Open offices are overrated

If you work in an office, there's a good chance it's an open one. How did we get here? And why is it so bad?
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Open offices have been around a surprisingly long time. But they're relatively misunderstood for their role in workplace culture. Where did open offices and cubicles come from, and are they really what we want?
This episode of Overrated explores the history, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Herman Miller, and other key figures in the office design movement. Our workplaces haven't always been this way - this is how we got here.
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[@AngelRodriguez-tw2xx]

This man is passive aggressively asking for better open office

[@TheBalkanSpy]

Angi Rodriguez 😂

[@fgarciz]

Frtho

[@rashedulkabir6227]

passive aggression is introvert's weapon.

[@gpaderx6105]

Maybe wanted to be one of the bosses so that he can have a private office. just kidding

[@osvaldosprandel2435]

"OK guys, we need an idea for a new video. Any suggestions?" "Well, i got one..."

[@AndrewCybulska]

You actually got paid to make a video to tell your bosses you hate your office layout. That's gutsy and I totally dig it. Thanks for the video!

[@SevenFootPelican]

He works at Vox. Not Proctor and Gamble.

[@Cubester64]

I think this guy is actually one of the higher-ups at Vox. (Not the CEO, that would be official unpopular-opinions man, Erza Klein)

[@longclaw22-72]

Cubester64 Unpopular opinions? Like what?

[@Zecronym]

Longclaw22 - I've only been watching Vox for a little while, but for the time that I have, I've noticed people get upset over his bias against Trump and conservatives when reporting on anything. Then he released a video basically saying that most popular news sources aren't doing an adequate job since they don't like to show themselves as partial, and that got a lot of hate, because a lot of people believe it's critical for the news to be impartial.

[@longclaw22-72]

News can't be 100% impartial, not as long as they're reported by human beings. The people who complain about Vox have absolutely nothing to say about Fox News or even RT. The fact of the matter is that Vox has a leftist bias which is fine and protected by the 1st. Even if Vox and Klein gets a lot of hate, the majority of viewers are actually in agreement with their general positions so I don't really get where the "unpopular'' thing came from. Vox has great content and is one of the most informative channels on YT, the way I see it, right wingers just don't like the fact that Vox doesn't align with their beliefs if Klein had a right wing bias none of those people would be whining.

[@profgandoor2030]

I’d rather have a cubicle, it’s like your own little bubble of concentration. They also feel so quiet and cozy.

[@viktorvondoom9119]

I want to live in a cubicle

[@joefitzgerald2762]

i love cubicles, its like my own little cave of privacy and concentration

[@aeonjoey3d]

same x100000

[@user-fq4hj8yv2z]

It depends from person to person.

[@BadDictator]

its monotonous though

[@Pcarnevaaa]

The best part is when they say “millennials enjoy open office spaces”... says who?

[@tylersmith4265]

More like Boomer bosses want to save money so they force open office spaces on millennials

[@TCFan30]

And the boomer boss has a closed office.

[@ecclairmayo4153]

Aaahhaaha

[@deanwinchester3356]

PMoose Traven Millennials HATE open offices. I’ve worked in many fields and that’s the biggest complaint with people my age. Most people I know want private independent offices.

[@Royalroadtotheunc]

@@tylersmith4265 There are plenty of boomers out there who were victims of open office plans...

[@sinabonz8108]

I personally have trouble concentrating when there are people around me.

[@andymac3614]

I got a heavy trouble with that when noone's around, and when people are around and working, I'm all good. But I realize I'm rather an exclusion than a norm.

[@catcat3964]

Try having ADHD where every noise, every movement and every conversation will make you lose focus or get off topic and lose your place or make you frustrated. Office work was not made for people with ADHD.

[@andymac3614]

@@catcat3964 I just told you, I realize I'm a minority in this case. I don't want to see everything designed only for people like me. Having such an option of working with other people around working too is perfectly fine by me, I don't want this option to be the only possible one. I realize most people need something different than I do.

[@wolfsbanebloom]

@@andymac3614 Me too. I like working in my open office.

[@Holiipopluna]

Especially when they are checking what you are doing 24/7

[@keyqchan]

Open office is one of introverts' nightmares. Prisoners even have more privacy than us low-rank office workers.

[@jovinlai3717]

Rizuchan introverts don’t necessarily hate communication. They just don’t need external stimuli (environment) to be contented

[@shtuffs]

Being an introvert just means you don't like meeting new people

[@libertyprime69]

@@shtuffs Naw- being an introvert means it's tiring to be around other people in general. Yeah, new people are particularly taxing, but even with people you know well, you'll at most want to give a few hours to and that's it for the day- then it's back down to the bat cave.

[@aoliver3230]

United States Armed Forces It’s about how you get your energy. Extroverts get most of their energy from socializing. Introverts get most of theirs from time spent alone. Being introverted doesn’t mean you don’t like meeting new people. It’s about energy.

[@fernandor4617]

I'm tend to be introverted and I prefer open offices

[@lillemegpower2621]

It is just like a classroom. It is nearly impossible to concentrate.

[@andymac3614]

It's much harder to concentrate at home though.

[@eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeo]

Dude, that's your problem. It's really not that hard to pay attention in class

[@nicoterron3729]

@@eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeo correct, is someone's problem and shared by many, so it should be addressed.

[@chickeninabox]

Why can I complete 2 exams in an hour

[@gumlum7367]

Its weird because in some way, I'm more concentrated when I'm studying at a classroom just like how I study while the tv is on and I can't seem to explain it

[@RixMorales]

Today's open office design is kinda depressing to be honest, especially if you're in the middle of the room. It kinda feels constricting and suffocating, your source of light is artificial, you're too far from the window, and you feel isolated in an alien world

[@arugula2787]

Rix Morales welcome to capitalisy

[@tomasvrabec1845]

That's called the Sick building Syndrome and is exactly what at least good architecture aims NOT to achieve

[@jellybeansi]

@@tomasvrabec1845 Sick building syndrome exists, but they said "feels suffocating" which isn't the same as something literally being suffocating because of poor air quality. Being surrounded by people is psychologically constricting/suffocating because you feel like you can't go anywhere without running into someone, which I'm 99.9% certain is what they were trying to say.

