How The Cubicle Became Universally Hated -The Lightbulb Moment
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- Опубликовано: 1 июн 2024
- Did you know the Cubicle was originally designed to set workers free? A wild, forward thinking designer named Robert Propst dreamed up what he called “The Action Office” as a groovy 1960s workplace utopia that would unleash the modern knowledge worker’s vast untapped potential. This is how it all went so wrong.
This is The Lightbulb Moment. A Cheddar and CuriosityStream Original Series. The show that uncovers the surprising impact of less-celebrated inventions and the moments of inspiration that made them possible.
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I love how that one cheddar employee hated the open plan but was too shy to ask their boss to bring back the cubicle so they made a video on it.
What does their office look like?
@@ZNotFound probably generic open office
Shoulder to shoulder lol naw idk
Their Nyc office is fully open plan, With long ray of tables 5 workers on each side stack in a row
Now listen here
compared a an open plan office, cubicles suddenly look like a luxury lmao
Exactly... And there are different personalities, and different types of work. I am a data scientist and introvert, and plain open office is a big no-no.
...and still it is possible to make open plan office even worse. Let's put less desks than there are people, hedging our bets that people are in and out of the office. And then: free seating! It is glorious!
Agreed
@@needfortweed8734 I can't stand that at a call center. Too many employees, not enough desks, or coming in and finding someone at your seat. Most places I worked at have had assigned seating but one or two places I've been at didn't, and after years of operating, only suddenly would think to maybe give us assigned spots so there's no hunting for a spot to sit each day, wasting valuable time and causing people to clock in late. Also easier for our team leaders and co-workers to find us.
@@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley yeah, I think office life in general gets more problematic with those solutions. Especially if the company also fails to give the possibility of working from home (if at all possible). So then you're just hoping that somebody else is sick or away in a meeting. And that you're there early enough to gave your favorite spot.
The original plan was three desks a person and now open offices are three people a desk
Open offices basically went back to a worse form of what Probst was trying to change with the rows of big metal desks.
@@Myar692 they just turned them face to face and moved everything closer to rent less space
progress
I work in a small office and essentially take up 4 desks (two corner desks, we have the older ones in the middle of the room, my little island) and I still hate it. I want a wall
The modern day developed economy equivalent to the factory floor.
Cow feed stall are the worse !!!
I think I can speak for a large chunk of all software developers. We despise the open plan office.
I was fortunate to work at one software company where employees were put into pairs and given their own office which always included nice big windows and a door you could close.
Very true. Work that needs a lot of abstraction and concentration needs introspection.
Open office may be great for marketing and other "artsy" and millennial jobs, but you can't do math with people constantly distracting you.
Yes. Yes you would.
@@ziguirayou
If doing one math is difficult...imagine doing multiple maths.😒
I think how "open" it is and how big, as open offices with 4 to 6 desk are actually really practical while not being to big at the same time, but they still need to be designed very cleverly to give privacy to everyone, allow collaboration and still be green (plants) while not reflecting sounds easily.
People would kill for a cubicle in the horror show that is a 'modern' open plan office. It's only open plan to save money, not to increase productivity or to save your sanity!
@B H Thanks Internet stranger!
"But you can talk to your co-workers whenever you want."
"YES THAT'S THE PROBLEM."
My company was in the middle of moving all our buildings to open plans... then covid-19 saved us all lol. Although now we work from home, which is its own kind of hell
@@ProductBasement At least you can poo on company time in peace without your ears (and other senses) being assaulted from another cubicle.
I agree. I hate this new "open office" trend. Pure noise, distractions and annoyance. Give me my privacy back!
As an Introvert the Cubicle is my kingdom & I prefer keeping it
Same here! I need my space. All others can stay out.
Yes!!! I love my cubicle and the high wall!
How about your own office? Is that an utopia these days?
An office is ten times better. Your idea of a kingdom is sad and pathetic.
I'm old fachend, I like actual walls and a door.
For us introverts, cubicles with high partitions are a slice of heaven. Keep them!
Hey now. I'm an extravert and I still prefer them. Leave socialisation to lunchtime, watercooler breaks and afterwork!
@@ARTEMISXIX
And the break rooms!
I love my cubicle at work, and never complained:
-dedicated air conditioning unit
-dedicated heating system
-dedicated sound system
-dedicated 2000W - 240V inverter
-24V/USB sockets for charging phones
-heated seats
-own fridge
-own microwave oven
-adjustable arm rests
-full size bed
-all around curtains
.
.
.
This is the cab of my truck.
Well, great 👍 then😂
I'm a train driver and I can relate :D
@@AmbivalentMind Wouldn't that mean your 'office' also had regular 'full body massage'? 🤔 😎
As an Uber driver, I can relate.
