Piimpin' Out Your Corporate Office? 133
ignoringReality asks: "I just moved into a new office at work that is considerably smaller than my previous one. The furniture is crappy, the walls are plain, and there aren't any windows. I'm trying to think of a unique way to keep myself entertained but not distracted day in and day out. It's a corporate office, so there are obviously limits. Working in a box must be a pretty standard situation for a lot of Slashdot readers, so how do you guys personalize your offices?"
Obvious: (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Obvious: (Score:2, Funny)
Lighting (Score:4, Informative)
I've seen a lot of people hang what look like drapes from thier walls, to give some solour and texture to the room.
Don't forget the music, and toys.
Re:Lighting (Score:3, Interesting)
The last place I worked had everyone in wall-n-doors offices (which was generally a horridly antisocial environment, IMHO) and there were a few people who'd taken the "living room" approach, with warm incandescent lamps, etc. I found those rooms almost dreary, though; in my office I turned on every fluorescent light I was entit
Re:Lighting (Score:2)
Back before our company moved us all into cubes (grrrr), I had Christmas lights lighting my office. They last perhaps three months before they start burning out (and at $1/100 or so, it's often easier to just replace the whole strand than find out which one burned out) so you want to buy quite a lot right after Christmas, but they definately do make a nice light for the office when you want it dim
Re:Lighting (Score:2)
I was recently moved into a conference room we've filled with geeks though. Slightly better, but now I have to use headphones and smell other geeks.
Re:Lighting (Score:2)
if you can afford it.... (Score:5, Informative)
Complete with lighting that simulates the sun moving across the sky as the day goes along.
Re:if you can afford it.... (Score:2)
I wonder if I can seel my boss on that . . .
Re:if you can afford it.... (Score:2)
Re:if you can afford it.... (Score:2)
I used to work for a college, and managed to finagle things such that my desk faced a window with a good view of one of the main pedestrian routes from one section of campus to another. This ensured that once an hour I'd take my eyes off my monitor and "rest" them on the parade of students commuting between classes. I especially enjoyed the shorts-wearing seasons. {wistful sigh}
hot lava (Score:1, Insightful)
pornography (Score:1, Funny)
gets everybodys pulse going.
Two words... (Score:4, Informative)
(Especially the cube goodies section. My co-workers love the Acrobots [thinkgeek.com]
Re:Two words... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Two words... (Score:2)
I hate Tyco (Score:1, Funny)
Obligatory /. Reply (Score:3, Funny)
Stupid reply... (Score:2, Funny)
Must be linus' office!
Well, look out (Score:5, Interesting)
That said, if we're talking an actual office with a door, the you're lucky. For now.
My suggestion is that you decorate your space with -- space. Keep it uncluttered, so that you appear to have more room. It also sends the subtle message that you're not making yourself too much at home, that you plan to move up or out.
I should make it clear I don't follow this advice myself. If you are a happy geek with no ambition to move up (like me), feel free to ignore this advice (as I do).
Re:Well, look out (Score:1, Insightful)
That is a ticket for getting a roommate.
Re:Well, look out (Score:2)
You got that right. My first task on getting a new office is making sure that all the stuff I have fills it up as much as possible. Other than a cubicle or no walls at all, there's about nothing worse than having a office mate.
How big is *your* office? (Score:2)
I hate working in a cube -- but I've come to accept that there may be some wisdom in banning private offices.
War story 1: I worked at Borland, whose main building is designed around one simple (but expensive) feature: everybody who works on the third floor gets a private office with a Window. But who gets to work on the third floor? Originally, the idea was, Top Management and R&D developers. Which is nice for
light (Score:3, Interesting)
A few people have commented on how spartan my office looks. The thing is, I don't look up often. I don't -care- what's on the walls around me. What I -do- care about is light. Our whole building is Too Damned Dark®, so I often end up with other light-junkies on my office because they "like how bright and happy" my bare-walled office is.
