in s office with a few others or a large open plan office.

I much prefer the small office, someone in the open plan has a phone that rings really loudly! It's also quite loud there and I'm wary of people walking and standing chatting behind me as I work on some sensitive stuff and feel like I can't do that work there :(

[YeOldeTrout]

ps: forgot to say, all those items in laptop bag, don't fit in same pocket, so lots of unzipping different pockets & digging down to get to items in each. Reverse precise placement into laptop bag at end of day so I can find stuff easily when we go to meetings.

I like the my job well enough, to be clear, I just do not like the locker-hotdesk system much.

[YeOldeTrout]

what takes people so long to set up/pack up?

How set up goes for me:

Arrive to desk, put down my handbag and any foods I want at desk

Work clock starts.

Brisk Walk 70' to locker, take lanyard off b/c key is on it & key stays in locker when unlocked, unlock locker
Pause before opening to make sure coin doesn't fall out of locker to ground (falls out if open too quickly)
Extract:
barely fits inside laptop bag so must twist to get out, tea mug, pot of pencils, 2 teabags, back cushion, any snack things in locker I'd like to eat today
Stack all those up on windowsill 10' away until all there & ready to carry back
relock locker with coin, take key out, lanyard back on neck
Pick stuff up on windowsill, brisk walk back to desk
Take laptop out of bag, take notebook & pens out of laptop bag
Take my computer spectacles & headphones out of bag
Open laptop, place behind keyboard onto desk, plug into USB link to dock, turn on laptop
Arrange on desk: mouse, keyboard cords, specs, headphones, desk phone, tea mug, back cushion, ipod or phone if desired, pen pot, snacks.
Carefully get cords arranged on desk so untangled, & none overlap with mouse trackpad.
Laptop bag arranged under desk with my handbag on it and any spare bags or clothing that I want ; try not to place my feet on them & make sure they aren't in anyone else's foot space.

Laptop Charger will need extracting/plugging/cord arranged from bag, too, at some point in the day.

Arrange desk chair & monitor heights to preference & good DSE regs (typically not required daily, but could be, if I didn't always get in early).

I am supposed/allowed to have TWO pairs of headphones on desk, both with long cords; one pr is my own, works for music but not telecons & one work pair only functions for telecons. I can't be asked; the work headphones stay in the locker. Else they would need plugging in & arranging too. There is a work webcam I am supposed to put on a monitor every day, too (I also leave that in locker).

Time to Ctrl-Alt-Del & logon.

Doesn't take a mere 10 seconds.

Each desk space is about 1.6 m wide, I guess, maybe 1m deep? I must measure & report back.

[Applesbananaspears]

I’ve never worked anywhere which isn’t open plan. We open plan and hotdesk, our office is pretty quiet and if I need extra quiet I put my headphones in.

[ScreamingValenta]

Yura Not all hot-desk environments have laptop workers. They have PCs which, due to the hot-desking, have dozens of profiles clogging them up, so it can take 5 - 10 minutes just to boot one up and get logged into it.

[Yura]

Just out of interest, what takes people so long to set up/pack up?
plug laptop in docking station/unplug is 10 seconds. getting folder out on desk about the same. (all offices i’ve ever worked in had clean desk policy anyway -keeps clutter at bay)

[motheroftinydragons]

I hate open plan offices but then I've only worked in an office where it was really badly executed. I worked dealing with the vulnerable/defrauded/severe complainants/etc etc and was in a mid-senior position. My team were sat next to the sales team, who spent the entire day whooping and hollering when they made a sale selling the very product I often had someone on the end of the phone in tears about. It wasn't good. I requested a move many times but was told the sales team were doing a good job making money for the business so basically tough. I wasn't to 'kill their vibe' by asking them to pipe down.

I also needed to get my head down to run investigations and write reports and letters for 75% of my day. Not easy when you're in constant hullabaloo.

Also no headphones were allowed.

I work for myself now, from home in my office. Bliss.

I am somewhat of an introvert though, perhaps that's why I struggled so much.

[YeOldeTrout]

And packing down at night. I guess it's only 8-10 minutes combined or so for both setup/pack down, since locker only 70 feet away. Still stupid waste of time. If I'm paid £18/hour that's only £15/week cost to employer right? * 50 in office on a typical day, so £750/week in lost productivity.

We have a coat area where I can leave my work/outdoor shoes, jacket & hat, at least.

