Comment by jkot | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jkot | Hacker News Reader

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Private offices are common, but not in the Bay

- It is a form of compensation. Cash/stock is preferred form here. To get other benefits (private office, remote) look at different place.

- Office space is at premium, private offices are expensive. Again look somewhere else.

- Startup culture is associated with open office. Large corporations are better with this :-(

- 'Extremely unproductive' is not an argument. Managers believe that programmers are equivalent/interchangeable cogs. There is no such thing as 10x ;-)

I would recommend:

- Block visual distractions as much as possible, 3x30" screen in pivot mode should do.

- Move into corner.

- Invest into big closed studio headphones with amplifier. Not active noise cancellation, but passive which covers entire ear. I got DT 770 PRO, best investment I ever did.

- Get ready for starting your own business and working remotely. I am afraid it is the only way :-(

>Startup culture is associated with open office. Large corporations are better with this

In 2011 the company I was working for (not in the Bay Area) moved to its new building. Most of the offices were tailor made for the teams, with plenty of space left to expand. It was my favourite place to work by far. Then a few years later some of the managers became obsessed with startup culture and decided to break down the walls to implement an open plan. It was a massive step back (which cost a lot to boot) which caused quite a bit of tension with the engineers and eventually only set back the company.

Any reason why you recommend against active noise cancellation? My Bose QC25s are still my favorite purchase, combining both over-ear passive cancellation & active noise cancellation. I even use them when working solo, and was so freaked out when one pair broke that I bought a second backup pair - Bose replaced the broken pair free of charge though.

[I realize the OP mentioned that headphones were not an option though.]

active noise cancellation is extremely effective for ambient noise but not conversations, which are the main cause of distraction in an open plan office.

I personally find active headphones uncomfortable. Large studio headphones are designed for long term use.

The reference was not to 'active headphones' (e.g. for running), but to 'active noise cancellation' where an "inverse wave" (inverse to incoming noise) is played to cancel out sounds. These can be in both in-ear or over-the-ear form.

Worked 5 jobs in Chicago. No devs had private offices at any of them.

This is why I work from home. Amazing private office that my dog can be in.

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