[@FerKzrs]

Making phone calls is a monumental task at an open office, no matter how much you try to concentrate. Megan just simply won't stop talking about how her boyfriend hasn't replied to her messages.

[@itsanixela]

I once tried to carry on a phone conversation with IT, with my boss having a loud-ass phone conversation two desks over, and our copywriter having another phone conversation diagonally from me. Needless to say, took way too much effort. I'm now not in that room anymore (hallelujah!), but still in an open office with my neighbour and I barely talking to each other and her monitoring my every move and word to report back to my boss even though I could report her ass any day for being on Instagram / texting all day. Give me a cubicle any day. Heck, let me work from home. Please.

[@mrtzak]

I SWEAR!

[@Nananadadadawoo]

My corporate office doesnt even have phones at our desk we ask that you do not contact us our reception is only permitted to take a message for a person that may or may not work there

[@yvrelna]

Any well designed open office plans should have enclosed rooms that you can move into if you need to make or take phone calls. If your office doesn't have such dedicated room, the meeting room usually would be suitable for the occasional calls. If your job is such that you need to make phone calls all day long, then open office plans may not be suitable for your role though.

[@matenzo]

Sounds like Megan needs to get fired

[@bee5120]

Even as a college student I never liked open seating libraries. I always gravitated to one of those individual study booths with high walls. Too much distractions if I just sit at an open study table with other students coming and going, talking, and even sometimes not studying at all but sleeping.

[@ypressalient148]

I feel like the thing about open college libraries is that everyone looks at them and says "doesn't that work so well", but because it is a campus, only kids who do well in those places are working there, so the design can't be extrapolated to offices that include everyone who graduates college

[@bttrade6286]

Absolutely agree. You study so much better and get so much done in closed individual study booths and study rooms.

[@kevinmiller8111]

Eh I like them in libraries but in offices I prefer the open office design (although spread out decently from one another) over cubicles so that you still have your own personal space but can easily talk to coworkers who you need to collaborate with.

[@lucabrandalesi6743]

Here at my uni we have open libraries but there is mandatory silence

[@robertli3600]

Am I the only one that liked open seating libraries?

[@EGstill85]

Working in an office was the reason I hated my previous job and eventually what lead me to resign from the company. I despised the feeling of constantly being monitored by either a co-worker or supervisor looking over my shoulder. I felt trapped in an Orwellian nightmare in which the simple act of opening a web browser to check the daily news headlines could result in either admonishment directly from a higher up or one of my co-workers snitching about seeing me doing an unrelated work task. Alternatively, there was the ever looming possibility of a co-worker “jokingly” calling me out in front of the whole office, rhetorically asking in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, “why I was scrolling the web, instead of focusing on my work”. I will never ever ever ever go back to the dreaded cesspool which is the modern office workplace. I shudder thinking of the seven years of my life I’ll never get back working in that infernal death trap where hopes of happiness come to wither into dust...

[@cattysplat]

Love the delicious cynicism in your writing. Your should tell your horror stories on reddit or a blog, I'm sure we'd all want to read more.

[@libertyprime69]

I'll take the cubicle walls any day. Now people know what true hell is.

[@Nicolee7764]

EGstill85- Spot on!! My sentiments exactly.

[@user-bq6iw1rd6y]

"there was the ever looming possibility of a co-worker “jokingly” calling me out in front of the whole office" There's a special place in hell for those people.

[@errrzarrr]

Oh gosh! What a nightmare

[@random_works]

The worst thing about open offices are those people that just sneak up behind you and look at your screen for a good 10 seconds before actually telling you what they need.

[@tollboothjason]

Private offices are the best. If you don't mind interaction, you leave your door open. If you need to concentrate privately, you leave your door closed, and the only way to get in touch with you is to call you on the landline.

[@mineshaft12]

toll_booth But sadly.... you only have it of you're one of the director Or Manager or one of the head.... But luckily though my mom is a Director of a Branch ( Boss of a branch ) She didn't have any office but instead she controls everything from home.....

[@daleykun]

Depends where you're at. I work at a big 4 accountancy firm and even the partners don't have offices, no-one does. But we have plenty of space at our desks. Close enough to chat but far enough away to block everything out and just focus when you need to.

[@lawrencejob]

Or message you on slack

[@cristianbailey8407]

i cant concentrate on open offices, too much noise an things happening at the same time i need quiet to work.

[@seigeengine]

Kind of disagree. That disconnect and discrete nature of the spaces disencourages interaction.

[@LaVolpeWhy]

Honestly, I'd prefer my own little box than seemingly open space.

[@SICK562CKRISS]

La Volpe Same!

[@pawehbsam5872]

La Volpe easy to do *something* ..huh.. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@AlyssaBernardino]

I was thinking this the whole time

[@cricetus9361]

Totally agree. I'm used to working naked.

[@ricksanchez128]

Two bad it’s more than 4 times the cost to create a single office for every person working in a company

[@cajunstrat]

Add to this horror is the "hot desk", where you can't personalize your desk, must clean it out at the end of each day so someone who comes in earlier than you can claim that desk the next day.

[@mymanson77]

As a person on the autistic spectrum, I simply cannot work in an open office lay out, and believe me I have tried. The tiny noises, movements, sights, sounds, even smells....way too overwhelming. I was so lucky to find an employer who respected people's wishes and I got my corner cubicle; my own quiet space where, believe me, I work harder and better than ever before. Open spaces might seem cost-effective, but I really wonder how productive the employees actually are.

[@elmo2383]

Vicky Manson lol

[@lynxaway]

elmo something funny?

[@josuepalomares6820]

@@lynxaway if you know you know

[@mamoochie7392]

Vicky Manson you have to be productive or you’ll get fired, that’s what it’s like when you’re not autistic.

[@amythepapi]

@@mamoochie7392 rude

[@k1ckzen]

If this is Phil's attempt to get his own office then good luck lmao.

