If only that was the environment. Nowadays it’s all open office designs everywhere. Can’t get any work done especially if you’ve got people around you on calls all day.
Not quite. The Beeb aren’t in the business of studies (outside special reports).
If I am thinking about the same article as you, Anglia Ruskin interviewed thousands of workers and found that while most people got over the sense of surveillance, a much higher percentage of women than men didn’t. This was because, seemingly, women were in fact more surveilled by their male colleagues.
So open plans aren’t “sexist” in the sands they were designed in oppression of women; they are sexist in the sense that their design and rationale failed to predict or account for the disproportionate negative impact on women.
They’re actually trying to solve the calls thing, but in the worst way: super fucking loud “white noise machines”. Basically a tiny speaker in every other ceiling tile that makes it sound like the most oppressive AC setup in the world.
God I didn’t even consider packing tape, our office is extremely open but I bet I could stay late and sabotage every other speaker to try and reduce the noise a bit.
We used regular tape.
Take a disposable coffee cup, flip it over. Make a roundish star of tape on it, sticky side up, then put the cup on a broom handle and press it against the speaker on the ceiling.
No climbing needed ;)
Might not work for other models of speakers I guess, ours were just about perfectly sized for the disposable cup!
The calls yeah. But I worked in an open plan engineering office. The work waa solitary and immersive enough that most days everyone waa heads down in work. But it was awesome for office banter and razzing each other.
If only that was the environment. Nowadays it’s all open office designs everywhere. Can’t get any work done especially if you’ve got people around you on calls all day.
News flash: the open plan office is actually seen as sexist, according to at least one article in the BBC. Go see!
Not quite. The Beeb aren’t in the business of studies (outside special reports). If I am thinking about the same article as you, Anglia Ruskin interviewed thousands of workers and found that while most people got over the sense of surveillance, a much higher percentage of women than men didn’t. This was because, seemingly, women were in fact more surveilled by their male colleagues.
So open plans aren’t “sexist” in the sands they were designed in oppression of women; they are sexist in the sense that their design and rationale failed to predict or account for the disproportionate negative impact on women.
They’re actually trying to solve the calls thing, but in the worst way: super fucking loud “white noise machines”. Basically a tiny speaker in every other ceiling tile that makes it sound like the most oppressive AC setup in the world.
We put tape over those. Other people, too lazy to do the same, we’re jealous of our cube farm!
God I didn’t even consider packing tape, our office is extremely open but I bet I could stay late and sabotage every other speaker to try and reduce the noise a bit.
We used regular tape. Take a disposable coffee cup, flip it over. Make a roundish star of tape on it, sticky side up, then put the cup on a broom handle and press it against the speaker on the ceiling. No climbing needed ;)
Might not work for other models of speakers I guess, ours were just about perfectly sized for the disposable cup!
The calls yeah. But I worked in an open plan engineering office. The work waa solitary and immersive enough that most days everyone waa heads down in work. But it was awesome for office banter and razzing each other.