Damn, I wish I had heated seats
I like the idea of cubicles. Because my boss sits next to me in an open plan office. He’s right there!
The dichotomy of man
LOL. You have my pity sir or madam.
Don't let him see you watching youtube
yeah I just cannot do work when people are watching me, especially authority.
@@littlechickeyhudak me neither! I am legitimately best friends with my boss and never get critiques and I’m still nervous working around her lol
Tomorrow's video title: "How the Shared Open Space Office Became Universally Hated"
May be problem is with office itself not the seating.
It was hated from the beginning only loved by executives (who btw don't sit in open space).
its almost like offering two extremes would piss people off- a cramped closet vs a giant room full of people.
And the cycle continues.
Cubicles are horrid but they are still 100x better than an open office plan. Theres a reason we stopped with open office shit; because its only efficient for space management. Every other aspect of it sucks.
I will disagree, would much prefer an open concept to a cubical or tiny office. But here in lies the issue, every personality is different and no cookie-cutter method works. In focusing on only efficient space-saving design we ignore the human element.
I think the best office layouts offer a myriad of options for people to work from, from large collaborative tables to small personal and quiet booths for those moments when you just want to focus.
@@mbogucki1 "Office" and "human element" do not go together.
What would be an alternative to both cubicles and open office plans? Either there are walls/half-walls separating you or there aren't. If you say that everyone should have their own office, that becomes problematic on both a cost and a #metoo level
@@ProductBasement 4:46 Sure it's more expensive, but it looks good to those who need space as well as those who prefer a private space.
@@ProductBasement Which is why cubes are the preferred option. I mean, I had some bitch complain that my Apple earbuds were TOO LOUD while they were in my ears...in the next cube over. I could also scratch my balls in a cube, with a minimum of discretion. I gave all that shit up and have been working from home since 2008 - saves everyone time and aggravation.
I still prefer a Cubicle to the shared team tables we had at my work a million times over. Open offices are terrible.
To us non-office folks could you explain why? Open spaces seen more relaxed.
@@saltymcsaltface In my case, there was no dedicated space that you could call your own. You can come into the office and someone can be sitting in your "usual spot." I also couldn't leave anything behind or customize my own space. It was extremely easy to get distracted with people walking by, people laughing loudly, etc... (I was also guiltily of doing those things, but it's hard to stop even when you know it's annoying to other people).
What they mentioned about productivity is 100% correct. It was very difficult to be able to put your head down and focus. At least now I work from home since the office is closed.
I had an intermediate office that I enjoyed. Cube's were grouped into 4 desks, each persone working in a corner with walls and shelves. Between the desks, the were 3 tables in between the work station, the 4th was the walk way in. You could turn and work with your team then turn back and ignore them.
Clarification: Your work area was as large as a typical cube.
I know right, the universially hated cubicle, that’s a ridiculous statement to make and almost blatantly false by the comments in the comments section.
@@saltymcsaltface The idea seems cool in theory until you are sitting inches away from 1. someone constantly on the phone yelling personal information, 2. someone constantly pulling you into mindless conversations, 3. someone with "allergies" 4. Someone who constantly has spontaneous meeting w/various people right in front of you. Just the general feeling of being watched, besides all that it's ok 😐
I love my cubicle, but then I’m an introvert who is happy to turn up, earn my cash and go home.
Yes! Someone who understands the proper role of work in life!
Agree with you. I'm not here to make friends.
Totally. We have a ‘open plan with dividers; system and a policy where if you want to signal that you need peace and quiet/not to be disturbed, you put headphones on. In practice of course, that just means you get hands waved in your face and an apology for bothering you before they carry on with whatever crap is irrelevant to your job.
@@JackKing12. coworkers are often where people find friends spouses or etc lol
Same. But mine's in a school setting. Idk what my opinion would be on an office setting.
I hate staring at my coworkers for 8 hours a day because of short cubicle walls
short walls arent really any different than an open plan - I had to suffer that life for a few months during a relocation.
I’m introverted and I always wished I had a cubicle, instead of the open office I was in before being laid off last year. Thank God for working at home now!
Know what you mean particularly when it's mostly hot women.
I used to sit across from my boss - I was constantly catching his eye over the top of my computer. 😑
I hate mine which are just tall enough not to see the ones close to me (so if you want to quickly check a bit of work you have to stand) but not tall enough to actually block any noise.
Cubicles are fine. Open office is the worst.
It depends on the person Introverts prefer cubicles usually and extroverts prefer open office concepts.
@@kemster9495 Not really, I’m as extroverted as they come, and I still prefer a cubicle. I get to customize my space the way I want without worrying about people sitting in my seat.