[@Vox]

:( -Phil

[@starlight8554]

Vox 😂

[@bongs1995]

Lmao

[@-anaamna5616]

Vox good luck Phil 😂💔

[@smithydll]

Office politics has resulted in even CEOs adopting open plan seating to quell riots and dissatisfaction from the workers. Good luck indeed.

[@cyberneticqualanaut7207]

Yes, to save money on real estate. But also, it's the panopticon - it's a cheap way for management to create the perception that a worker is being watched constantly, to instill fear & guilt in the workplace, and maintain control.

[@sarahwangp]

Cybernetic Qualanaut I couldn't agree more, this aspect definitely should have been mentioned in the video and is pretty central to why open offices dominate.

[@xAckarax]

I work in a open office all we all opt to talk via slack even though person is 2ft away. I agree it overrated. I want to adjust my balls, pick my nose and slam the keyboard on my forehead in privacy.

[@songbirdasu]

Ackara 😂😂😂

[@Uriel.45AC]

lol

[@Nananadadadawoo]

No thank you ill happily burp and slack my boss 2 ft to my left of me that yes my pizza was great and i agree angela must have ebola with all that damn coughing

[@humanrays]

I prefer it that way. Instead of tapping on the shoulder and potentially bringing them out of the zone, they see a little box appear in the top right of the screen and they can respond to my question when they want to. Unfortunately, doing the sensible thing means I'm "being anti-social."

[@nilen]

ALEX ok

[@husnainanwaar1992]

What if we all work from home and company's improve homes

[@littlepaperscollection5515]

Yas yas yas

[@deborahgonalez7892]

Yeeeeees

[@Claude950]

Give this man a medal!

[@Priva_C]

Not all heroes wear capes. @Hus9 for president!

[@ecclairmayo4153]

That's the way!

[@bradido]

When I became a manager I did a lot of research into this topic. I was all hype to set up a more open office. However, what I learned is that the research show is that workers need *both* open spaces to congregate and personal spaces to work. The best work happens when employees have "random encounters" to collaborate (e.g. break rooms, open meeting space, etc.) but can retreat to a secluded space for formal work. The best example is the famous Pixar building, which perfectly implements these ideas.

[@SevenFootPelican]

bradido, Pixar's office is absolutely, magically beautiful.

[@studentofsmith]

The world needs more people like you, who understand that with the power to make change comes the responsibility to do your research so you make sound decisions.

[@seigeengine]

I think the important bit is that people need to be able to work privately and in an open space, as suits what they're doing and their own personality. Forcing people to always inhabit one or the other space doesn't work, and you can't segment the open spaces as solely for meetings or breaks, because people need to be able to freely work together at times when that is what suits what they're doing. I'm not saying you were implying otherwise, but there you go. That's certainly my experience as a person who has done things.

[@ayapotato7429]

So, like a college department, where people have their own small offices, but there is also a bigger department room with a coffee machine =)

[@invisibledave]

That depends on the job. The ones I have always been in work best in an open office where everyone has access to others. When people started to work on their own, quality dropped.

[@IcyLight98]

That was oddly depressing.

[@sarahhennebry5618]

"10 years of your life in the same 4 walls.."

[@voiceofgosh]

was thinking the same thing while sitting in an open office myself.

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

Why?

[@beckmclaughlin6035]

Louie Lapa

[@StranaHyena]

Welcome to our increasingly mechanistic society

[@cryptoboxcomics1048]

When I first got a private office with a door to work in, I never knew what true concentration and productivity looked like. It's so quiet that you can hear a pin drop on the floor. That's the level of concentration that programmers need to get work done.

[@keepmewierd]

Another decision taken out of the hands of the people doing the actual work, how shocking.

[@justacommentercommenting]

don't mined me I'm just here to inform you your comment is doing well

[@penguinswithwifi]

Open offices are horrible for those with ADHD and need a private space to be able to focus better.

[@kay9156]

Also introverts...

[@humanrays]

Also people with unpredictable IBS...

[@kay9156]

@@humanrays can vouch.

[@rdvgrd6]

Well I don’t have a job so I can’t tell what’s best

[@GT6SuzukaTimeTrials]

A paycheck that, in most cases, doesn't cover basic expenses required to continue working.

[@kali2593]

open office is best for working with other because you more open to work with others. but the issue with the current open office design is that you are always being watch and have no privacy anymore. But a cubical is bad because it make you feel isolated and trap so you wont be to eager to work with others. a combo of the two is needed to give the people space of the open office but the privacy of the closed to reduce stress.

[@PCspray]

Not having job is best. 100%

[@andydavis3075]

GT6SuzukaTimeTrials "Most"? listen I support raising the minimum wage but saying, "in most cases" couldn't be further from the truth with only 13 percent of the u.s in poverty.

[@simonrichard9873]

Some people don't like beign with other people all the time.

[@Mb-vs3lw]

The company I work for has an open office space, but there are no desks, you're given a laptop and the building is literally coffee places, restaurants and large seating areas, so you don't have someone sitting right next to you, and you're free to get whatever word done in peace.

[@itsmuna8155]

Wow what company is this? Sounds interesting

[@MattGarcyaDC]

SI B what company is this?

[@nasigoreng3945]

Where you keep all the documents if there is no desk

[@jlex1049]

@@itsmuna8155 LOL, it's called working from home bruh

[@alystdesign]

no reply my man is this true

[@Ali-nt9hw]

“To encourage interaction” Me, someone with social anxiety “Mmmm sure, sure,”

[@siddharth2796]

Ummm tf

[@taxavoider9889]

Interesting video. Vox never fails to interest me in stuff I'd never thought I would have cared about

[@aaronchamberlain4698]

Well it has been an issue lately. For example, Apple just built their giant new "Spaceship" office building, but there were some teams that protested going because they said the desks were too close together. Some of the teams that had enough importance fought it so much that they got their own separate building. So we'll see how the open office works for them.

[@CallieMasters5000]

And the reverse, too! I have lost interest in some things after they overanalyzed it.

[@devinngeorge]

The Professor they also have great propaganda

[@Y2Kvids]

I don't have a job.

