IME the people who like open plan are those who don't have to experience it. I count myself lucky that I was just ahead of the open plan wave - i.e. I advanced in seniority ahead of the mandate to actually sit in one. When I had the authority so to do I got my people into small shared offices.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Some Apple Park Employees Said to Be Dissatisfied With Open Office Design
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
IME the people who like open plan are those who don't have to experience it. I count myself lucky that I was just ahead of the open plan wave - i.e. I advanced in seniority ahead of the mandate to actually sit in one. When I had the authority so to do I got my people into small shared offices.
I have worked in software for over 20 years and have spent time in both office and open environments. I find I prefer the open office plan much more thanks to the increased interactivity with others because in my experience software design and development is highly collaborative. When you need to absolutely focus, put on the virtual blinders or physical headphones, whichever works best. I find that little distracts me unless I let it; it's all psychological. However, I do believe such an environment does require empathetic co-workers to function best, and it can take some time for those not used to it to come around.
I guess employee satisfaction and employee production are different measurements. personally, i like the idea of mixed use spaces with both high cubes for when you need it but an open layout for normal work.
I've worked in tight spaces with others, sometimes it worked sometimes it does not. Depends on the person because their constant chatter would get distracting, but we ultimately got along.
There's talk of us doing this for the "green" building concerns. If the Air Conditioning situation improves then, great. I'll deal with everything else.
I hope they can continue to work well together at Apple Park.
There's talk of us doing this for the "green" building concerns. If the Air Conditioning situation improves then, great. I'll deal with everything else.
I hope they can continue to work well together at Apple Park.
It's just a matter of taste i.m.h.o. I used to be working in a small room, but at least it was my own room, with a room and the lot. I was able to decorate the room into something I called my own private space, less noise, more privacy. And was not a programmer but a designer back in the days and I loved the fact that I had some privacy. No people passing by able to look at my unfinished drawings over my shoulders.
Call me old fashion, but I still prefer my own small room to have some privacy and a space that I call my own, that reflects my identity due of silly attributes I've placed, from photo's to silly toys among other things.
Again, why would anyone think that Apple hasn't considered all these things? Perhaps they are addressing actual problems by moving to open work spaces and not just picking a concept at random?Since you cite MB and the basic tenet in MB is that there are sets of archetype personality types among people that have different characteristics and needs. One would think that a progressive, ultra-creative industry leader organisation would cater to that simple principle when designing the ultimate work space for creativity.
Nope, they go with "one size fits all"I think they are mistaken. And I'm an ENTJ btw so I understand you.
An open space may be potentially cheaper, but if we’re talking the budget of this new “campus”, something tells me Apple didn’t cut many corners (except all the corners, literally. LOL).
As someone who works alone and remotely a lot, I think I’d prefer my own space. But I can also see how–in the right environment and under the right leadership–an open concept like this can foster greater productivity, collaboration and communication amongst a team. Some will love it, some will hate it, but I think that’s the idea behind these designs.
That said, the picture/render posted in this article looks somewhat cold, uncomfortable, and uninviting to me.
Last edited:
I've worked in open offices doing both creative an non-creative work. Personally, I liked it. It inspired me and even helped me concentrate seeing other people diligently working. It feels more like you're a part of a team and also allowed for better communication. For me, all that far outweighed the occasional disruption. But I would think that the key is culture. Maintaining the productive atmosphere has to be highly regarded by all. And I think that starts at the top. One thing I would say is the execs should be in open spaces too. If they believe this is the best work environment, they should back up their words and put all the execs in one big room as well. Otherwise they're being hypocritical and creating division. Low morale and backlash would then be understandable.
It's a big step away from what some are comfortable with. I think it could be very beneficial for many but would require a paradigm shift for some. But I also understand that for some people and even for some types of work, it just won't work. I'm assuming and hoping the most profitable company in the world (and probably one of the smartest) took this into account.
It's a big step away from what some are comfortable with. I think it could be very beneficial for many but would require a paradigm shift for some. But I also understand that for some people and even for some types of work, it just won't work. I'm assuming and hoping the most profitable company in the world (and probably one of the smartest) took this into account.