@Alpha Omega
It's obvious you've never worked remotely or not in real conditions to say that.
Productivity and morale are actually lower at home than at the office.
@Alpha Omega
Well it's obvious there's a difference between someone who actually worked from home (me) and you
@Alpha Omega calling people "cupcake"... Karen spotted
The modern office should basically be home offices. Ultimate cost cutting is not even house your employees
Remote working is still being worked on. Probably commonplace by 2030. Pandemic really helped to make it more popular
Spoke with some of my coworkers and we basically all agreed that productivity was down to 1/3 - 1/5 due to the extended amounts of home office. And those were the ones without kids. There's no way you offset the losses in productivity by saving office space.
@@DLCSpider makes sense
@@DLCSpider it really depends on what you're doing. If it's highly collaborative with lots of ideas that need to be bounced and things updated, it may not be as good as face to face.
But for software developers and similar roles. It's so much better, since I can basically work any hours that I feel like, so long as I deliver.
@@GameFuMaster I am a software developer. Haven't seen the office since February 2020 (except for about 5 days during summer). Even the ones who preferred working from home now say it sucks. There's a limit to how far you can push this.
Nothing made me appreciate my cubicle more than the "open office" concept.
One important factor is missing from the equation in this video- The NATURE of work done in these spaces! The type of business/work will greatly determine which arrangements are better suited!
Err... No. There's no work the open plan is better suited for.
@@pdcichosz in a job where communication is vital, it's best to have open offices, especially when working in teams.
@@HJSDGCE that's the usual answer. The thing is that even in a job where communication is vital you don't communicate 24/7 with the people in your vicinity. You don't even communicate with them most of your work day. There are no such jobs.
@@HJSDGCE hybrid, have cubicles and a good number of team spaces (aka conference rooms) and everyone works on laptops or easily moved workstations so the team can go from the open space back to their cubicles when team work cab be done via e-mail (the majority of meetings should just be e-mails anyway.)
@@pdcichosz My high school publications room had constant discussion back and forth, with people calling other people across the room for opinions on everything. Easily the loudest room in the school, yet the pubs team was among the best in the state, cranking out thousands of pages of award-winning material over the course of the year. I think a cubicle would've been terrible and it's clear the open classroom didn't cause enough distraction to stifle productivity. Of course professional publications probably have much more specialized staff than the everyone does everything style my high school had, but the point still stands--there are some exceptions, however few.
I went from tall to short cubicles and it was the worse. My neighbors and passerbys kept interrupting me; they got a snack; they felt the need to tell me. They had weekend pictures; they felt the need to show me. They saw me working, they felt the need to chit-chat. I'm not saying I was always focused but sometimes you really need to concentrate. It was worse when I passed by theirs and they tell me, "you don't say hi!" and drag me in.
Worst.
@@ryanyoder7573 they're, there or their?
@@zone07 There
All the theirs!
HR: Should we give every employee 1 desk or 3 desks?
Finance: 🤔
Employees: required to do one job per desk for the same pay.
Noooooooo just give 3 employees 1 desk and give them 4 different jobs each
You can't do 3 desks today anyway, do all our work on computer with multiple monitors, the logistics just do not work
Finance: Make three employees share 1 desk
none
Aside from working remote this last year, I'm lucky enough to work in an environment with real offices. No cubicle or open space can match the efficiency and clarity that comes with an actual office.
Moral of the story: the problem was never the workspace, but work itself.
Yeah. Work sucks. But starving sucks more.
Not work but the way workers are exploited by those who do not work
@@MrZekinhaluiz exploited by social-structures that treat people like meat-robots* ftfy
@@fernandoromerogalvan are you a socialist or an anti-capitalist by any chance?
@@TheAvsouto Man, you`ve explained humanity.
I type loudly and extremely quickly, I had an open office once and quit two months because it was just too much. I much prefer a cubicle or a tiny private office because I can type and not bother people as much.
Oh no, a loud typer, what will we do. You're still about 50 places down the list from an all day gossip, a microwave fish eater, or a loud ring tone person who leaves their cell phone at their desk to ring every minute for hours upon hours.
Don't knock being a microwave fish eater. It's how I discouraged a manager from having 1 on 1 weekly lunchtime meetings with me. Unless things were critical, I really wanted lunchtime as a moment to unwind and re-focus.
Wow you quit because you thought you were bothering people. Usually it's the other way round.
Should have stayed... with enough annoyed people you might've gotten own room (firing someone for "loud typing while working faster than everyone else" would be a pr nightmare, easier/ cheaper to promote that person)
There are keyboards with soft touch etc you know?