[@bloodyline7]

Totally

[@michaelpucci1415]

It's funny because I worked at SC Johnson headquarters and I love the look of the Great Work Room. However, I worked in a closed office and preferred it that way.

[@Rscmgw23]

What did you earn your degree in if you don't mind me asking. What is it you do?

[@michaelpucci1415]

This is my busting face it was a high school internship. Worked in IT. Lmao not much. But I might return this summer when I get home from college.

[@1compaqedr8]

Open office means slowly suffering hearing loss due to having to blast music all day with headphones for 8 hours 5 days a week

[@MosesMatsepane]

I remember when I was part of the management team that designed new working spaces at a new building, I emphasised the inclusion of quiet rooms to the open office space. Developers and Introverts loved them, they were 6 to 8 seater rooms and the rules were simple, no phone calls and no printers and minimal talking.

[@bradavon]

What if you're an introvert whose job relies on being on the phone?

[@MosesMatsepane]

@@bradavon This was a different work environment. It was a R&D facility not a call centre. So the team was doing mostly Scientific and Engineering work. An operational environment would obviously have different rules.

[@ArcadeEraBeats]

I need my own space to be honest

[@feraudyh]

You probably meant "I need my own space, to be honest."

[@amittenforkitten7016]

Build a rocket, no one else has claimed it yet.

[@takumi5639]

same with as much noise pollution i can possibly make

[@kym31r4]

Henri de Feraudy Good catch on the punctuation! "Eats, shoots and leaves."

[@houchi69]

"Open offices"..."Managers have private offices" HMMMMMMM....

[@KingBobXVI]

Makes sense - managers tend to do more tasks where they talk to people and run meetings in their offices. One of the worst things about modern open offices is planners not understanding that you shouldn't mix silent workers with louder workers - so lumping in, say, the sales team with the programmers is a recipe for disaster, and likewise, a manager talking all the time around people trying to focus will kill productivity.

[@AleksandrVasilenko93]

Managers are not meant to interact with people on a regular basis

[@aliburney4072]

also a REAL open office has private and quiet rooms to work in as well as your main desk which is in an open environment

[@seigeengine]

"a REAL open office" Found the pretentious wankstain.

[@aliburney4072]

i dont think you know what you are talking about

[@zeromailss]

How about home office instead? Going outside of my house, especially commute for over an hour just to get to a workplace is a pain and waste of time

[@andymac3614]

I work from home and I dream of this to be over. I really want an office job. It's 4pm where I'm at and I only made $2 today so far. The atmosphere is counter-productive at home.

[@Cam-pt9ex]

Andy Mac what do you do?

[@matenzo]

I freelanced from home for a few years and it was the most boring, lonely and frankly counter-productive working experience of my life. I guess I just can't stand having no human interaction for 8 hours a day 5 days a week (although as a freelancer your work hours are never that stable and I ended up working weird hours and ruining my daily routine). I work in a small open office (10 people) and overall couldn't be happier.

[@kristaw206]

We need like 2 work from home days minimum each week, I think it's a better balance.

[@wasabi42]

you astral projected into 2020

[@user-hi2ue3ed4t]

I work in the open office environment and I have to admit one thing: it’s a nightmare! I can’t concentrate properly when I'm working on my projects. People are too close to each other, too loud! I have asked my boss if I can work from home.

[@reddalchemy5970]

Open offices are bullshit....straight bullshit. I use to work for a big named company that tried this nonsense and no one interacted, stayed silent and the higher ups got closed off offices. Everyone felt like they were in a fishbowl and absolutely hated it. I left that company last year, but most of my friends that are still there, still hate the design and I think at least 6 of them are looking for other jobs and they outline the open office design as one of the reasons. Not a high reason, but a reason nonetheless....pity.

[@aliburney4072]

some companies have it cuz its hip and cool ,but most of the companies that do use this form dont actually need it. I see this as something thats best suited for creative industries not your local law firm

[@ayapotato7429]

Ali Burney Can't imagine how a creative process can happen when you are either bathed in noise of the people talking or has to stay silent all the time

[@chaser29mty2009]

Genile Bankai Elric don't like your offices, bring those jobs to Mexico, we can do it faster, better, cheapper and with Higher Quality.

[@reddalchemy5970]

Mario Perez Not my call dear. I don’t work there anymore, and I don’t care who builds them....they suck.

[@erikwsince1981]

Lol, true. When the office design is a reason for people to leave, you have the wrong office design.

[@fresazink7961]

Please do one on overrated: pumpkin spice flavor. How did it get so big? What exactly is pumpkin spice? Is pumpkin really being used in all these pumpkin flavored things? Don't get me wrong. I love it. But it would be fun to explore how it got so big and people's obssesion with it.

[@AstralBeing]

Fresa Zink it somehow became "Trendy" so even if people get tired of it they will still preach about it since they want to be relatable.

[@mrubuntuking5257]

Some in the youngest generation have gotten so used to pumpkin pie spice being the pumpkin flavor in almost everything, that they think real pumpkin doesn't taste like pumpkin. My little sister and some of her friends got pumpkin muffins from Sheetz, and thought they were disgusting and fake. You should've seen the looks on their faces when I told them the muffins were real pumpkin, and it was almost everything else in the store that was fake. They actually liked them a lot after that, it just took a few minutes to get past the flavor being very different from what they expected.

[@SevenFootPelican]

Hahaha. This is the most white-girl comment I could have ever expected to read. Cute though :-)

[@omarhussein5650]

One word. Marketing.

[@AisuruMirai]

Pumpkin spice essentially means cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Maybe something else that I can't think of right now. It's _not_ pumpkin, but rather the spices that tend to accompany it, as in pumpkin pie, for example. From my recollection, it became a big deal when Starbucks introduced the pumpkin spice latte and made it a limited edition flavor, only available in the fall and winter. This meant that Starbucks customers had to get it unless they wanted to wait another year to try it: manufactured scarcity to increase demand. My guess is that other companies followed Starbucks's lead (aka jumped on the bandwagon) because there was money to be made. As for popularity, it tastes good, so people buy it. Chai lattes have perhaps always been available at Starbucks. They include the same spices as the pumpkin spice latte (and additional ones) and have always been popular, I'm guessing. So why wouldn't they put chai/pumpkin spices in coffee? The fact that Vox liked your comment makes me think they might cover this. I hope so. I'm really curious specifically about how pumpkin spice became one of the primary markers of being "basic."

