'No natural light, all day long': Worker quits job because of dismal 'Open Plan' office

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Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Dec 23, 2023 7:00 AM EST

We're not totally sure when open-plan offices became a thing, who first thought they were a good idea, or why they thought they were a good idea in the first place, but it's really hard to believe that the 90s pop-culture icon that was the workplace cubicle—once hated as a symbol of the worker's dehumanization as and entrapment—is now something that workers globally yearn for and miss every day… What we would give for even a cubicle (or any sort of space) at the office that we could call our own, a place we could personalize and have even the smallest feeling of seclusion and peace where we could focus and do our jobs. Is it any wonder that productivity increased for a lot of companies when their workers were forced to work from the comfort of their own homes? Honestly, it's almost as if open-plan workplaces intentionally try to rob you of the ability to focus, forcing you instead to stare endlessly into your boss's watchful gaze.

This worker couldn't hack it anymore at their company's open office. The lack of privacy and the complete lack of natural light drove them to a point where they were ready to walk away.

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  • 01
    r/antiwork Posted by u/MediocreGenius69 10 hours ago Quit my Open Plan Office Job So, I had this job that was in an open plan office and it was doing my head in. My boss was about 1.5 metres away from me, side on so he was always in the corner of my eye. The whole place was lit up with strip lights and the blinds were closed so hardly any sunlight got in.
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  • 02
    During COVID we were allowed to work at home for a few weeks and my productivity was great. It's the kind of job where you can easily do it from home and my mental health improved a ton during that period - no commute, no strip lights, and no boss staring into the side of my face all day.
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  • 03
    A couple of months back I said I couldn't hack being in that office from 9-6 every day any more. I told them I was leaving and they asked what they could do to keep me. I said first up they could let me work from home and they wouldn't budge an inch. I couldn't even get a hybrid schedule. So I quit. I have a decent buffer of savings I can use while I look for something better but I actually went and quit. I am now unemployed.
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  • 04
    It may seem like what I did was on the extreme side but doesn't anyone else find open plan offices to be cruel and unusual punishment? Humans aren't built to sit with zero privacy in front of a bunch of semi-strangers, especially if there's no natural light, all day long. They didn't even like it when I walked around away from my desk. Adios, maniacs!!
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  • 05
    RahulRedditor · 9 hr. ago Humans aren't built to sit with zero privacy in front of a bunch of semi- strangers, especially if there's no natural light, all day long. It's factory farming of human labor. Reply Share 896 LiterallyADachshund 7 hr. ago Open office concepts are just one level up from panopticon prisons 242 Reply Share
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  • 06
    EcksonGrows 7 hr. ago at work But it gets design in magazines, that's all they care about. Source: manage office space Reply Share 51 Toptenxx · 6 hr. ago Two main reasons for the open offices. They cost a fraction of what cubicals or actual offices cost and you can fit more people in the same space. Source: worked for many years with office architects. 70 Reply Share
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  • 07
    aftpanda2u 9 hr. ago Don't remind me, I literally only lasted 6 months at a place because of the open office bs. I could barely roll my chair back without hitting my coworkers chair. The constant noise, lack of privacy, lack of windows did such damage to my mental health so quickly I just couldn't take it anymore. Reply Share 244 MediocreGenius69 OP 8 hr. ago Yeah, exactly! I actually did ten years, if you can believe it. 43 ... Reply Share
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  • 08
    Acceptable_Host_8331 8 hr. ago In my last on-site job, they demolished my office, along with three other managers, to expand the existing open office space and make it an Obeya room with open office space in the middle. At first I didn't mind it, my responsibilities had me all over site, I'd only spend 2 - 3 hours max each day at my desk. I also got to pick my spot, which was in the furthest corner from the high traffic
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  • 09
    area. Got to keep my three monitors, the space was still dedicated to me (they moved my name plaque over there even), I had a lock for my drawers. Wasn't what I would consider ideal, but could certainly be worse. Once the pandemic hit, I was working mostly remote, coming in about once a week. Every time I came in I could tell someone was using my space. Annoying, but it is what it is. Then one of my monitors went missing, then my dock, then a second monitor. The last