Eugh I could never work in a open office. Comparing the two extremes, I would rather have a nice cubicle.
Or even better, my own room with a window, basically just a fancier cubicle.
Innit funny that the “modern” open office looks just like office hell from the 1920ies.
I thought the same thing! It's basically the old hellworld plus a chic coffee bar (if you're lucky).
In a way, is has a disturbing resemblance to sweat shops…
I still don't understand the difference between the 2, it's the same shit.
Obviously in movies they’re seen as “hell”, look at the creative types that are screen writers and procures. You have to remember they type of people that make movies lol.
It was also the popular conception.
Different people have different taste, so, options would be nice.
True haha. People go into film or creative work in general because they dread a cubicle job. Naturally, our pop culture--driven by our entertainment--will be biased against them
Movie Makers: Ugh, a 9:00 to 5:00 job in a cubicle is the worst, right?
Me: Holy shit, that actually exists? Where? Are they hiring? I'd kill for that kind of privacy, predictability, and work-life balance. Can you give them my resume?
@@theMoporter Popular conception...which is driven by media. I thought I was gonna hate cubicles, but now I work in one and it's actually pretty awesome. Still love Office Space though.
In other words, once again we try to come up with one-size-fits-all solutions in spite of groups of people liking a variety of different choices and those likes are always changing.
Open offices make sense when it's for a team working on the same stuff. That's when I liked it best.
When I was sitting in an area that had everybody working on different things with people in different offices, that's when it was really annoying/distracting/etc.
I think cubicles and open offices are a prime example of "be careful what you wish for".
Whereas cubicles were once dreaded a couple of decades ago, they seem like a luxury to me compared to the open offices we have today!
I like cubicles in a way. I love to have some sense of privacy and personal space. I like to put post-it notes and other things to remind me of the things I have to do and have done.
Funny how you never see the CEO setting up his own little space in an open office with all the other employees. He always gets his own office. I geuss he's the only person in the company who has meetings, discusses sensitive material, values privacy, or gets distracted by other people's conversations.
Yeppp.
He's the bossman.
@@danlightened bosmang
To be fair, I was in one company that the CEO did work in the open floor plan like the rest of us. I respected that. One night at a gathering he said he hated it as well. I just blurted out "Well, it's a shame we don't have someone that could change this."
But it was all about finance. Low cash burn to maximize profits in an effort to make the company attractive as an acquisition target. It worked. I'll leave it at that.
@@ellisz5972 short term pain to make the company more attractive to potential buyers is a tale as old as time
Note from Introvert: Bring back the cubicles!
How about in old TV and movies, where people actually had their own offices? As in, like, real friggin' rooms that are part of the building itself, with a door and everything.
@@frigginjerk bad drywall panels and a desk, final offer
@@frigginjerk that would be the only humane option aside from remote work and then cubicles but you just know it's not feasible for almost all offices: too many employees and/or lack of funds or simple greed
it really depends on your role and tasks as well
Yes
I worked for a company that not only had an open office space, but put 4 of the designer’s desks on a stage (because we were the talent) with rest of the employees desks surrounding the stage. I was one of the designers. Not only did I have no privacy, I was literally performing every miserable day.
A classic office with a door and two windows to the outside is best.
Of course but if you have a lot of employees it gets expensive fast
@@edwardbrown3721 This makes the quality of living in a small town. Office space is cheaper and, therefore, everyone can get his own office.
Not to talk about housing.
This is the way
@@edwardbrown3721 If you can't afford to provide basic comforts for your employees, you shouldn't have employees.
Those windows are optional, it's door that's important. You can even share the office with a handful of people but give them the ability to shut out the rest of the office.
Screw working in an office. Covid has only shown us that the majority of desk work can be done at home
The only reason why I’m apprehensive of permanent work from home, is the potential to build friendships. Some of my closest friends I’ve met through work unexpectedly. As for others, once I get to know someone I generally enjoy seeing them regularly. I’m a recent grad, so ahead of me is ONLY work. Kinda intimidated but also intrigued about how society will change after not having the ability to meet people you’re forced to talk to. And with COVID for now well, the traditional ways of socializing are temporarily out the window.
There are pros and cons to working in an office. You get less concentration time in an office but most of what I do is collaborative so it's a lot slower and more frustrating to do remotely.
@@orangeradishneo There's a hybrid option: most of the time at home mixed with a few "in office" days. When my husband's office has the option for people to come back, he's already approved to keep working from home, only required to spend one day per month in office. Others options might be "x" days per week or pay period.
I go fucking insane being always at work not seeing other human beings for hours and hours, day after day, month after month. Even if I am a fucking introvert.... Yeah no.