[@Smokie181]

I don't see why they have 100% open or cubical. Why don't they create workstations instead of designated spots. Have a mix of cubical and open space. Open space is good for teams working on a project but if you solo and doing your own thing, open spaces can be very distracting. So have rooms/offices/cubical areas for anyone that needs quiet time to work. If you have "interaction" in the workplace, it's a team effort thing. Otherwise, everyone is doing their own tasks solo and if you working...there is no time for interaction because the interaction you get is not work orientated, 75% of the time it's random chit-chat, horseplay. This is why you need both open spaces and private spaces. Tons of people also can't work efficiently in a open space setting because it is much to distracting and hard to concentrate. They spend less on designing a floor layout but in the end probably waste more money due to inefficient employee productivity. They probably have to hire more people also to make up for it.

[@khenali25u8]

Yessss, I hate it. I'm right in front of the coffee and water/ice machine we have. Further I see people walking in my peripheral vision all the time. I need a square around my desk!!! I hate it. I hate hearing people talk around that area too. Like please go away

[@woohooboy]

Open offices are also meant to eliminate the "boxed in" feel employees suffer from. They're also designed to ensure managers/superviors can monitor their workers and see that the level of productivity is being maintained. But haphazard layouts, lousy colour schemes, cheaply made equipment combined with saturated artificial lightning has really polluted this once great idea........

[@boptillyouflop]

They're designed to make their workers miserable and compliant by making them play productivity theater 100% at all times, which actually decreases productivity (seriously, there are studies) but helps managers maintain a strict dominance.

[@MrBeaux]

The problem is, you're still boxed in, it's just an invisible box, like boptillyouflop said, being in an open office makes you self-conscious about having a constant appearance of being productive.

[@abrahamh6106]

woohooboy if you're a manager, you have access to everyone's PC to see if they're productive. You don't have to stand behind them.

[@duftstabkerze4236]

Monitoring is killing creativity. You may be able to do routine jobs, but nothing where you have to dive deep into yourself for thinking.

[@MrBeaux]

+Duftstab Kerze It's killing more than just creativity, it's killing the soul of man.

[@SevenFootPelican]

YES, YES, YES. Finally. I agree with this video completely. I much prefer a nice cubicle or even better my own small office room to these hip, trendy open space offices. They're just a scheme to pack in as many people into a tight, uncomfortable space as possible. They are entirely economical, not cultural.

[@__-wc5zn]

_-roundabout-_

[@vertefish]

As Buckminster Fuller said decades ago, most of us are working fake jobs in buildings that would be better used as shelter for the homeless. When you see the game for what it is, it's astounding that so many of us are employed at all. When the average person has a better computer at home than the one at the office, the concept of commuting to an office to email each other and have telephone conferences should really strike everyone as an absurd waste of resources. It seems to me that a lot of people are more concerned with playing office than actual productivity; which by the promise of the industrial revolution should take up about 8 hours a week.

[@migvelv]

Communism wins again (This isn’t ironic)

[@rsls101]

Open office is a nightmare, now post covid. I find myself working more from home after work answering/reading emails because I cannot concentrate and focus on my open often desk that happens to be next to the cafeteria. My coworkers don’t realize how loud they are, how often I’m interrupted. It’s completely counterproductive

[@satoau1]

one thing i think you overlooked is the way all the desks are facing. in wright's open offices, not only is every desk further away, but everybody is facing the same direction which makes it more private.

[@homework4206]

First my dad worked at Microsoft and he had his own office, then he worked at LinkedIn and didn’t have one and whenever I came to work with him I could tell he was a little annoyed at his coworkers.

[@CoderatheGreat]

I'm introverted and prefer having my own private cubicle over an open office personally, so it's a good thing I work where I do.

[@francobuhay9604]

For someone like myself who's not only sociable but also has ADD, working in an open office has been incredibly challenging with respect to my own productivity. As an analyst, I feel like it makes much more sense to have some privacy.

[@Mobin92]

Open office actually hinders my collaboration... Because i feel like i cant talk to my "close" teammates, so i dont bother the others in there!

[@walternate2914]

You said, “the office” dozens of times and never used a clip from The Office-missed opportunity

[@adamcg1112]

They did something better. They used a clip from Office Spacs

[@sasom7274]

Nostalgic Toddler yes

[@SLACKLINEDUDE]

but then we would be now this We don't want that

[@gredangeo]

Maybe it felt like that was too obvious to do.

[@RaymondHng]

Any clip from _The Office_ would have required licensing permission.

[@devojose1025]

Companies always want their employees to be family so that good personal connections can make employees forget how underpaid and undervalued they are. They greatly overestimate how many people want to be friends with their coworkers. My team is cool and all but I could really care less about talking to them all day or getting to know them on a deep level. God forbid being next to them all day like in highschool. Also weird how your superior or coworker can just sneak up behind you like big brother to catch you getting distracted for a second. Miserable bastardization of an interesting concept. We can socialize and come together during meetings or breaks.

[@idylledoll]

Ive never liked offices period, you feel confined and they always make them so cold. I don’t like open offices but I like working from cafes. We should be allowed to work from wherever we want as long as we get the job done.

[@WickedPlaysChannel]

Open offices makes farts too public >

[@emilyshmelimy]

Jack Nello You embarrassed yourself by farting in an open office? It's OK no reason to take it out on random people in the comments. It's not your fault. It's your company's fault.

[@PrimiusLovin]

yep, and if you sneeze and there's green mucous all over your face, everyone sees that too! X)

[@Tmanaz480]

That's a feature not a bug. It facilitates plausible deniability.

[@josephmorales652]

Wicked2903 lmaoooo

[@AmsterdamHeavy]

Id take a cube over an open office any day - and cubes are a nightmare. yay for working virtual.

