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Comment by nashashmi | Hacker News Reader

Man, I remember in college when we would be working long hours in the library on a computer lined up in a row of computers. Every one would be intensely working on what they needed to. Sometimes two would work together. This was especially true before presentations when we were trying to put our stuff together. It was neat. It was collaborative. It was fun. And we were happy.

Open floor plan is reminiscent of those days, but it isn't working. And I cannot figure out why. What's missing? Intensity? Work? Stress? Team building therapy? Or just trust? Whatever it is I hope we figure it out.

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Perhaps it's the expectation of near silence (you might work together but you'll keep your voice down) and lack of visual noise in the library?

In my open plan office I have:

- People walking past my desk

- People walking behind me

- People walking in front of me, over the "wall"

- A team that regularly has stand up meetings behind me

- Coworkers that talk loudly at their own desks, near mine

- Coworkers that talk loudly in a small more private area, ~10ft away

- A small meeting room with a door that doesn't isolate noise very well

- A kitchen ~20ft away with a loud espresso machine

Plus, I'm in a large room and can hear conversations up to 50ft away. Given the number of people, there's nearly always one happening.

In a library, you've got a quiet space with an expectation that people will keep their voices down. Study desks often have high walls in the front and to the sides, to block out visual noise. They're also often isolated from major traffic areas.

Libraries are designed to optimize intellectual work and study, open plan offices are absolutely not.

IMHO, I think what's missing is focus. In college, people in the library were there to get stuff done and would leave when they were done or needed a break. In today's workspace it's less likely that everyone is completely focused on doing work every hour of the 8 to 5 work day, and that's what creates distractions.

You nailed it.

In the company's mind, everyone in the office is there to focus on exactly the task at hand all the time. In reality, it comes in spurts and each person has those at different times. When people are in there unfocused, they just distract the people who are focused.

For one thing, I'm guessing you didn't do all your work there, only specific things for short time periods. If you worked in that environment all day every day, the fun would wear off eventually. Also, as people relax, they'll get noisier.

Probably the fact that in a library, there is a cultural expectation of quiet, built over the years by librarians shushing loud people. Thus, if you want a quiet place to work, you go to a library. I need a librarian in my (open) office.

The comments about library etiquette are on to something.

But I think it also helps that most of the other people in the library are probably strangers, and if a couple of them are talking it's probably about something quite different from what you're working on.

"Team" conversations that might possibly be relevant to your stuff are the worst distractions.

Agreed - I liken it to my college experience: if you want to eat or drink anything other than water, or talk to other people, you go to the coffee shop.

If you want to focus on your work and take breaks to do the rest you go to the library.

I always chose the coffee shop, so open offices don't bother me hugely. The caveat is that a good pair of headphones is a must.

> ... other people in the library are probably strangers

This is the key thing--our brains process familiar and unknown voices differently. Recognition of a familiar entity and the ensuing reactions are automatic, and they all have a processing cost.

The default being quiet, and respect for others doing focused work and trying your best to not distract them, was certainly a key ingredient.

In library you are not supposed to make noise. Go outside to have a chat. Proably that helped.

In college, nobody was likely to walk up and interrupt you.

In the workplace, they are, unless you have an office with a door you can close.

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