April 12, 2013 at 7:48 am
batgirl (4/12/2013)
My current environment is not my favorite - large open room with entire management and staff at rows of desks.
I would hate to work in a large open room like this. While there are good points about collaboration when people are in close proximity, my favorite work is development, and I really want a quiet environment to do that.
Where I work now, we have several rooms that have been filled with about 6 cubicles each. (and I vote for 5 foot walls, not lower) So, I might be able to shout over the cubicle to one person, but not another. What we have found works really well is to have Instant Messaging set up, so we can quickly ask a question of someone in another room. What I really like is that it is an instant but quiet way to communicate!
Also, I really like to have personal things in my space, especially photos on the walls, so I can take visual breaks. I would go crazy if I had a desk in an open space.
April 12, 2013 at 8:23 am
I've been in bullpens and 5 foot high cubes. I prefer the cubes. But i do have to say there is something for working in the computer room. Granted, at the end of the day you feel like you've been on a Boeing 707 to nowhere, but the white noise can be quite useful.
At one job I would work in the computer room on occasion. Low traffic and only the din of fans. Then again, the infrastructure folks took a dim view of it after I put the BSOD screen saver on a production server...and they rebooted it...twice. After that I wasn't allowed in without an escort. Of course it was funny later.
------------
Buy the ticket, take the ride. -- Hunter S. Thompson
April 12, 2013 at 8:54 am
I don't like the new low cubes and I don't like noisy environments. However, having a small lab or something similar would be nice to go into and tackle problems collaboratively as needed without disrupting the rest of team.
April 12, 2013 at 9:42 am
Because our jobs require intense thinking at many times, I like an office with a door that can be closed. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to figure out why your database server is down and you are hearing someone in the next cube or hallway telling someone else what their baby threw up the night before at dinner. Headphones don't cure noisy inane conversations like a wooden door can.:-D
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
April 12, 2013 at 11:08 am
TravisDBA (4/12/2013)
Because our jobs require intense thinking at many times, I like an office with a door that can be closed. .....:-D
Like Travis there are times I really need close the door and work through something. During that intense time I need complete attention and I need to find some way to focus completely in on the problem. Other times I need to be more social and the work dictates that I be so. For that an office can work but a cube or open might be better.
So I probably need an office like Steve has. This way for that work and another way for other work. I guess I default to the "It Depends" answer again, but in this case it really does depend on what is happening.
M.
Not all gray hairs are Dinosaurs!
April 12, 2013 at 11:56 am
Like most people being part of the cube farm is good for me most of the time. I can collaborate when needed and hear if there are any tech issues going on. But when I'm solving a server or SQL situation I tend to go into the server room and shut the world out so I can think (or scream) in private. :w00t:
April 12, 2013 at 9:59 pm
I'm surprised that this is even a topic for the daily Editorial. Even though there are a few DBAs who make their living from consulting / websites / podcasts, and have an inherent flexibility in their work locations and timing; there are still a vast majority of us who are stuck in "cubeland". This translates to the same work location for 40+ hours per week, without a fleeting thought to telecommuting options, open vs. closed office, etc.
Sorry, but this is our reality.
April 15, 2013 at 4:45 am
[font="Verdana"]Good Discussion!
And i would add that the people who are more intelligent than the average one are much higher distracted with the environmental factors around them, so they prefer to be work in complete dedicated and sound environment.
Thank you![/font]
April 15, 2013 at 7:48 am
Abrar Ahmad_ (4/15/2013)
[font="Verdana"]Good Discussion!And i would add that the people who are more intelligent than the average one are much higher distracted with the environmental factors around them, so they prefer to be work in complete dedicated and sound environment.
Thank you![/font]
I'm not sure where you got this absurd notion from, or who told you this. However, putting up with a noisy environment doesn't really have anything to do with a person's "intelligence". Noisy office environments are distracting no matter what your IQ is. Some people are ok with noisy environments. But not because they aren't intelligent. It is most likely because they have just gotten used to it over time, or are very noisy themselves so they fit right in to that type of environmant. Working in a call center, or a Service Help Desk is a good example of this, and I certainly would not refer to those people who work in those environments as "lower intelligence" because they like it or have gotten used to it. 😀
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
April 15, 2013 at 9:20 am
SQLWorks (4/12/2013)
I've had glass door type offices and cubicles... I think the cubes work better honestly, when I was part of a team supporting a very large server environment having everyone near each other and within speaking distance was great, but the cubes made it private enough so you could get work done without distraction. I prefer the 5' high cubes though, the little 3 or 4 footers are too low such that I always felt I was staring right at someone, or being watched myself, but the 6' or 7' walls were too high to stand up and talk over, 5' is just about right.