[@MattGarcyaDC]

AmsterdamHeavy why? It looks pretty lonely

[@aliburney4072]

ever thought thats why. some people like the privacy. Some companies dont NEED an open office, but have them for who knows why. I work in a creative industry so having that open feel is really useful. the team i work with is all engineers so that defeats the purpose, but something like a design firm or ad agency would benefit from it. The only time an engineer would really benefit from it is if they are working on a large table to put some device together.

[@akmal94ibrahim]

Matt Garcya That's why. The isolation for you to concentrate. Seeing people walking around, the loud noises, people shimming behind me because of the lack of space and all the other shenanigans disrupt the concentration. You can't control the level of distraction with an open office. With a private office, or at least, a cubicle, there is that separation from others when you need to.

[@seigeengine]

"Instead of working in a cubicle I work in a cubicle over the internet!" lol, it's funny because it's the same, only you don't get to interact like a normal human being with your coworkers.

[@seigeengine]

+E77381 No, there's a variety of reasons that's not true, the expense in question still exists, and there are practically no industries that have, to any meaningful capacity, replaced present workers for anything that the business does itself.

[@hanspeter7984]

I still prefer Open office to ms word

[@christsang9290]

most underrated comment!

[@benderfino]

@@christsang9290 most underrated comment's answer

[@denj4s]

@@benderfino most underrated comment's comment!

[@4knewt505]

Y'all are all GOOFY 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@chickeninabox]

Adobe PageMaker

[@MsVenus555]

Please ...can these companies give the “open concept” a funeral and give us employees back our cubicles. 🤣

[@TheItalianoAssassino]

"Cubical Hatred" could be the name of a Yu-gi-oh! card.

[@Roxor128]

Also a good name for a band.

[@shmaxyYT]

dad tried this at his business. he stopped and resorted back go cubicals

[@tryingmybest206]

You call your boss dad?

[@Ondrus21]

Open offices should be prohibited by law. There's no better place for development of various psychosomatoses and hate towards the others. I'm so happy for my little room, where I'm alone. It's a perfect quiet place with plenty of privacy where I can fully concentrate on my work. If I were forced to work in a room with more than 3 people, I'd become a serial killer. Dress code should be banned as well.

[@atnaloj626]

I hate open offices so so much. I hate it that my colleague in front of me lights up light (which two tables share...) all day long... I hate that... My eyes are quite sensitive and daylight is totally enough.... Yet she lights it up... How can I deal with that? There is constant laughter and talking. Phone calls. This is true disaster....I can't focus on anything. People walk around, some bring food and eat it.... seriously it's a nightmare... Yet everyone should be happy about what they get. Cause its so "modern" and "cool".... I'd rather stay in lame building, but with my personal space...

[@LazyMonkey24]

I don't like open offices, gimme a cubical farm any day

[@BinaryShad0]

Open offices are soul crushing and make me want to kill myself

[@obits3]

I used to work in a small firm with a real office and it was pretty good, but now I work in a cubical farm and love it. Cubicals have improved a lot. My desk is essentially a giant L with lots of space for storage and tools. I also have several free standing shelves on my cube walls to store things in process.

[@spaceunicorn]

Cubicals =/= open offices though. Cubicals are like a private utopia compared to open offices

[@schmoab]

Tom Forge sounds like every cubicle I've ever worked in. They're bad because you have to face away from the entrance. Worrying about nosy people monitoring what I'm doing is wasted mental energy.

[@ninezerotwo1778]

Your company handed you a giant L and you made it into your desk. That's both funny and pathetic. xD

[@figthorn]

And the overhead fluorescent lighting... my god... it made me flee the corporate world

[@darkexcalibur87]

Biggest problem: I can't be my weird self in an open office.

[@rubinephiljames]

You guys are better than Buzz feed...

[@Crispman_777]

Is that a compliment or an insult?

[@auraacqua9434]

Rubine James not a compliment.

[@fanzbeans]

How could you even compare vox to buzzfeed

[@moncala7787]

Rubine James that's a low bar

[@commentmachine1457]

+vinicius vizotto dos santos oh yeah? so you can build a channel that has more than 15 million subscribers?

[@christian_swjy]

this video is an inside protest from the VOX journalist and creators

[@PauloNideck]

This was one of the best videos I’ve ever seen. Period.

[@chickeninabox]

Wrong Langauge

[@thegoldennuggetyt]

@Precious Preginhiayar i think he’s trying to be racist.

[@zackiechan2601]

@Precious Preginhiayar I think op speaks brazilian or spanish or something, and the guy was mad that we was speaking english.

[@Person-zt5nq]

Open offices are distracting, and the extent to which they are distracting varies per person. They don't encourage interaction. They encourage distraction. For me it's not just the noise; it's *extremely* distracting to have other people in my peripheral vision all day. I end up staring at people and then they are like "why are you staring at me" and I'm like "uhh this sucks I hate open offices". Whenever someone walks by in my peripheral vision I get distracted. It eats away at your will-power trying to fight distractions non-stop. It kills productivity. It kills ability to concentrate. For people who get distracted worse by open offices, it can completely destroy their productivity. From the employer perspective, it's a bad filter. From the employee perspective, it forces them to become unemployed or to seek an employer based on office furniture. It's also bad for morale. Employers should allow employees to bring in whatever furniture works best for them. The solution is simple - let people have cubicles if they want them. Let people bring their own furniture.

[@techie9265]

When you are a Linux user and hears 'Open Office'

[@scigrrl]

355?

[@jovannyperez3821]

Persephone SGJones 365?

[@AleksandrVasilenko93]

LibreOffice

[@hihowareyou3547]

192.168.1.1 255.355.255.0 your name's wrong it's 255.255.255.0

[@techie9265]

Jj BB thanks i think this explains why my network connections are unreachable

[@breadman86]

I'm thankful every day that I'm in a high-walled cubicle. It's not a private room, but boy is it so so so much better than an open office.

[@kaivonfintel1627]

I always thought that a cubicle would be kind of nice. It’s like your own small little office where you can do your work in private.