I actually loved when offices had cubicles! The 80’s and 90’s were a much more pleasant work environment than the open plan designs of today.
Bigger cubicles are good
Just do a mixture of all those workspaces included remote working.
That's where the expensive little moveable pods come in---almost as soon as the open office concept began four years ago, someone saw a need for privacy, and reinvented the old phone booths, enlarging them slightly, putting in a small desk and high stool, making them into a place that can be rolled wherever privacy might be needed, and they plug into USB ports and electric outlets, thereby forming a very tiny "office within the large open office" for people to get a bit more work done while minimizing distractions.
@@jb6712 except it's stupid and expensive, just have an actual office room for that or simply let people also work from home
If people feel the need to run away and hide from their office space to actually sit down and do work somewhere that is not loud and distracting then it means something is deeply wrong with the design, and the solution is not yet another cage
Then COVID came and the cubicle seems like the best thing to happen To schools
No. The best things are vaccines, not boxes.....
@@MrZekinhaluiz I hate to break it to you but the only thing that protects us against viruses and disease is a healthy immune system. Not a vaccine that hurt your immune system not wearing a mask for a year all the time that crushes your immune system not staying indoors all the time that also crushes your immune system. Wake up to the common sense.
@@jeffreywolf5235 as a non american I can see you will soon fall and your public education is at fault.
@@jeffreywolf5235 a vaccine literally helps your immune system dude
@@MrZekinhaluiz luckily I skipped as much as school as I possibly could and learn everything by myself to run my own construction company before I was disabled. And since then I have done 20 years of health research and know that if you have a perfect running immune system you will never have problems. I only have 20% of my immune system I'm not going to compromise it anymore by putting a mask on my face. And I hated school and it wasn't because I didn't like to learn it was because I was being lied to. And the stuff they were teaching what is nothing except for the woods, drafting, photography, metals and arts classes and maybe a few of the science classes those and math you're also safe with. Other than that they're teaching lies history was nothing but a lie. The history books are always written by The Victors of the war. who always say they were the holy ones when most of the time they are not the good people and don't get me started on religion how many people have been killed in the name of religion millions billions of people
Even when I worked in a call centre I had a cubicle. An open office is just dreadful.
My husband worked in a call center that was open office. It was a nightmare.
@@PhoenyxAshe
Sounds pretty much like a sweatshop
@@Pundit07 Close to. Not _quite_ as bad as the one job I worked at for all of a day - cold call telemarketing. Combine some shady sales tactics, all the sellers crammed into two smallish rooms, phones about two feet apart. Oh, and the "cheer and ring the bell when a big sale is made" ... in those same small rooms.
I left with a migraine and never went back. I'm not sure they even noticed.
Cubicles are an introvert’s paradise. It says “stay away” without having to say stay away lol
I literally install these for a living. It's super interesting to learn the history of them.
It's also sad/funny that at a glance I can name some of the systems featured in this video.
Sir, you’re a life saver.
Why sad? Seems like a good thing to know your stuff.
Open office concepts are only useful when you have an office that requires constant collaboration and easy communication between staff.
That's what it's meant to facilitate.
Cubicles are meant for workers who only need to focus on what they're doing and nothing else.
The isolation allows them to make it their own private space and a comfortable place to focus.
Open office is the reason I'm going to keep working from home forever.
Let's see: from seeing people changing in their cubicles, constantly having to smell what other people are eating, noisy cubicle neighbors, people not wearing their shoes etc. I think I much rather continue working in solitude from my living room.
having worked only in open offices, I look at cubicles as a luxury of a bygone age
I'd much rather much have my cubicle over an open office that I have now.
In my opinion, the best office is a separate room in your home, not your bedroom, kitchen, nor living room.
Although unfortunately, not everyone can have a whole room at home just for work...
The den/office will become a feature in every new home. Until then, you can convert the second bedroom, if you have one.
I’m with you 100%. Even when we were kids we had privacy doing our homework in our own bedroom.
When I worked for Bell Labs (1976-2001), we were mostly using 1 and 2 person closed offices. This gave us the space and quiet we needed to do design work. As long as a person's door was open, there was little impedance to sharing ideas since popping in for a quick chat was easy (and didn't disturb others). The one project I was on that used cubes really forced us to find out of the way places for impromptu design discussions.
I'd start looking for another job if I were put in an open office.
I hate the open-plan office, I would rather have the dreaded "cubicle" type.
As an introvert, I agree!
I worked in a cubicle for a year or so and loved it. You get some truly personal space you can customize. The walls were the right height too, I didn't see anyone while seating but when I stand up I could chat with neighbors.
A room for a small team (4-7 people) is the absolute best though. You can have all of your team meetings there without needing to find the goddamn free meeting room.