+1
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
Learn Extended Events
April 15, 2013 at 9:23 am
Sometimes I "need" a noisy environment. Sometimes the noise is too much and sometimes the silence is too deafening.
There are times where the privacy is an absolute must. And times when having teammates nearby for quick collaboration to be much more important. Being flexible and adaptable is pretty integral to a successful office setup.
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
_______________________________________________
I have given a name to my pain...MCM SQL Server, MVP
SQL RNNR
Posting Performance Based Questions - Gail Shaw[/url]
Learn Extended Events
April 15, 2013 at 9:48 am
I share an office with another person, and everyone walks through my office to get to a general file storage area. People say "Hi." as they walk through and I say "Hi." back. They respect me when I am busy on my computer and won't start a conversation with me but will stay to talk to me if I initiate the conversation.
The strangest thing about this room was the smell of marijuana in the summer. I work in a law enforcement crime lab and my office was next to the marijuana vault which was not ventilated very well. When the outside temperature would go over 85F, the smell started and would get overwhelming as the temperature increased. Once they figured out the ventilation fans were turned off and turned them back on, the smell was less. For 4 years, I lived with the smell. People would walk in and go "Eww. It stinks." and I would say "What smell?" as I would get used to it. Finally they renovated the storage area and moved the vault away from the offices.
The other issue with the room is the air/heat. The supply for the ac/heat goes done the hallway, and the duct to my room branches off and makes a U-turn to return to my office. The thermostat is in a room about 25 feet from me, so if the staff in that room get too cold/hot, they adjust the temperature for themselves and I get hot or cold. My office goes from 84 in the summer to 70 in the winter and it is always stuffy. They can't fix it and office space is at a premium, so I can't move anywhere else.
I would prefer an office to myself without traffic and a thermostat I can control.
April 15, 2013 at 12:32 pm
cksid (4/15/2013)
I share an office with another person, and everyone walks through my office to get to a general file storage area. People say "Hi." as they walk through and I say "Hi." back. They respect me when I am busy on my computer and won't start a conversation with me but will stay to talk to me if I initiate the conversation.The strangest thing about this room was the smell of marijuana in the summer. I work in a law enforcement crime lab and my office was next to the marijuana vault which was not ventilated very well. When the outside temperature would go over 85F, the smell started and would get overwhelming as the temperature increased. Once they figured out the ventilation fans were turned off and turned them back on, the smell was less. For 4 years, I lived with the smell. People would walk in and go "Eww. It stinks." and I would say "What smell?" as I would get used to it. Finally they renovated the storage area and moved the vault away from the offices.
The other issue with the room is the air/heat. The supply for the ac/heat goes done the hallway, and the duct to my room branches off and makes a U-turn to return to my office. The thermostat is in a room about 25 feet from me, so if the staff in that room get too cold/hot, they adjust the temperature for themselves and I get hot or cold. My office goes from 84 in the summer to 70 in the winter and it is always stuffy. They can't fix it and office space is at a premium, so I can't move anywhere else.
I would prefer an office to myself without traffic and a thermostat I can control.
If you can't smell it anymore while others definitely can that means your body has built up a tolerance to it and it also probably means that if you were pee tested tomorrow for it you would probably test positive. But that said, you also got the greatest excuse in the world to get you out of it as well. "Hey guys, I work next to a marijuana vault and breath that odor in eveyday so what do you expect?" So, maybe moving it away was good thing.... or maybe it wasn't.:-D
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
April 23, 2013 at 12:12 pm
bwillsie-842793 (4/12/2013)
A room with a door I can shut, preferably with soundproof walls so other people don't complain about my screaming or loud music.And so I don't have to listen to the second by second description of the last twenty-four hours of someone's life, retold to each new person that walks into a neighboring cubicle, all day long.
I'm not anti-social, just non-social.
+1
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