Should developers *really* have private offices?
- by Aron Rotteveel
We will probably be moving within a year, so we have to make some decisions regarding office layout.
At the moment, our company is basically one big office.
When our developers can't bother to be disturbed at all, we all have our own headphones to mute the outside world.
Still, it seems a lot of people feel that private offices are no doubt the way to go.
From Joel's article Private Offices Redux:
Not every programmer in the world
wants to work in a private office. In
fact quite a few would tell you
unequivocally that they prefer the
camaradarie and easy information
sharing of an open space.
Don't fall for it. They also want M&Ms
for breakfast and a pony. Open space
is fun but not productive.
Even though I can understand the benefit on productivity, does having a private office really result in more net productivity?
There seem to be plenty of companies that create wide open spaces and still maintain good productivity. Or so it seems. (I should mention many of them use cubicles, though)
What is your opinion on this? What does your company do? Is there some middle ground in this?
Some more related information on this matter:
Private Offices Redux
The new Fog Creek office
A Field Guide to Developers
Gmail recruitment page. Found this last one somewhat remarkable since the Gmail recruitment page promotes the "wide open space" idea.
