I've worked with people who don't seem to grasp the concept that I am more productive at home vs. a large, loud, open office.
At one point I seriously considered getting horse blinders to wear because where I sat at one company gave me essentially a panoramic view of the entire office. With half-height cube walls, that meant I literally saw everything out of the corners of my eyes. Could not get anything done for the life of me.
Contrast that with home where I can have as much or as little light as I want, it is mostly silent (unless I want music), I'm in a safe and familiar environment, no distractions except those I allow by checking email/Slack, and my productivity skyrockets when I get in the zone.
This is an interesting comment on an an article about introverts in school settings. I wonder how many people with similar thoughts on open-plan offices see homeschooling as a best alternative to typical classroom environment.
Homeschooling often takes the approach where high productivity levels mean you are done with school in a few hours as opposed to sitting around killing time. This is also similar to frustrations voiced here about having to sit around the office even if they have completed their work.
There are likely more overlaps too.
In the same way that modern schooling schedules is supposedly designed to mimic industrial scheduling, perhaps current schooling models is moving in the direction of mimicking the modern workplace.
That's a really interesting point. Personally, I think there is a ton of value in the social experiences you are exposed to in school that are critical for a successful future.
That said, while I don't love the idea of homeschooling, I would have LOVED an approach of "learn the material at home on your own and use class time to ask questions/review homework" or something of the sort. I'm a strong visual learner, and one of my big frustrations with schooling was that so much of it was auditory. Between scrambling to take notes and such, I often missed out on large chunks of the content.
By learning at home, I could spend as much (or as little) time as needed on topics, and then ensured my comprehension by using class time to review with the expert and learn from my mistakes vs. just getting something back with a letter grade and little/no opportunity to dig further.
People learn differently and schools need to start supporting that.
The point about sitting around an office after completing work is something I've heard before too. I've never really been in a professional job where "I completed my work" for the day. In situations where that is the expectation, I think companies should either make it clear they are paying for you to fill a seat regardless, or respect the time off and allow you to manage your time as you see fit with the assumption you are a responsible adult.
Even when there is more to do, there are days where I'm just not feeling productive, and I can stare at a screen and not make any progress. Rather than force myself I shift mental gears and do things to break me out of it (which may or may not be work related). I wish schools did a better job of this too instead of forcing you to plow through (which often leads to dozing off in class).
We are 12 developers in a room that is half windows opposite an auditorium. We call it the fishbowl. It feels like we are in some sort of science experiment to see how long we can last the indignity.
Open plan offices are the work of the devil + management + architecture. Probably the worst idea since "Let's delay our invasion of Russia a few months later in the fall".
