Dirty hands on clean surfaces
As I write yesterday, I relocated into a newly renovated office area that has flex-seating, meaning that for most of the residents, there are no fixed places. I travel light when it comes to my office equipment and each desk has a 2 large monitors and a docking station for a laptop, meaning a smaller third screen - what more could I need?
...Well....
Look how pretty these are.
These sound booths are brilliant and we have a few configurations that will sit one, two and 4-5 people for video conferencing, private meetings and for my needs - webinar delivery. I haven't tested the webinar capabilities yet but the booth in this section is large enough to walk and deliver without worrying about noise from outside.
Not only that, but they are locally made in the city I live by Framery, a startup that has been around for about a decade and has been successful in expanding out from the region. It is a good fit for the company in which I work, another successful local start up that began its global push around the same time.
As you can see by the wires around the place, they are still not fully operational but will be by the end of the week as the IT department finishes the installs of monitors and webcams.
These are definitely not cheap, but one thing I liked seeing on their website was this statement and I believe that through the development and continued implementation of blockchain-tracked supply-chain management, companies are going to have to review their ethics in practice as consumers demand more transparency - because they can. Consumer demand is what should make and break a company and that means, it is the consumer who has the responsibility if they want change. Support what you want to see more of in the world.
While I don't have the money for one of these booths, I would love to be able to fit one into my home as an office (my apartment is too small anyway) as they really do create nice quiet space with enough integrated airflow to work in peace and isolate oneself off for focus on important tasks.
What has been interesting to watch is all the people who have complained for the last months in the lead up to this office change to the point that, many are staying away and haven't relocated yet. People seriously suffer from entitlement issues in this world when they are provided some of the best working conditions in the world - and are still unhappy.
For me I take the approach that regardless of the conditions, I have a job I am getting paid to do and if the environment or tasks cross my personal boundaries or ethics, then I would quit. Pretty much all of this life is opt-in and opt-out, but one of the things that keeps us still is not looking for the opportunities available in change, even though the change might have some other negatives associated with it.
What I have found through experience is that the most successful people in this world are the ones that do what they must regardless of the conditions experienced. Waiting for perfect is a losing game and fairweather mindset and behavior leads to average outcomes as it means to shy away from work when it is available as, work is nearly always seen as a dirty word these days.
Come rain or shine, getting the hands dirty is the only way to work.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
Flex-seating sucks. It literally disconnects people from actually making their job a place in their life. It becomes merely a performance focused routine. It’s usually when HR has discovered that a no-thrills no personality approach leads to increased “productivity”.
Who cares about longevity, though?
It has been really nice for us as we were in a team stuck in a corner, but now we have people coming through and engaging who we normally wouldn't see without a meeting appointment. Our team has already started to establish our area as the place to be.
It also will make a group of workers feel unwelcome. Besides not everyone can function great if he/she has to search for a place to work each day again.
My son would drive it crazy plus he hates dirty screens and keyboards touched by many.
Might be it works for some people but I think working at home is cheaper and more productive. 🤔
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You see? First-World issues 😋
Yes, needed now 3 world and diseases out of the middle ages conquor the world again. I told the kid there is no need to since as I gave birth to him is also was not the cleanest place I pooped him out but it did not impress him or change him.
Consensus in last few years is that open-plan offices don't result in increased productivity due to the mid- to long-term added stress on employees. Flex-seating only makes it worse.
The added water cooler effect @tarazkp mentions, is an important factor but that's why there's corridors and water cooler areas. Specific areas to socialize, my focus window is not your opportunity to disturb me with small talk. Interaction between different teams, in order to increase understanding of what each team does, can be handled differently.
Note, I can work in most environments. That also often improved by a decent set of headphones - over ears, full cans, not earbuds - and a seating position which clearly expresses that I'm not open to small talk. In flex-seating environment I would flexibly occupy all sides of the coffee machine. :D
When they have done the tests, they have done them with people who haven't grown in flex seating, it would be like giving DOS to. Millenials... Or work to millenials :D
I can work wherever - but then, I have a flex-mindset
ha cool. Second hand sea containers would be cheaper :)
Would love to build a container home one day and already have some plans in my head on the details of what I want. When does Steem hit 20 dollars?
$20? hmm prob not today
I can hold off a few weeks
It looks a bit tiny to me. Hope you have no clients or colleagues who are claustrophobic.
How you get fresh air inside? I hope you won't say airco since aircos are dirty things.
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it pumps air in from outside the booth and they at least don't feel so tiny from inside. Can you get claustrophobic with so much light and glass?
I have no idea I am not suffering from it but sitting in a terrarium with different birds does not sound attractive to me. I doubt if Dutch offices will use it. I think it's cheaper to build a wall.
Good to know it does not feel tiny inside.
Ps no one pressed his nose against the glass to watch the ones inside?
👍💕
I actually like them but agree withe @michealb that a shipping container would do the job better. You need a garden first though.
For the office, I don't think a shipping container would fit :)
Looks like one fits between the 2pax and 4-5pax soundbooth. You now have an opportunity to start an own podcast tho. Taraz "Ferris" KP at TEDx Tampere next?
:D
I would love to have a podcast and put it on @threespeak but, my voice might be more annoying than my writing.
Very cool! I am not a big fan of closed compartments, but I like their sleek design.
I can see these being very useful in an office sharing environment.
Wishing you the best with your endeavors.
They are great and there are several of them so it should mean there should be some availability.
The first thought that went through my mind when seeing those booths were :
Flatulence and Body Odor
🙂😊😀😁
I work with a group of IT "professionals" who would think nothing funnier than getting 4 of us in a booth, then releasing the "Silent but deadly" type of flatulence - then pretending is wasn't them until someone broke and had to leave the booth.
It's childish and immature ... but it would happen.
Thankfully, the coders are on the floor below ;D
We also have those at work. We did have 3 of those but because they were not used very often they removed 2 to other floors probably.
I can't complain about the work environment. We have an Agile floor, so lots of meeting rooms. Most of them where you can only stand. Every meeting room has big screen, which makes it easy to video chat with the ones working from home!
You have to remind that people do like evolution but most of us hate revolution. By the looks of it, some people do see the changes at the work floor too much as revolution. Probably most of them didn't even give it a chance!
Yep, some of us are very stubborn!
Cheers,
Peter
The company has had a couple for the last few years and they got used all the time, so adding a larger range should get the same utilization. They are bookable as meeting rooms (there are meeting rooms also of course) but for the internal 1-1 type of thing it is cool and, we have a split team across locations so the larger ones we can hold team meetings.
The company is very flexible in general with hours and the like and the conditions are far from oppressive.
Sounds like great working conditions!
Here at work they also installed a dart board, Xbos, tennis table and a kicker. But I rarely use those!
WE have a small billiard table and the "nap room" is almost ready. I won't use that though as I snore much too loudly to sleep at work.