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So where does all that supposed extra productivity come from? How does something get done, without any individual having done it?


Distraction workers like managers measure productivity in issues handled and amount of talking. By definition they don't do things, things don't get done. This is maximized in an open office.

Knowledge workers like devs (mostly) measure productivity by things getting done. Usually things getting done involves one individual passing unit tests and committing the corresponding working code, not turning every minor issue into a massive teambuilding exercise of endless talking and no doing. This kind of productivity is minimized in an open office.

Its a classic talk about it vs do something about it argument. Both extremes are pretty bad, unfortunately at this moment in the industry we're at one extreme swing of the pendulum.


The hardest thing in business is not getting things done, it's getting the right things done. A team that is a bit slower, but produces a product/service that is a lot closer to what customers want, is probably going to win.

If an open office plan helps a team develop a more on-target product, even if that happens a bit slower, it could still be a win.




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