[@asajirehgracel6847]

Wright was my inspiration when I wanted to become an architect. A book about his life was the first ever architecture book I've ever read, and it was more about art. His designs was so great that even a highschool kid from the 21st century is amazed, she thought the designs was made during her time when they was actually built from late 1800s to early 1900s.

[@mychannelhasonly1videojust198]

what is... 'work"?

[@aseth9541]

Force multiplied by displacement.

[@stevenbaumann8692]

My Channel Has Only 1Video Just To Make You Happy I have no idea.

[@fruit5003]

Hey Vsauce, Michael here. Where are your fingers?

[@Zibonnn]

Baby don't hire me!

[@hazmanrostam2849]

Its a serious play

[@krrk6337]

So this guy made a video to rant about his office.

[@frostbite7154]

KR!RK Yep...

[@renatolopez3079]

KR!RK well it's not just him behind the video. It's a whole company called 'Vox'.

[@EoRdE6]

Renato Lopez no it's not

[@TheNormal256]

Not only that, but he stated his personal opinion as if it’s fact! Something else Vox and a lot of these other media outlets catering to younger, urban viewers tend to do.

[@beautyjournal217]

Yet the managers and executives have offices

[@Stewdill51]

I work for a Fortune 500 and we have in the process of moving to our new campus. My current building has 3/4 cubicles and works really well. Managers and Directors have larger nicer cubes next to windows and have a meeting space. Our VPs have actual offices. In out new open office there are only 7 seats for every 10 people and managers, directors, and even VPs will not have assigned space.

[@MAG320]

Cubicle & closed office is my ideal design, because I can actually focus & not be distracted by noise. Trying to understand someone in a noisy atmosphere is a real challenge.

[@iamtheusualguy2611]

Soo....everything comes down to economics reasons right? No architect changes architecture constantly just for the sake of it.

[@ricksanchez128]

IAmThe UsualGuy for as much as architects like to think we design for our own needs, money is usually always the driving factor. Open office = a crazy significant cost savings. When a company needs to have 200 workers in their staff, there is absolutely no way they are going to put all 200 of them in their own office “box”

[@MrBeaux]

Not saying that everything comes down to economic reasons, but architects have to work within the constraints their clients give them, and in designing an office, one of the constraints is creating an environment that maximizes productivity.

[@emilymacdougall184]

If you look up the office buildings Mies van der Rohe or SOM built in the first half of the 20th century, they have open office plans not only because of what was mentioned in this video but also because it meant that the floors of these skyscrapers could be rented out to tenants who would do with the space what they pleased. And also the idea of flexibility and standardized modules worked well with their ideas about architecture at the time.

[@EJArthur1]

I'd like to note that planning open offices often falls on the role of the interior designer, not the architect. Recognizing and respecting that difference would help greatly in ensuring they are planned well (no offense intended to architects).

[@emilymacdougall184]

Of course! But in some cases like Frank Lloyd Wright the architect does act as interior designer. Not saying that is a good or bad thing - it has its benefits and drawbacks.

[@linotte_]

i don't know a damn thing about architecture but i can tell you i would lose my mind working in a noisy open area with no privacy like that. How can you expect people to get anything done with so much distraction? And why such a big fuss over creating an environment that encourages communication when most of the collaborative work (especially in hip millennial tech startups) is likely done online these days? sounds like a lot of empty buzzwords to justify sacrificing the workers personal space for cost-saving. Anyway, cool video.

[@slavtrooper3851]

Short answer: open offices were ment to incourage interaction between coworkers, but they ended up in a way of saving money for corps

[@ydbn272_92]

I’m highly introverted and have social anxiety. Open offices and classrooms are just nightmares.

[@enviousleaf123]

I miss my wework building.. being able to escape and just cozy up on a different floor on a stand alone desk in a corner.. or the phone booth or the couch or the dining table.. 6 floors of fun beautiful design.. the most annoying part of being in an open space is pretending to be busy with work.. look.. I can complete my job in 5 hours.. now I got 5 hours to kill.. just let me hide somewhere in piece and watch anime

[@dedhampster4730]

Open offices work when the people in the open space have similar or identical jobs and are limited to a small number of individuals. For example, a specialized call center team or a fast paced accounting group. I could see this work for a PR team keeping up with news and social media feeds. It does not work for a large scale call center or large business departments.

[@user-cw2py6wh8l]

I don't like open offices with my neighbors bad breath.

[@dreamchaser5758]

You can smell their breath from that far away? Ghastly

[@Spellweaver5]

I worked in an open office before. It was the reason I fell into a depression. I was always watched, people were always passing behind my place or talking around me. And just the number of people around had a great pressure on me. Not to mention horrible lighting, as we barely had any light from outside and lamps were those horrible blueish-white things that made my eyes hurt. Also we couldn't just start discuss the work out loud because people from various departments were in the same huge open space and we'd disturb them. It was horrible.

[@ToriKo_]

I really like this series

[@williamhornstra8313]

What’s worse than open offices? Hotdesking

[@smithydll]

The worst of the worst money saving initiatives. And they are always smaller desks, with the laptop dock, monitor, power cord, or network cable stolen or missing. And always open plan.

[@JasS19362]

I think it depends on your job surely and whether it’s task-focused or not? Working from home has been really hard for me personally because it makes it hard to ask someone’s opinion on something (and I think there’d be a similar hesitancy if there was a door separating us) and you just learn a lot by overhearing / having a problem and getting different people chipping in their thoughts on it 🤷🏽‍♀️

[@mookiecookie44]

One of the few remaining perks of being a lawyer. I will always always ALWAYS have my own private office.

[@KilgoreTrout317]

I've enjoyed this series so far, but I really would like to see your solutions to these overrated trends.

[@sartolo]

They just did ?

[@tenylegnincsevem]

watch the video again

[@KilgoreTrout317]

They talk about the past office designs, but don't offer a modern solution. It's trying to use a square peg in a round hole.

[@starshine94]

I think their idea is to get the community thinking of solutions

[@arakwar]

What in the old design doesn't work ?

[@ChrisBecerraSoy]

GUYS MY BOSS NEEDS SUBTITLES TO SEE THIS (SPANISH) !!!!!!!