[BestIsWest]

In 35 years I’ve never worked anywhere that isn’t open plan. Surely it’s the norm?

We once moved into brand new premises and were banned from eating at desks. We all protested like mad but in fact I loved it. It was really nice to be get way from desks and interact a bit with colleagues.

[DontCallMeCharlotte]

I don't mind open plan at all but I really don't understand the point of hotdesking, unless it's a shift-based organisation I suppose?

What happens if everyone's in and there aren't enough desks? And how much time is wasted setting up every morning?

[HolyForkingShirt]

I hate open plan. Can't concentrate because people are always on calls and won't use meeting rooms, temperature always too cold for me, office only has 1 row of windows. Someone always sniffling or tapping or has their phone going off.

[echt]

I wonder has there been a study that shows the correlation between those proposing open plan offices who actually have private rooms.

[Fjosen]

I can't stand open offices, when my last job converted to open plan offices, I ended up looking for a job where I could work from home.
They work for a lot of people but urgh not for me, I couldn't work in them even with noise cancelling headphones on.

[YeOldeTrout]

I did open-plan hotdesking that was fine, using desktop computers, not huge number of colleagues, very quiet, personal & work items stored within reach.

I mostly cope now, but... Am stressed out by huge maze of cables on the desktop, lack of space on/near/below desk for either work OR personal items, too small lockers (many people have 2 lockers), wasted time setting up/breaking down workstation each day & loud background trying to use phone, especially IT support (only available over phone). Feeling like a nuisance to the people seated next to lockers every time I go to my locker.

No desktop computers & relying on issued laptops = no spare machines if one is damaged or goes faulty (happened to me & colleague the other day). Some work stations are only on wifi (unreliable), so tend to go unused.

[Yura]

hot desking is great! no fixed neighbours, you just pick a desk that suits your needs. no clutter everywhere. its amazing

[JenniferJareau]

And it certainly shouldn't favour those who can come in early.

How can it not though? For our team we have 8 desks allocated for 10 people. When all of us are in the office, those who get in later have to sit elsewhere, that means another floor or in a break out space.

They tried a desk booking system but people block booked then didn't update so desks were often 'booked' but never used so that stopped.

[SwedishEdith]

no, but we have flexible working, so some will work from home/elsewhere, and a lot of people who go out and about visiting customers, so there are generally plenty of free desks available, especially if you get in early.

Then they've got too many desks - from an efficiency pov. True hot desking should take account of that. And it certainly shouldn't favour those who can come in early.

[Sarcelle]

Typers!

[Sarcelle]

I don't mind open plan or hot desking and I am an introvert. I also have misophonia. Hot desking is great if you have this. I know where the loud Tyler's and eaters are and stay away from them. I would find it very difficult to sit in the same spot with loud people around me all the time.

Of course the move to this model is done for cost reasons. It does fractured teams. But sometimes it's a godsend.

[Oblomov19]

I hate open plan, and hate hot desking even more, as does everyone I know.

No one could ever persuade me it's beneficial. It's not. It's just done to save money. But I think it's underestimated at what cost (mental, emotional and stress) that cost saving comes at.

[stressedoutpa]

I've worked in lots of open plan offices and I hate it.

There are just too many distractions. Fine if you are in sales and on the phone all day, laughing and joking with your colleagues but a nightmare if you need to concentrate on work without interruptions.

Invest in some noise cancelling headphones.

[malmi]

@SwedishEdith, no, but we have flexible working, so some will work from home/elsewhere, and a lot of people who go out and about visiting customers, so there are generally plenty of free desks available, especially if you get in early.

[PregnantSea]

I cannot stand open plan offices. I find it so hard to concentrate when you've got all that hustle and bustle around you. I need quiet to work. But that's my own personal feeling on it - I think in studies it's been found that most people do better in open plan offices. Can't remember where I read this so I could be wrong.

[JenniferJareau]

To me it cuts down on the opportunity to have a quiet gossip, so you never hear what's going on unless you go to the pub at lunchtime or after work.

We just chat privately over instant messenger

[BlueSkiesLies]

Totally standard.

Annoying for everyone to hotdesk especially if you don’t have lockers or something for you office ‘things’.

Works if each team has an area of hot desks but no good if it’s a total free for all. Also need enough quiet rooms, meeting rooms, phone booths and break out areas. Which there are never enough of!