Stratification. Putting "regulars" into an open floor plan and leaving managers with offices is this concept on steroids (yes, I've actually seen that).
I believe that there is an unplanned unorchestrated ongoing attempt throughout the industry to prevent programmers from being seen as professionals. Reverse dress codes (you'll get odd looks and questions if you aren't dressed casually, but instead throw on a suit or even just a tie), cubicles, and open office space are all ways that this is done.
Seconded; it's a cost and politics issue to have open floor plans, and mostly to "put those uppity programmers in their place." Wouldn't want them asking for what they're worth, now would we? And hey, by having them constantly distracted and not able to concentrate, they won't be as productive and therefore not feel justified in asking for what they're worth! I mean, if open floor plans and cubicles were really that conducive to thinking work, you'd see it in many more places, such as research, doctors offices, law firms, etc, etc.
I don't think it's a "conspiracy theory" in the traditional sense (although I do admit that my post was slanted a bit that way). I'm fairly certain it is as Crito said, "unplanned [and] unorchestrated". And there's no need for conspiracy: simple human nature in the aspects of politics and pettiness can easily explain it - it doesn't matter if you can prove what is more productive or cost effective, management ("owners" or their representatives) will continually push for more leverage and control over their workers, until they experience pushback, profits be damned.
A company wouldn't. I posit that individual middle managers are the problem: whilst they do want the people working for them to be productive, they often subconsciously act to make sure they have the supposed "status" and that this comes (unknowingly, to them) at a cost.
I had to wear a tie my first few years of working. It sucked. I see dressing how I want as a sign of power, but I do agree with your overall point. Because I can dress how I want, doesn't mean I should look like a slob or unprofessional. I still wear nice clothes to work, just not corporate drone clothes anymore.
Dressing however you like is a great perk. However in my experience, many companies who say that they let their engineers dress however they like are actually requiring (although not explicitly) that their engineers dress down. If you are the sort of person who enjoys wearing a tie, you may find that doing so as an engineer is untenable at many tech companies.
Most people don't bother trying to dress that way so they never encounter the pushback and therefore never even realize that there is an unspoken rule in place. I recommend that everybody try to go to work on a monday with at least a white button up shirt with long sleeves and a tie. I think many of you who work places "without" dress codes will find the experience to be illuminating.
When I tried it, somebody from HR had a nice "chat" with me, explaining that the corporate culture was for engineers to dress casually.
Its the same chat that black people who didn't speak in dialect used to get, or who dared to learn to read, or get uppity in general. Its a pretty disturbing symptom of a sick workplace.
I haven't worn a tie to my current job, but routinely wear button up shirts and sport coats. The other engineers might joke if I have a job interview, but no one will tell you to not dress that way.
I'm not sure how I would respond if someone said I was not allowed to dress nice. It just seems like a completely foreign concept.
It is more than possible that you work at a company that actually has an no dress code / a permissive dress code. I think those workplaces exist and I appreciate and value the concept. What concerns me is reverse dress codes that sometimes hide in plain sight, disguised as "no dress codes".
Not where I'm at, nor at my last job. At Last Employer it was true in the old building, where the floor plan was laid out in the late 90s.
When we moved to our new building, interior spaces were meeting rooms. Next layer out were manager cubes. Final layer out were the worker cubes, everyone faced the big floor-ceiling windows.
This actually had a drawback. There were cunning metal shades over the windows to keep out the sun. These worked great to block the sun. They also collected snow. Which, thanks to wind, and sun, melted into in a slant, like a roof. Our first Thaw in that building and the ice/snow ...
BONNNGGGGG through the building frame as the snow slides off and the shade vibrates like a giant tuning fork.
A few minutes later BONNNGGGGG as the next in line sheds snow.
Not mine. Everyone right up to Senior Director are embedded with the teams. The only exceptions that get an office and door is HR and Legal. When the CTO comes to our office, he also sits with us.
Ditto. Except our HR people don't have their own offices. We don't have lawyers in-house. If i draw a line from the window through my desk to the far wall, it passes through a developer on another team, me, the product guy for another team, the CTO, a co-founder/head of sales, and two salespeople.
I routinely gain great value from speaking to the developer and product guy on either side of me, both of whom are immensely expert. The salespeople are fortunately far enough away and quiet enough that they're not a distraction.
