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by empthought 4462 days ago
That link about the Cornell study is comically bad. Where are the raw data tables?

Doing a little background research it seems they were comparing open floor plans to cubicles. They didn't even consider the obvious alternatives to the panopticon, such as remote work or the tried-and-true office with a door.
2 comments
riggins 4462 days ago
That link about the Cornell study is comically bad. Where are the raw data tables?

It was a link to a summary of the actual study. With that said I went and skimmed the original study and that looked just as bad. Here's the original study.

http://iwsp.human.cornell.edu/file_uploads/offices1_12382569...

Forget the fact that they didn't have the raw data. They don't clearly explain on what basis they reach their conclusions.

How are they measuring the 'success' of an open floor plan? For that matter, how can you even measure the 'success' of an open floor plan versus a close floor plan?

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sutterbomb 4462 days ago
I don't think "office with a door" is an obvious alternative, because it's prohibitively expensive to build out a space with individual offices for every single employee.

It's like saying a study that compared air travel to high speed rail is comically bad because it didn't even consider teleportation. (Extreme hyperbole, but I think it conveys my point.)

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JoeAltmaier 4462 days ago
Not that more expensive. Those cubicles cost nearly as much. I've built out spaces before, and offices are absolutely worth the expense, especially if you consider the improved work performance.

Its like saying light bulbs are comically bad because the sun is there for free. :)

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sutterbomb 4462 days ago
Haha fair enough re: light bulbs.

I still have a hard time imagining that building individual offices, with the additional wiring, AC/heat, individual lighting etc. would be even close to a cubicle build out. Haven't built a space myself though and don't have hard data, so guess I'll take your word for it.

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JoeAltmaier 4462 days ago
Cubicles are wicked expensive. Their price rose to almost that of building an office. Free market principle - charge what the market will support.

Now, you can re-use and re-configure cubicles, so that's often used as excuse to buy them. But moving them around is also expensive - rewiring, mechanical work, they're fragile to begin with.

So I call cubicles a dead loss to the bottom line. That's been my experience.

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empthought 4461 days ago
It's only prohibitively expensive if you have too many employees.
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