Personally, the problem with all these workspaces is they’re all seen as a one size fits all solution. For some people, in some jobs, open office plans will work well because they allow effortless collaboration and informal teamwork. For other people in other jobs, cubicles will work well because they allow some privacy and quiet without being totally walled in. For others, a full office will work well because it’s got a lot of privacy and space to work without distraction. Everyone needs to understand that having all this stuff for everyone isn’t ever going to work that well, and having flexibility and optimization for different people is going to work better than any one setup for all workers.
I'll take a cubicle over open plan any day! I left one of my jobs because they moved to an open office despite what the employees said
The cubicle is a worth of art.
If your a rank and file employee and you have a cubicle. You get to be a boss in someway in your own space. Unlike not having a cubicle and seeing your coworkers pick their nose or them watching you do it.
Cubicle = privacy
Nose picking for all!
“We need to get back to normal and return to the office.” - upper management.
“...why?” - me thinking of cubicles.
They want you back because managers get nervous when the people they manage aren't visible. _How is everybody else at the company going to know what a big important boss I am if they can't see all the drones I supervise? I need warm bodies back in those cubicles!_
I actually had a cubical I loved. We had a "Super cube" for 4 people. There was one wall around all 4 work areas, you would be in a corner. The work areas were separated by tables with a walk way in the middle. We were working in 2 or 4 man engineering teams so this was great. We could just turn and review a plan set or draw up concepts within our team, and turn back and be back to work. We had 5 of these in the office. Engineers, surveyors and techs all grouped together.
Luckily I still have that...... Just waiting for the world to open.
@@piojeet It is always great when people adapt an office space to their needs. I haven't been to the office to work in 3 years, but in the field. Last time I was there was to pick up beer my mamager left me for Christmas!
@wojtek I haven't been to the office over a year myself. My company had the remote working option since early 2000 but no one really used it unless you were feeling under the weather. Now 95% of the company is remote and they have started rolling out 100% remote options for any employee who wants it. With the condition of loosing the cubical.
I think the idea of a space where you have different workstations and with some of them requiering you to stand is a great idea. Makes you move more and stand up at times, perking you up. So basically a modified cubicle with enough space for that. The hexagon workspaces seems to the closest to it.
Interesting how our current working situation sounds similar to that mentioned at the start of the video circa Industrial Revolution.
The ideal modern office looks like my second bedroom
Though most ppl don’t have the luxury of a second bedroom.
One of the more jaw-dropping experiences I've had in my working life had to do with an office cubicle back in the early 1980s when I worked at National Semiconductors, a leading chip manufacturer in Silicon Valley, California, during that era: The president/CEO of that company, Charles Sporck, conducted his work from an open-air cubicle at a non-descript desk . . . the decorum of it was no better than a low-level manager's workspace. You would have thought a top executive would be in a private office, lavishly decorated.
Imagine that, a CEO for a company with a quarter-billion dollars in revenue, having a workspace as modest as it was. And Sporck's workspace was not the stuff of hearsay, I actually saw it on a daily basis since I was an internal mail courier for the company at the time; where one of my mail drop-off and pickup places was at that executives' area of National Semiconductor.
My eyes lit up when I saw my newest job had cubicles and was so excited to be promoted one day to get one
I love my cubicle, I can actually personalize my space somewhat.. when I started in an open office area, I would always become annoyed at the smallest things
My most productive (self designed) office was much like Probst’s intuitive design, just condensed with a desk, free standing bookshelf, free standing filing cabinet, dry erase board, full 2*6 desk and a guest chair. The aisle facing wall was 48” so it was easy to chat while standing. Everything I needed was right there. With just enough privacy.
I’ve always worked in cubicles (in an archaic industry) and it surprised me to learn recently that most office workers work in an open office these days. I though it was only modern tech companies. I hate the idea of an open office with a lack of privacy - I don’t think I could be productive. From the sound of this comment section, most ppl agree! I hope more businesses go back to the cubicle model.
Two things I realized:
1. We don't hate the work office setup . We just hate the work and the toxic culture.
2. Introverts like me who want to focus on their work would prefer cubicle and extroverts who always keep poking their nose in others business would like open office.
Open offices are good for collaboration & nothing else.
When I worked in an office I purposefully arranged my monitors into a 'monitor wall' and put headphones in. I code for a living so need the privacy. Face to face time is for the boardroom!
I used to work in an open office. I was a lot like trying to get something done at the entrance of a train station. Especially since we didn't have our own desks, but had to also spend our working day playing a stressful game of "musical chair". - Very dynamic, according to the people with personal offices with an actual door.