Same here, although my background is engineering rather than development. I find classical music through headphones is great for concentration. In the meantime if anyone needs anything from me they only have to give a quick wave and I can be available.
Or Google ? THEY know what is best for us..New World
I can't even take a phone call while driving, not to think working in such space
Nothing to do with childish crap. You don't even get the real issue at all nor grasp why open work spaces don't work well for those who have different styles of working. It's a VERY real issue. And no, workplaces shouldn't be imitating Romper Room which is probably where Jony, Cook and that architect got their ideas from.
[doublepost=1502306188][/doublepost]
No such thing as evolve to adapt. Workers are not required to work in open spaces. In fact, if you're an extrovert, you're more likely to get involved in cooperative spaces while the introvert/quiet ones prefer private spaces. Open work spaces are much worse than private ones due to distraction and less productivity.
It's a very real problem in the industry. There is NO such thing as the Apple Way which is an illusion.
Last edited:
Even more boring and completely off topic comment. You are clearly a person who's never worked in a open space noisy room on any kind of complex problem requiring disturbance free environment
I have worked in an open office floorplan for quite a few years now. Purpose behind it was to promote collaboration, but mostly to reduce cost.
I'm lucky enough to work in an open office floor plan that also has hot desking. It took less than a year after this was put in place that the office became a ghost town. People thought up creative reasons they needed to work from home. That lasted for awhile, but now people are required to be in the office. It is terribly unproductive. Management likes to tell us that millennials love it, implying that us old fogies need to get with the times.
I'm a creative myself and prefer working in my home studio since it's much easier to focus and get the work done. I have my own world to live in without anyone looking over my shoulder, even using my moleskine sketchbook or iPad Pro, I do that at the local cafe whenever I want to. The open spaces may or may not work for certain engineers but it is a design problem on their end so they will have to find a way to improve productivity without the distraction.
However, I've seen some design or creative studios that have open spaces which made me cringe a bit wondering how they're able to get things done. Even game design companies as well have that set up. I think it depends on the type of personality of workers you bring in, so one can't really force the entire company to act 'extrovert' and cooperate all the time. That sets a dangerous precedent and in one book titled Quiet: The Power of Introverts In the World That Can't Stop Talking, the author nails the problem in open work spaces when it comes to introverts/extrovert work behavior. I won't go into details due to the depth of this book but it brilliantly breaks everything down in the whys and hows of that particular personality trait.
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Open workspaces have been popular for only like a decade. That’s seriously misguided to base such a huge project on a trend. That’s the issue with modernity in general. Look at any cities developed top-down by designers; they don’t work as well in practice. What people have been doing for centuries is likely the better choice, as outdated as it looks to modernist designers.
I really "like" people commenting on something they personally have ZERO experience about. You definitely haven't work on any kind of complex problem in a noisy and constantly distracting open work space. No one is forcing you to click on the article either.
Unfortunately those won't help with the visual distraction of people moving around in the office. In those completely open workspaces other people don't have to actively disturb you, but they still end up doing so by simply being there and moving around occasionally like people do. Different people are wired differently, so while some might feel just OK in an open floor plan, I register any movement in my field of vision despite focusing on my displays and that movement is all too likely to kick me out of the zone (if I've somehow managed to enter it in such a setting).
So I can perfectly relate to those Apple employees not feeling good about this change. It's somewhat baffling that Apple wanted to go with this approach despite more and more research coming up to the conclusion that open floorplans are bad for productivity. They do have some advantages when it comes to communication, but those advantages are far outweighed by the detrimental effects.
One would think that a progressive, ultra-creative industry leader organisation would cater to that simple principle when designing the ultimate work space for creativity.
Nope, they go with "one size fits all"
I thought the same thing, but I'm certain their choice had nothing to do with social dynamics. It's financial--or possibly due to a zoning limitation. Creating individual offices for nearly 12,000 employees would have required a much, much larger building. Possibly a high rise.
When my gf's company increased its staff, they had no vacant offices. So they resorted to office sharing, and eventually took down walls and installed cubicles. Some people volunteered to work from home, but that idea wasn't popular with team leads (the true space wasters).
