Are high office partitions as effective as private offices?

Posted by CraigS on Programmers See other posts from Programmers or by CraigS
Published on 2010-12-13T00:56:30Z Indexed on 2011/02/04 7:33 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 299

Filed under:

work-environment

|

peopleware

I'm currently reading DeMarco and Lister's Peopleware, and I've been struck (as everyone is) by their comments about noise reduction via using private offices, and the effect this has on productivity.

Private offices are probably not going to happen at my workplace, but I'm wondering if high cubicle partitions (say, 6 feet) might be nearly as good? I imagine they wouldn't deflect quite as much noise, but they would have some effect.

One down-side is that the center cubicles would have less natural light. That seems quite a big downer to me.

I'd be interested to hear what peoples experiences are.

© Programmers or respective owner

Related posts about work-environment

How to improve the programmers work environment

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
I manage a team of six programmers, working on diverse systems. We work in an open plan office, with members sitting in cubicles. A lot of people on these forums are big on private offices, but that is not an option for me. But I was wondering if there were ideas for other ways to improve and energize… >>> More
Structured work-environment in comparison to an unstructured one [closed]

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
I was asked in an interview whether the environment I work in is structured or unstructured. I believe at their end it is unstructured. How will my answer hurt or help my chances at the company ? And what is it intent of this question ? The place where I work it is structured in terms of the technologies… >>> More
How to deal with a 'public' work environment?

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
In the last 6 months, I have changed desks at my office 4 times. I don't mind, as it's due to expansion of the company and acquiring new office space and getting everybody settled. However, I truly miss the semi-private office I sat in 2 desks ago. I am now sitting in a large room with a number of… >>> More
Automatic desktop/work environment setup

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I have this strange thing I am trying to do, so before I jump into it I was curious if someone knows about existing solution or maybe have an advice as far as implementation. I run a small software company and as it happens I often do very different type of work. When I do coding for Java project… >>> More
Result Only Work Environment

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Hello, I would like to set up a ROWE for my dev team: Result Only Work Environment. Basically, people work how they want, when they want, as long as the work gets done. This environment has been a huge success for Best Buy: increasing productivity and reducing turnover. Does anyone have any advice… >>> More

Related posts about peopleware

Book review: Peopleware: Productive Projects and Teams

as seen on ASP.net Weblogs - Search for 'ASP.net Weblogs'
Peopleware by Tom DeMarco and Timothy Lister is golden classic book that can be considered as mandatory reading for software project managers, team leads, higher level management and board members of software companies. If you make decisions about people then you cannot… >>> More
Are high office partitions as effective as private offices?

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
I'm currently reading DeMarco and Lister's Peopleware, and I've been struck (as everyone is) by their comments about noise reduction via using private offices, and the effect this has on productivity. Private offices are probably not going to happen at my workplace, but I'm wondering if high cubicle… >>> More
Can't find Peopleware anywhere?

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Many folks say that Peopleware is one of the best books for software professionals and managers, as I see a lot of people recommending it in the "have to read list." The strange thing is that I can't find a bookstore anywhere that actually has it. I found it on Amazon, but Borders, Barnes & Nobles… >>> More
"A good programmer can be as 10+ times more productive as a mediocre one"

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
I had read an interview with a great programmer (it is not in English) and in it he said that "a great programmer can be as 100 times as good as a mediocre one" giving reason for why good programmers are very well paid and why programming companies give many facilities for their employees. The idea… >>> More
"A good programmer can be as 10+ times more productive than a mediocre one"

as seen on Programmers - Search for 'Programmers'
I had read an interview with a great programmer (it is not in English) and in it he said that "a great programmer can be as 100 times as good as a mediocre one" giving reason for why good programmers are very well paid and why programming companies give many facilities for their employees. The idea… >>> More