I've found another job. Now I have an actual office of my own. It's the size of a closet, but I enjoy it so much, compared to what I had before. Usually I and my coworkers down the hall keep our doors open for easy communication. But it's great to be able to close it at be completely private for the sensitive phone calls or when you really need to concentrate.
I went from a private office, to cubicle, to open space office. Open space are the worst. I liked the cubicle most, after I got used to not being able to shut my door when I was really busy.
Open offices are like open concept living. Sounds great on paper, looks great as a showpiece, but anyone who uses it for an extended period of time knows why things were designed the way they were originally
Office space was one of my favorite movies of all time
The Swingline stapler was a star.
One of my favorites as well. It should have won the Oscar for Best Documentary.
3:35 Describing Herman Miller as "mold breaking" when precisely what they became famous for was molded furniture. Priceless.
Then came the open office layout and everybody started to love the cubical
It was new coke all along!
As an introvert, I love cubicles with high partition. I just wish they're bigger and spacious. Like a room. Yes I would like a room office for myself.
They didn't like Propst's vision so he gave them the cubicles as revenge
I redesigned an open office lately. On the sides of the windows there are groups of 4 desks divided by shelf's/fabricwalls and plants. Also there are smaller closed cubicles where there is only one desk or A meeting table or just two comfortable chairs to have a more private discussion or a phone call etc.. that's all around an open lounge area with groups of armchairs sofas smaller shelfs and lots of plants.... Each employee would get a trolley for his personal stuff and would be able to use any computer in the area. So either working in the lounge area or the 4table groups or in one of the closed.cubicles. switching from one working space to another easily and fast as if the employee would had been working on the same machine the hole day.... turning off/on the PC Login etc...) via a timetable one could reserve those tables in advance so a fair desc sharing could develop. (Not one employee blocking one specific working space all the time if others may want to use it too)... But in the end it turned out that the scheduling system wasn't needed. Even the boss decided to use the same desc sharing system and his office became a shared meeting room.
I’ve always dreaded the idea of working in a cubical... however, after being around a bit, it can actually work, granted it’s modern, lively, colorful, easy to personalize and not look like something you’d see in a grey 1990’s accounting office.
It pisses me off when a coworker constantly looks at my screens, cubicle would solve that, and help with others breathing heavily, eating, sneezing, etc.
I preferred the cubical. I actually miss the personal space it gave. Working in an open office makes me feel like I'm always being watched.
I miss my cubicle. This last one was actually the best as it was huge with a big sunny window. It also represented boundaries which are hard to find working at home. I should probably buy a screen.
I worked at one place which everyone worked in a cubicle but each cubicle was a good 10 feet from the next one. That was a good layout.
I would love a cubicle where I could just hide in it and get my job done 😂. A curtain that closes behind me would be even better
I actually LOVE having cubicles. I do not like being seen while working, making me insecure and less productive ‘cause I was too self conscious with open office concept.
I had always worked in very small IT companies and usually visited clients' server rooms instead of offices. The first time I came to an office of one of our clients and saw rows after rows of tables without barriers, I had a mini panic attack/stage fright. I was just passing by, but I dreaded working in a setting like that...
Now it's my first time working in a big firm where the desks have short barriers between them. I can't complain. There's enough privacy and at the same time allows for easy communication. I really agree with the closing statement of this video too that office workspace is a very small part of the problem in modern offices...
"Open office" is an euphemism for cheap workspace where you can be watched. I have my own room, and I'm glad for that.
Work from home. We don’t need to drive to a building and take up floor space.
My office was nice, cubicle was spacious, but my home office is better.
This video feels way outdated. I don't know a single person that works in an open space, cafeteria style first-come first-served no-personal-effects-allowed bench seating that doesn't dream about going back to cubicles while watching their manager close the door to their single-occupancy office.
Great B-roll on this video of all the different eras. I can see film grain as well so they weren't necessarily clips from movie sets.
I worked in a Startup.
The first office was in a small space.
Had cubicles in a row.
People had to move their chair for others to go their place.
Had around 30 people at that time.
Then the number of employees increased and there was barely any space left.
Then we got a new place.
Still had cubicles but had a lot of space to move around.
People started customising their space.
But then again more people came in and now 3 people were sitting in the space for one.
The number of employees reached 65.
Then we got a new space and this time we had open office.
There was enough space but the privacy went out of the window.
I placed 2 wide monitors together to get that cubicle effect.
I don't work there anymore but by the time I left they had close to 160 employees in 2 different office spaces.
Later came to know that they redesigned the one with the cubicle layout into a open office layout.
I would prefer a cubicle setup with some space to move around than the open office layout.
Please just let me work in my nice, curated home 😫😫
How about making offices look/feel like an interior space rather then a classroom?
