What’s your preference for your desk at work? I am in the open plan with my staff, my wife on the other hand is in her own office and feels it might be best in an open plan with them all. What’s your preference and why?

Open plan with access to a pooled office for when you need some “confidential” time.

Same as druidh. Prefer to be in open plan with them – keeps them on their toes, and me on mine!

Open plan but in a corner. Nice balance.

my last job the team manager was a moral coward who ran away from conflict of any kind so he hid in his office all day. As a result there was some shocking behaviour going on with a couple of members of his team, behaving like nasty, sulky little kids. Even tho he had no sense of authority they wouldn’t have done it if ‘daddy’ had been showing them some attention…

There’s a team at my new work who’ve been bullying people and sulking like kids. Their team leader is based 200 miles away and pays them no attention whatsoever.

Now I’m not suggesting all offices are like that but you can see a link here…

If you’re sitting next to your team a) you’re more aware of any issues b) they’re less likely to arise in the first place just because of your presence. In my last job there was a culture for the senior managers to hide away in their offices but one guy refused to. The senior team didn’t like him for that but his team were definitely the happiest in the place…

My office is at home as my team are field based, I enjoy getting out on the district and speding time with my Engineers though, and I feel that we all get on better as a result

Open plan, but a nice window seat!
As above, access to pool office rooms for privacy as and when.

Own office, but wish my team were nearer. Ideally I’d have an office on the edge of an open plan. That’s what’s worked best in the past for me.

Not a manager myself, but we’re open plan – I like being able to slide a few meters on my wheely chair and arrive at my managers desk 😀

We’re actually changing offices soon, and going ‘agile’.

It’s certainly going to be an interesting change from what we have now – nearly everyone moving to laptops and docking stations, and same desks and equipment etc.

Our bosses have recorded that not everyone is in everyday, so we can cut down on the number of desks we need.

Our department is about 4 desks short. This means that if everybody does in fact turn up on the same day, then we’ll have to hotdesk into different departments.

It’ll be interesting, and I’m quite looking forward to it, even if it screws up everything 🙂

at the last place that I was an employee before going freelance we went with “farmhouse table” style, included the bosses. Big table in the middle of the room and a drawer in a filing cabinet along one wall each for laptop. portable IP phone in a charge bank by the door – grab one and log in when you walk in.

Port replicators on the table for laptops to drop into and connect to peripheral keyboards/mice/vdus.

We were banned from sitting in the same seat from one day to the next too so you mixed it up with the rest of the team every day. Worked well, and had meeting rooms nearby ranging from a cupboard for discrete phone calls to bigger rooms for work group shouting matches.

Open plan but on a platform.

I’m currently open plan with my team. Personal preference would be an office opening onto an open plan area. I’d keep the door open most of the time but I do find it distracting sometimes if I’m trying to get something complicated done.

stumpyjon – Member

Personal preference would be an office opening onto an open plan area. I’d keep the door open most of the time but I do find it distracting sometimes if I’m trying to get something complicated done.

That’s me. I have a separate office but the door is open pretty much all the time so I know what’s going on. But very occasionally I have to shut the door for peace/thinking space.
Funny thing is all the other managers are away from their teams and many of their team members tell me how detached they are and would like it if I was their boss!
TBH I guess its more down to the way I treat people rather than being integrated with my team.