The evils of the open office has been discussed ad nauseam elsewhere so we don’t need to rehash any of that here.
Working in a great big open office with around 200 people in the room, it can be unnerving as to how quiet it is. Other times, it is maddening at how loud it can be. There is rarely a moment where you feel comfortable. There’s always something that does not feel right.
This got me to thinking about Starbucks, the default place to go work when you when to get away from work. Generally speaking it is louder at Starbucks than the average corporate office. They play drippy music held over from the 90’s. There’s always some hipster sitting around annoying you. So why is it people feel more comfortable and at ease at Starbucks than they do in the office?
What can we learn from Starbucks when thinking about office design?
Think I’ll get out of the office, go to Starbucks and think about it.