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  • 10
    time I ever went there someone was in my spot, and told me I had to reserve my own desk using some garbage spreadsheet. I noticed my name plaque wasn't there anymore. I packed up my personal belongings, left my key on the desk, and told my boss I'll be at home if they need me. Never went back! ↑ 77 Reply Share baconraygun 5 hr. ago More like obey ya boss room. 4 ↓ Reply Share
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  • 11
    Billy-Joe-Bob-Boy - 8 hr. ago I've told my boss directly that I consider bullpens to be punitive. Bullpens or open plans are what you do when you don't trust that your minions are working. 128 Reply Share IWantAStorm. 7 hr. ago If I recall correctly the original open office design had more privacy. Now it's just Ikea tables. 34 Reply Share
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  • 12
    My_Penbroke · 10 hr. ago I quit a job once because my office had no windows and they wouldn't move me Reply Share 158 MediocreGenius69 OP 10 hr. ago It's always amazing what sort of petty things companies are willing to lose good employees over. Reply Share ✩ 108 108
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  • 13
    TheyHitMeWithaTruck 8 hr. ago Open plans are terrible. I support your decision. 33 Reply Share
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  • 14
    Ok-Willow-9145 · 8 hr. ago I left a job once because my office mate, who was a genuinely good person, and in all other respects was easy to share space with, had breath that smelled like he was rotting from the inside out. His breath would fill the small space we shared. After a couple of months I found a job and moved on. 32 Reply Share
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  • 15
    loveinvein 7 hr. ago Open plan offices are _asinine. Good for you for saying no, and good luck finding something better. 20 Reply Share
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  • 16
    tdbeaner1 7 hr. ago Open plan offices serve only one purpose, to maximize the square foot value of commercial real estate. The resulting impact to employee welfare and productivity are not even afterthoughts. They are not even a consideration if the impact reduces the return on investment for the 1%ers, even if that reduction is minimal. 422 Reply Share
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  • 17
    talexbatreddit. 6 hr. ago Managers have been demanding people come into the office for YEARS, and then when the pandemic happened, an interesting thing happened. Suddenly, we were all working remotely, and most people's job just continued as usual. I still worked a 930am to 530pm day. I still had a daily standup at 10am. I
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  • 18
    was still on call one week out of four. I still had 1:1s every week with my team lead. I didn't spend 45 minutes travelling each way to get to work. That was nice. And Jira tickets still got knocked off, we still did releases, and life went on. So all this talk about how Remote Work Was Going To Kill Business .. just more made up manglement nonsense. I can see going into the office occasionally.. but having to be there 100% of time? It's not necessary. Good for you for getting out. 19 Reply Shar
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  • 19
    runtoaforest 8 hr. ago Being productive doesn't seem to be a goal for these companies. They prefer complete control even at great cost. Reply Share 36
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  • 20
    nerdybirdeee. 6 hr. ago I'm currently on medical leave thanks to the open office plan. We returned to office 4 days a week about two years ago and it has been ever since. I have bad adhd and sensory issues so the overhead lighting, constant conversation, and smells of everyone being jam packed into a room with tables became way more than I could handle. My psych is recommending wfh if I return to this job. Im gonna see if they allow it but I won't be surprised if they don't budge either. 13 Repl
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  • 21
    melikefood123 . 8 hr. ago Facebook tried to hire me during covid. no), I was expected to drive to DC ( and sit in their open office layout ( no again). 22 Reply Share
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  • 22
    Alive Equivalent4014 - 7 hr. ago I lasted 7 weeks (with many call outs) when my desk was in a hallway. The people with offices would yell back and forth from their offices and walk through my area all day long and I just couldn't take it. 10 Reply Share
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  • 23
    Pandicorns_are_real · 7 hr. ago I guess my bosses noticed the increase of productivity that WFH created, before covid no WFH was allowed at all, now? All future positions are WFH. Reply Share 10 ●●● travistravis 6 hr. ago Must be nice. Where I am, productivity went up, people are happier and they're still insisting we'll get an office again when we find the right one, and we'll go back to the office full time. 8 ↓ Reply Share ...
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