Rant: Is open office layout really better for small agencies? I visited one in Austin and it was chaos.

Went to a friend's agency last week in Austin. 12 people in one big room. No dividers. Everyone on calls at once. I couldn't focus for five minutes. They say it helps "collaboration" but all I saw was people wearing headphones and looking annoyed. My own agency has tiny offices and we get way more done. What's your take? Do you actually like open layouts or is it just a trend that hurts work?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavin_mason311d ago

People keep trying to make everything open and shared like it creates some magic synergy, and they ignore the basic human need for quiet and privacy to do deep work. You saw it yourself with all those headphones, that's a pretty clear sign the space isn't working for the people in it. Sometimes we confuse the look of busy collaboration with the reality of getting hard, focused work done.

finleybutler1d ago

Best thing I ever did was wire in a separate quiet zone with actual walls and a door, not just some corner with a plant. People need that option to shut it all out when they're digging into something that takes real focus. The open plan works fine for quick chats and planning, but it falls apart when you expect someone to crunch numbers or write code in the middle of it all.