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> the most productive devs really don't care if you shoulder-surf

Are you sure this isn't because you've just forced out productive devs who aren't insane and tolerate this?

You know... Like this:

> those guys don't last long in an environment where everyones work is equally open for shoulder-surfing

The guys who worked this way, stayed in the company and were very successful for years. Those who complained about it and left weren't really doing a great job in the first place.

And, there really is nothing wrong with this policy of shoulder-surfing - unless you have things you need to hide about the way you work.

Ask yourself: what's so scary about sharing your work this way with your colleagues in a professional environment? There aren't any productive answers to this question .. only emotional ones.

::And, there really is nothing wrong with this policy of shoulder-surfing - unless you have things you need to hide about the way you work::

Because that can introduce anxiety and second guessing in even the most self assured person. Which is good from time to time, but not when you're trying to figure something out.

But then again .. maybe truly competent developers don't get such anxiety in the first place, and if they do need to 'figure something out' in an open, shoulder-surfing environment, can reliably depend on their colleagues to assist rather than "judge them for the secret difficulties they are having"?

Unless you've experienced such an open environment, I wouldn't imagine you'd understand the advantages of not working in a state of secrecy. After all, the modern tech work place is an aggressive and hostile, often very competitive environment, right?

Well this open-screen policy puts a stop to that hostility and competitiveness at a group policy level, and as a result: folks are less competitive and more cooperative. This manifests in a much better group dynamic, and higher levels of productivity occur.

Try it! Or, if you find yourself resisting the idea, take some time to reflect what, exactly, this represents that you are afraid of ..

I for one am ‘not afraid’ of anything, I just find open offices incredibly unproductive and this sounds like an extreme form of it.

> maybe truly competent developers don't get such anxiety in the first place

That's a big maybe to base these things on, and most available data seems to indicate that ability and confidence don't really correlate all that well, and even incredibly successful people struggle with mental health issues.

We don't live in some kind of a fair world where competent people are rewarded with happiness and confidence, and incompetent ones are made anxious. A casual perusal of history makes this instantly obvious.

> if you find yourself resisting the idea, take some time to reflect what, exactly, this represents that you are afraid of

Seems like you have already made up your mind and are just seeing what you want to see.

The statements you make here are not falsifiable and seem to be is-ought and wish fulfillment. They don't seem to be based on anything actually real.

I'm telling you my experience - an open environment that encourages shoulder-surfing and interaction with ones workspace environment has, in my experience, been more productive and a happier place to work than one where everyone hides their screens and don't interact 'because it gives them anxiety'. I, for sure, would not want to work in such a milquetoast environment.

Why is your experience, which you are clearly already primed to perceive in the matter that fits your preconceived conclusions, worth anything?

What? Competent can't have mental health issues such as anxiety?

Competent people don't let mental health issues get in the way of getting stuff done and sharing ones work with ones colleagues...

Maybe they have a health issue that shoulder surfing triggers? Maybe they weren't very good because you were shoulder surfing constantly. Maybe they are human and have the basic evolved human instinctual drive to not have a stranger/semi stranger constantly behind their back doing who knows what, plotting their downfall likely.

This sounds horrible at first look but I would like to see how this looks in the real world. I assume management is part of that circle too, right?

Yes, managers sit in the circle too. Its not hierarchical, and thats the point - there is nobody in the group with the special privilege of withholding our screens, therefore we all feel comfortable with whatever is on each others screens.

Respect, equalised this way, means we don't care if one of us is doing something non-work related on their system - its accepted, and nobody cares. Its just so much more productive to be able to understand, at a glance, what ones colleagues are up to without them having to worry about having 'privacy issues' in a workplace where really, the work isn't private.

Despite the fact that this system seems unpopular in the average HN reader’s mindset (and I can see why), it also seems like it would select people who are good communicators and encourage good communication and collaboration. I’d be interested to see it play out in practice. Is it stressful to have what effectively amounts to no privacy, or does the collaborative aspect make it seem like everyone is constantly pair-programming with the entire group (which might not be a bad thing at all)?

I’d also be interested in my own reaction and whether I’d adjust to that kind of workplace.

The question is whether it's real collaboration or "Collaboration" with an open office, noise and everybody wearing headphones.

It is not a noisy, open office. Its a circle of desks where people can easily see what each other are working on and collaborate with each other without having to leave ones own desk...

Whats missed here is that individuals have the choice to get up and look at each others screens, and people also have the right to communicate whether or not its appropriate for them to be shoulder-surfing. These are choices at the individual level - at the group level, yes: we do select for good communicators and people who can work effectively in a team while not taking personally the issue of utter privacy in their workplace.

Which is not to say that members of the team can't have privacy if they really need/want it - just that its expected that they work in a way that keeps others informed about what they're up to and how things are progressing.

Its not stressful - that is the point. Nobody has to hide anything because the expectation is that there is nothing to hide - or, if there is something you need to hide (i.e. you have self-doubt about your own competence and don't want to share that doubt with your colleagues), this is supplanted by the expectation that people will help each other if they notice a problem-solving session going on too long.

It results, thus, in less stress in the environment, more cooperation/collaboration and a more open level of communication among the team members - and we are more productive as a result of it. Also, we help each other: we don't criticise or degrade someone whose work is inaccessible.

Let me just roll over there and watch you read emails about me and the team for a while.

Good one, you must be a comedian.

So what happens when you shoulder surf your team and they're reading reddit or hackernews? lol

The funny thing is I work in an open place and really don't care if people see me reading reddit or hn or whatever else on my screen and I happen to not be focused on a task. That said, I got startled when a tour group walked by and closed my browser one day. That was weird.

How do you manage having a circular desk arrangement in regards to space concerns. I can't imagine that the footprint of this type of setup is very efficient.

Believe me they can do it and cram you in there real good.