As more and more research is showing that the open office design actually reduces productivity (here) and (here), I recently shared a post on LinkedIn about how github “de-broed” their workspace, but I thought I’d share my thoughts on what I like, and don’t like in a work space. Above is a picture of my home office with some labels. Not specifically labeled is that there is plenty of natural light. One of the most depressing places I ever worked was a windowless cube farm where the developers liked to leave the lights off. I was going out of my mind!!
- A Door: My ideal workspace has a door so that when privacy is needed, I can close the door and when it is not, I can open it.
- A clock: I know computers have clocks, but having a big visible clock is really helpful for making sure things run on time.
- A comfortable chair, with foot rest: If I’m doing tech work for a long time, I don’t want to be sitting on something that will cause trips to the chiropractor.
- Big Monitors: I’m a big fan of multiple, large monitors, as they really increase productivity.
- Music: I like to listen to music, especially when coding. When I’m working in more public spaces, I have headphones…
- Stress Relief: I play trombone and when things get stressful, one can always reduce some stress by playing some Die Walkure …. LOUDLY.
- Lots of Geek Books: Nothing sets the stage for coding than being surrounded by O’Reilly geek books.
- Family Photos or other Personal Items: I do my best work in a space that feels like my own, so I think it is important that people can have a space with some of their personal items that feels like their own. Hence… I’m not a fan of hoteling or workspaces that set people up to work on large tables.
What do you like in a work space?