[@LoSpotItaliano]

Chris Becerra you can translate it and submit the subtitles

[@DanijelCroatiaVideos]

you dont know if you are going to have a country tomorrow, pointless

[@ChrisBecerraSoy]

Danijel Dano hahaha I get the joke but im in Mexico. Come on dont say an other cruel thing

[@everythingpony]

Chris Becerra then govtoveurpoe

[@ascoria980]

Danijel Dano why?

[@vinylhedgehog5574]

another great video by Phil! Love his content

[@tijojose7966]

Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead" called this. "But I don’t understand. Why do you want me to think that this is great architecture? He pointed to the picture of the Parthenon. That, said the Dean, is the Parthenon. - So it is. - I haven’t the time to waste on silly questions. - All right, then. - Roark got up, he took a long ruler from the desk, he walked to the picture. - Shall I tell you what’s rotten about it? - It’s the Parthenon! - said the Dean. - Yes, God damn it, the Parthenon! The ruler struck the glass over the picture. - Look,- said Roark. - The famous flutings on the famous columns - what are they there for? To hide the joints in wood - when columns were made of wood, only these aren’t, they’re marble. The triglyphs, what are they? Wood. Wooden beams, the way they had to be laid when people began to build wooden shacks. Your Greeks took marble and they made copies of their wooden structures out of it, because others had done it that way. Then your masters of the Renaissance came along and made copies in plaster of copies in marble of copies in wood. Now here we are, making copies in steel and concrete of copies in plaster of copies in marble of copies in wood. Why?" -The Fountainhead

[@MilwaukeeWoman]

Or they kept making columns that way because they were attractive. The Fountainhead is just wrong. There's nothing wrong with ornament. There's nothing wrong with creating columns one way out of necessity and then finding you like the look.

[@libertyprime69]

@@MilwaukeeWoman This anti-aesthetic sentiment is what created the post-modern monstrosities that assault our eyes today. It's the same idea as wearing a nice dress or a suit. Why so decadent? Why not just put on a potato sack?

[@Bucky_88]

I'm so glad I chose to write my research essay (2 years ago) in my architectural​ design class on Frank Lloyd Wright. The man was a truly a wise thinker, often associating his architecture to the morals of America's values (as mentioned in the video, when it quotes Wright saying open offices were symbolic for democracy). He emphasized his vision of creating a modern and contemporary style that differentiated it from the European style because he wanted to give America its own unique genre and vibe. Another idea that I appreciated from his style was that architecture should adjust to the environment and blend in, not the other way around or forcing a geographical location to become whatever you want it to be. He had a slow start to his engineering career, but his determination and perseverance in previous drafting firms has led him to become such an iconic figure in this industry. The video made a great point that - while the idea and social intention (not including the economic reason of profits for less cubic space) of open offices as being comfortable, communicative, and creating a good working environment - the continued copied designs of open offices leading to cubicles has forgotten the attention to detail and design that allows the open offices to achieve its CLAIMED purpose for more interaction and good functionality for working conditions.

[@MilwaukeeWoman]

His buildings were dull, prone to physical problems, and instead of listening to his patrons he prescribed how he thought they should live. Tiny closets, built in furniture that you can never rearrange, it's terrible. Doing things different from Europe just because is stupid. The design tyranny of all the Wright influenced people needs to die. He didn't do things different, he just ripped off ideas from the Japanese buildings he saw at the 1893 world's fair. Early appropriation.

[@errrzarrr]

That's actually a bunch of utopic lies and cursi by the way

[@lori1387]

Ugh, you also failed to mention that the office complex Frank Lloyd Wright designed was TERRIBLY constructed. The office flooded every time it rained (the executive offices constantly had buckets on their floors to collect leaking rain water), and the ridiculously high ceilings carried every bit of noise. Because of this an many other factors, they decided to leave the office complex and build a new one....Frank Loyd Wright knows how to design a house or two, I'll give him that, but office buildings and theaters (look up the Kalita Humphrey's Theater), not so much.

[@gary_neilson1896]

You're missing the point of the video.

[@theTrueKlan]

Noah Cousino well nothing is perfect for the first time. Also materials were not as advanced as now. You gotta start somewhere to build the foundation.

[@biggreens7319]

I went on the tour of the sc Johnson hq and they had fixed the problems of the office

[@sciencecompliance235]

Designing for aesthetics and designing for functionality are two different matters. Of course FLW’s designs are beloved because they’re beautiful, not because they most elegantly consider the practical needs of the occupants.

[@1mfilms]

And I was thinking, while that "dream" open office looked nice, part of it was because the building was HUGE. Small to mid-sized companies are not going to be able to afford such space. In all the current-day open offices he showed, there'd be no way you'd get that much space between employees unless you threw out half of them.

[@netogrof]

I had a cube at my last job. It was nice because if I wanted alone time I could have it and if I needed help all I had to do was stand up and ask anyone within a 5 foot radius.

[@marlena44mm44]

This is such an important video! Having just graduated, I became exposed to these two different office styles and found myself hating both of them. Somewhat comforting to know it wasn't just me.

[@moea.9120]

That office looks pretty great for 1909!

[@sptlght9548]

We need to reevaluate what jobs need office and what dont. coronavirus is a global proof-of-concept that lets us see what jobs can be done from home and how well. I dont see a reason why people working on a computer cant work from home all the time

[@Professor_Utonium_]

I don't think at-home work will continue once COVID has cooled off. Humans are incredibly slavish to the idea of "sunk costs" and keeping with tradition, regardless of the negatives associated with those traditions. Trust me though, I would love to keep with telework. Saves me so much gas and time alone.

[@kadacho]

Awesome video!! Inspired to check out more of frank lloyd Wright’s architecture !

[@averageforzaplayer1048]

I think the issue nowadays is the hike in office rent prices which is now more expensive for less space. A contributing factor could be the appearance of more electronic/Internet based companies such as online retailers or game development companies that require offices to manage servers and Maximize efficiency. These requirements have likely lead the demand for offices to rise over time leading to its higher prices. These are my main ideas on why offices aren’t as elegant as they could be/ previously were.