Sometimes I feel like the only person who used to have a private office and now prefers working in an open one. Every few months, my social feeds light up with griping about open office layouts, usually triggered by a new article or column like this Washington Post piece by Lindsey Kaufman, who has personally found her ad agency's open office to be an "oppressive" drain on productivity and a blow to work satisfaction. She's also worried that her co-workers are "tallying [her] frequent bathroom trips."
I've been thinking about why my experience is so different, and specifically why I think BuzzFeed's offices are a great place to work. Here are some of the things I think we're doing right, and that other open workplaces should consider.
MacBooks
This probably seems like a strange place to start when talking about office layout, but the fact that most of us on the technology and product team are issued a MacBook instead of a desktop system (or even a heavier, less portable laptop) means that we're not chained to our desks. It enables us to take advantage of all of our office's amenities and features.
Window seats
I'm unlikely to ever have a corner office overlooking Manhattan's Madison Square Park — except that I kind of already do. Rather than being reserved for executives, the best views from our headquarters are lined with high desks and chairs that anyone can claim at any time. And there are enough of them that I'm almost never turned away.
Standing desks
Sprinkled around my team's work area are electronically-adjustable standing desks, equipped with external monitors and power adapters. If you want a break from your desk, you just unplug, walk over to one of these desks, push a button to adjust it for your height, and plug back in. (Downside: one of my colleagues uses this as excuse to dance while he works. His bopping and swaying is... distracting.)
Couches or other comfortable working spaces
The opposite of a standing desk is a couch. We have so many couches that, again, it's usually pretty easy to get a spot on one. Actually, it's usually pretty easy to claim a whole couch for yourself and put your feet up. Like the standing desks, the couches are equipped with power adaptors as well as what our IT team lead calls "cooling lapdesks" so that plopping down and starting to work is easy. It's a great way to zone in on a task that requires focus, or to just work more comfortably for a little while.
Private areas
Just the act of moving to a window seat, standing desk or couch often increases your level of privacy, but sometimes you need a bit more, and a good open office configuration will recognize that. Some workplaces have "phone booths" for making private calls, and that can work well as long as there are enough. In addition to having a lot of meeting rooms and some quiet corners, BuzzFeed has some surprisingly acoustically isolated yellow "pods" which are good for phone calls and, I have heard, covert napping. (Covert napping has always been one of the prime reasons people value private offices, tbh.)
Public areas
Open offices are associated with diminished privacy, but perhaps counterintuitively, I've found our office's shared spaces are not just functional and social, but also provide a kind of anonymity. If you're worried that people are tracking how much time you're spending at your keyboard, the last thing you want is one place where you are supposed to verifiably be throughout the business day. When everyone you work with flows through a mixture of personal and shared spaces throughout the day, it's more like living in a big anonymous city than a gossipy small town.
Headphones
Obviously the ability to drown out distracting sounds is pretty important for your ability to focus. BuzzFeed has a tradition of giving employees some pretty cool holiday gifts at the end of each year, and two years ago the gift package included Sol Republic headphones. Now, not every new employee going forward gets a pair as well, but it was still a nice gesture. I personally think companies with open offices — especially those asking employees to transition into an open office environment from a more traditional one — should provide or offer to pay for headphones, at least as requested on a case-by-case basis. It's a small expense but can make a big difference in the quality of someone's day.
Likable co-workers
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I'm struck by how many complaints about open offices are actually complaints about people. Typically, those who dislike open offices believe their coworkers are smelly, loud, offensive, judgmental, and generally unpleasant. I'm lucky I get to work with people I actually want to spend my days with, who are fun and competent and hard working, who I trust and respect. And I've never once worried about how many bathroom trips I'm taking, or if anyone is keeping track.
If you think you'd like working here too, get in touch. We're hiring product managers, designers, engineers, and more.