What the company does for its employees to be productive when they do the real job? Firstly, and most importantly, they arrange the office environment to be friendly, relaxing and free of any distractions. Secondly, they make each workplace as comfortable as possible, most computers have two big-screen monitors and there are comfortable office chairs. Thirdly, as part of distraction-free environment, every technical problem is solved by the tech support. In many other companies, people who know how to fix their computers are supposed to do so as the part of their job, not at Google. Here's a photo of work stations in Google Zurich:
Speaking about office environment it is worth noting that the offices are in fact fabric tents inside buildings:
You ask why? Here is the answer (via http://www.metropolismag.com/story/20060619/behind-the-glass-curtain):
Wilkinson's group designed an ingenious system of tented glass offices that allows daylight to stream through the window-side offices and into the center of the floor while preserving acoustic integrity. The white canopies are made of an acrylic-coated polyester, quilted together with polyester-fiber fill. They help reflect light into the rest of the office and are topped by a neat unobtrusive unit that contains lighting, HVAC, sprinklers, and an air diffuser. At intervals panels of glass are glazed in color combos that identify each office neighborhood.
I'm sure that you would like to work in such an environment. Maybe you know about other companies which take care of their workforce to the extreme?
What is the best place to work for you, your home or the office?
What in your opinion makes an office environment good for productivity?
What do you think about open space and hot desking?
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ReplyDeleteI've been working for a while remotly from home and I do not want to make this mistake any more :)
ReplyDeleteTo cut the long story short the expierence of remote-work can simply be described as inefficiency. Or at least as a challenge for me:)
To honestly work from home one needs to be well organized as well as disciplined. Too much comfort is a factor that disturbes my work routine... Having no special place meant only for work and to be focused on it makes it extremely difficult to meet the deadlines and to keep the control over my time during the day.
The result of working from home was that I only worked longer and I didn't like it ;) A comfy office, a place, where you go to exclusively... work hard, sweat blood and slave is for me a necessity. Working traditionally in an office helps me stay organized.
I find that I'm most creative from 18:00 till 23, also I usually wake up with ready solutions to problems I had the other day. Show me a office work that would suit me :)
ReplyDeleteI think open space offices are good for certain departaments like advertising or sales. Workers can easly communicate with each other. For other departaments it may be better to separate employees to let them focus on their work.
Work at home is good when you can't work in full time job. At home you will find always something different to do so as Michał said to work at home you need to be well organized and disciplined. There is one disadvantage that you don't have contact with others employees and its more difficult to ask somebody to explain something. I think that good atmosphere makes an office environment good for productivity.
ReplyDeleteWell, about working at home.. I'am working at home for almost a year. Some people like it some not. As Michał said, it is hard to be disciplined. Second problem is communication, you can work at home only if you are making some individual work, group works are immpossible. But it have many pros:
ReplyDeleteYou don't need to ride to work, it could save almost 2h a day.
You don't need wear a formal wear at home :)
In most cases you have flexible working hours.
I noticed a tendency that many employers allow flexible working hours and actually not many of them enforce special dress code, as long as IT jobs are concerned. Most companies however are skeptical about working from home. In my opinion they try to make office as friendly as possible, but want people to work in teams, where good communication is a key.
ReplyDeleteWorking at home surely is comfy, it's your place, you don't need to wear suit but your fluffy slippers and can let your hair be unwashed this day. On the other hand it's easy to be distracted, and requires discipline. But it's not everything. While you work at home, and work tires you you start hating the thing you do, the place you are. You can start hating your space. So, if you want work at home - prepare a special, separated room which is open 8 hours on day and closed after that. Special room for your workplace because if not, your work will follow you to kitchen, your bed, children room... everywhere. Believe me. Work and personal space should be really separated. You can understand that if you can feel that relief saying 'bye-bye' your workplace and going back home.
ReplyDeletePersonally I like nine to five work style but I don't mind doing special sommissions at home.
'Good communication' is a nice argument to work from the office, true :) But it still depends on the characteristics of your work. Not every IT job concerns working in team that is fully located in the same building or even in one country...
ReplyDeleteWorking in an international environment usually makes using the instant messaging or telepresence inevitable (not mentioning the traditional e-mails...). I think you can still work in teams to some extent while using just the Internet related means of communication.
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If it comes to dividing the space for work from leisure space... I've hung a curtain across my room about a year ago in the time, when I worked a lot from home. The solution worked quite well - I couldn't see the bed from my desk :)
'Maybe you know about other companies which take care of their workforce to the extreme?'
ReplyDeleteI don't know any other company which take care of the employees as good as Google. Until I read these posts I didn't even know that work can look like this ;)
'What is the best place to work for you, your home or the office?'
It depends on people I work with. With good colleagues working in the office is cool.
'What in your opinion makes an office environment good for productivity?'
I am not sure what makes an office environment good for productivity, but I know what doesn't make - to formal room without personal and fun things.
'What do you think about open space and hot desking?'
I worked in open space once and I thing it's the worst place to do my job. It is to loud and noisy and everyone can watch what is on my monitor ;)
I personally wouldn't mind working remotely at home. My only working experience showed that programming in an open space and hot desking environment is not what I could 'survive' in a long-term. I don't even mention how hard it is to program when there's the end of an accounting period (quarter/annual) -- that makes it a hell. Everyone's running around, being noisy and don't really care about co-workers.
ReplyDeleteHaving your own desk enables you to work more efficiently by adjusting the workplace (that may be different for right and left-handed people).
Good productivity comes with peace and quiet. I'm not capable of focusing in a noisy room.
For me best place for work is office. At home i have always many thing to do and I can't focus on the work.
ReplyDeleteIf you work with good IT specialists, you have good tools, good conditions like room, computer, you work better because it is all mobilizing you.
I think that open space is not good because you can'f focus on the work. Hot desk? I don't know what it is!
I would rather work at workplace then at home. Why ? It`s easy because we have to seperate our private live from work. Finally we can cross borders between this too different things. Very often this kind of work brings employer only a problems. Employes siting at home thinking than nobody can control him. They don`t pick up phones, shopping or just visit the tax office :) This is a huge cost for employer that`s way they more and more prefer to have their staff under control. Sometimes there is no other way to avoid remote work. Not enough space in their office or there is another reason.
ReplyDeleteMe as a IT specialist working with another person release the productivity in me when I can discuss the problem or advice with someone else. If we talk about work at open space I am not a fan. Why ? It`s too noisy, everyone can see what you have on your screen etc.
I like working in the office, because I like cooperating with people. Even though I'm a programmer, I consider myself to be socially active :)
ReplyDeleteThere are plenty of things that make up for a good office environment. Some of the things I consider to be the most important: a freakishly big desk & comfortable chair, an optimal number of people in the room (most of us work in open spaces), and of course the people them self.
This is the trend that the companies follow nowadays, I don't fully agree that it is necessary, but there's nothing I can do about it. I have nothing against open spaces as long as they preserve some privacy to the employee.