Ask HN: Which companies give programmers offices?
On the general question of open vs. private offices, my views have tempered over time. The first time I worked in an open office, I hated it. But I&#x27;ve come to realize that a lot depends on the layout of the office and that there are better and worse ways to configure one.<p>The first case -- the one I hated -- had a) long rows of desks, b) bright overhead fluorescent lights, c) a lot of noise due to being in a large room with sales&#x2F;marketing, d) a lot of visual distractions due to people walking up &amp; down the aisles, and e) few available areas to go to collaborate away from your desks.<p>Now, I&#x27;m also in an open office, but I find it quite livable, because: a) my desk faces the wall, for fewer visual distractions, b) the room is comfortably lit (ie, not too bright)[1], c) it&#x27;s a smaller room with only engineering and is generally quieter[2], d) there are enough areas to go if you need to collaborate.<p>All this is to say that, while the evidence is that open offices generally suck, there&#x27;s probably a number of ways to ameliorate their problems to some degree without having to resort to private offices. I don&#x27;t think I&#x27;d prefer an office to my current setup, actually.<p>[1] I think this element is underrated. In fact, I&#x27;d be curious to know if there&#x27;s a verifiable correlation between brightness levels and how loud people tend to talk. There&#x27;s something about a dim room that seems to induce people to lower their voices.<p>[2] Small, but not too small. There&#x27;s a sort of sweet spot. I was once in a room with 3 other people and it was maddening because it was generally quiet but every little noise -- coughing, swallowing, etc... -- was seemingly amplified by the overall quietness to became hugely annoying. (An inverse concept explains why I can work quite well in a coffee shop despite the background din.)