Here's why cubicles grew to be hated. At first, they were large, with high walls and plenty of shelf and desk space. Then they started to get smaller, and the walls became lower. As cubicles shrank, people had to have a desktop computer and a big monitor, but the cubicles weren't changed to accommodate them. The walls became so low you could see (and clearly hear) your neighbor. You were stuck in this tiny, unfunctional area with no privacy whatsoever. But throughout all this, the people in your company who decided to make the cubicles smaller and less private still worked in traditional private offices with floor to ceiling walls and a door. They still got all the workspace *_they_* needed - in many cases, way more than they needed - and they still enjoyed complete privacy. No cubicles for *_them._* Cubicles represented another way to mark off who was in charge and who was not, who was in the pool of the potentially laid-off and who *_did_* the laying-off. Cubicles became a way for management to show how little they valued the people who created the profits that management hogged for themselves.
One of the great things about Covid was it revealed how much we waste when it comes to a business environment, the era of needing a massive building that your employees need to commute to every day has become redundant. Companies can save money by if not entirely getting rid of these buildings but by reducing the cost of electricity and heating. People can set up their workspace exactly how they like and for parents they might not need childcare anymore because they can remain at home while working, not to mention the costs saved on having to commute daily. My dad's daily one hour each way to and from the office has turned into a walk down the hall and the dog can hang out with him.
A happy employee is an efficient and productive employee. I'm surprised there isn't more of a push in mental health even controversal treatments like magic mushroom assisted therapy.
I tryed them, it was great😁 until everything i could see started warping and bending like a fun-house mirror🤢
Never again
Mushroom assisted therapy might also lead to creative boosts that could overpower the capacity of unskilled, authoritative executives. Not good for Big Corp. Most people like the mind numbing but safe reality of corporate jobs.
For an introvert with anxiety, I'd take the cubicle
Yes
I know a guy who was once a bully in school. His cubicle is a little bigger than the one featured here. It even has a bunk bed, a dedicated sink and toilet bowl. A great view of a long hallway though blocked by big steel bars. I’m not sure if he liked it though.
I think people in offices moving to WFH was a big mitigation piece during the pandemic, even more effective than limiting restaurants and stores. I remember even during a regular flu season, illness would spread so fast in offices designed to have people practically in each other's laps all day.
I dont understand why people hate on cubicles. I'd totally love my own private space rather than elbow rubbing next to your coworker who has no sense of personal space
People don't like cubicle farms, but hate the complete lack of visual, auditory privacy with a complete open plan office. Sure, there should be some communal spaces and quiet spaces. More so now we can pickup a laptop or tablet (or phone) for many cases - doesn't beat a decent desktop setup for many people,.
I actually liked my cubicle when I use to work in an office setting haha
0:19 I love this great concept and it was all in one person in a one room for a space for the action office work. I love that! I would love to have that if I have my own office building headquarters.
But then, as the pandemic happened our home is now our own office and maybe in the future, the companies might think that they didn't need to make a headquarters office building.
But, I want to replicate that Action Office in my own room and/or even in my own future office or headquarters
The design, function, and efficiency of our workspaces continues to evolve around productivity and safety. Even jobs which require high levels of customer contact are changing.
For instance, car dealerships often have cubicles for their salespeople to do paperwork, use computers, or make phone calls however, that may be changing soon.
With the pandemic customers are nervous at spending so much time inside of a dealership with strangers. They are demanding more remote services from start to finish in the vehicle purchasing process.
Technology is fulfilling consumers desire in this regard. I recently helped a friend install a gig speed managed network of Wifi access points for General Motors Chevy Division. Now anyone can meet a sales representative virtually online and interact remotely in their search for their next vehicle.
This pilot program has been so successful that its expansion to GM's entire brand lineup later this summer is fully anticipated.
Remote showrooms are a new and disruptive technology that will have traditional new car dealerships on edge as they learn to compete with customers now being able to purchase directly from the manufacturers instead of having to haggle with dealership middlemen. And they can do so from the comfort of their living room couch, or anywhere else they'd rather be than sat for hours in a cubicle in a dealership doing paperwork with strangers during a lethal pandemic. Look for other manufacturers to jump on this bandwagon soon.
This isn't the first time technology has left its profit deflating footprint on car dealerships either. Carvana, sells used vehicles online and customers are shipped a giant coin which they take to a giant vehicle vending machine (located in Novi Michigan near Interstate 96) and place it in the machine which will "dispense" their prepped for delivery vehicle to them. Or customers can opt to have their vehicle delivered to them at work or home instead.
With GM's new virtual showroom experience customers can have their purchased vehicles delivered to them wherever they wish as well.