I've tried to convince people that ergonomics extends beyond "chairs that don't suck" and "goofy keyboards", but it's a hard sell, particularly when your managers include a lot of the "We had VT-52s and we liked it!" crowd.
Re:light (Score:1)
Ive been wanting one of those for a while...
Well Decorated Cube (Score:2)
Re:Well Decorated Cube (Score:3, Informative)
The correct URL is:
http://www.advertisementave.com/tv/ad.asp?adid=57
http://www.advertisementave.com/tv/ad.asp?adid=
personalize?!? (Score:4, Funny)
On this episode of "Pimp My Cube" (Score:2, Funny)
Forget you guys. (Score:5, Funny)
I have one word for you:
Strippers.
Re:Forget you guys. (Score:3, Funny)
I truly don't understand the question (Score:3, Informative)
I've got pictures of my family pinned to my cube walls (on the one wall that allows things to be pinned to it :-/). On the file cabinet behind me I have 6 framed pictures, but rarely do I turn around to look at them.
I have juggling balls, which I pretty much never touch.
One statue of Buddha. Green.
Framed picture of the Red Sox beating the Yankees.
I have an iPod which I listen to on the commute in, and carry up to the desk, but it usually sits there and I dont put my headphones on. Probably because I tend to listen to podcasts rather than music, and find those distracting when trying to work.
And so on. It gives me stuff to look at when I take my eyes off the monitor, but it's not really there for entertainment. Nor is it distracting. It's decoration. I don't think that's what you were asking for, though. You want toys.
Less is better (Score:4, Insightful)
Common reply: (Score:5, Funny)
I think I speak for all cubicle-dwellers when I say:
Do you have a door? We'd kill for just a door. And some walls! Glorious, glorious walls...
<huddles in a corner, shivering>
Doug
Re:Common reply: (Score:1)
Re:Common reply: (Score:1)
Re:Common reply: (Score:1)
Re:Common reply: (Score:3, Interesting)
I get a desk with no partitons seperating my from everyone else in the office, although I can hide behind 5 (count em) monitors.
Of course friends in other departments envy me. They get to share a hotdesk with 5 other shifts. I have a calender on my desk, they have a tiny locker to keep their toolkit in
Cubicle? Luxury! (Score:2)
You're lucky to have a cubicle! We used to have to work in t' corridor! [phespirit.info]
Re:Cubicle? Luxury! (Score:1)
(Man, were we scared of core dumps though
no window? make one (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:no window? make one (Score:2)
Re:no window? make one (Score:1)
I swear the first 3 times I read that line I read it as nude beach.
A Rug (Score:4, Interesting)
Just my $.02
Use your creative muscle people! (Score:5, Interesting)
Come up with something cool nobody else has done before. Not even people "on the internet."
I once saw a room in college where the ceiling was covered with wrinkled aluminum foil and had red and blue lights pointed at it. It was a pretty nice effect. He did a really nice job too - right up to the corners and *lots* of crinkles. It was all probably about 2-3 inches thick. Neat look, relatively simple to do. (shiny side out!)
But you can't do that. It's taken. Just kidding. Do what you want.
Another guy in the same place had a very small room so he put his bed on a system where he could raise it up to the ceiling using some steel cable, pulleys, and counterweights to get it out of the way during the day.
Collect random junk and try to make something that looks like a person standing in the corner. Dress up a coatrack with random junk. Spare CAT5 for hair (or shredded paper), some spools of some kind for eyes - be sure to add some shades. Old t-shirt from the thrift shop. Think up some other stuff for the rest.
You could put color filters in your flourescent overhead lighting.
Build a LARGE binary clock for your wall.
You can always hang models or random crap from the ceiling.
Use tape or rearrange the tiles for some kind of boardgame layout on your floor. Pac-Man
Do what you can to "0wn" your friends cubicles in a non-destructive way. Racing stripes. Get some from an auto parts store and stick it to the side of your computer or monitor cases.
Have an artist friend do a mural. Mosaic-ify it and do it on the tiles, overhead, on the wall, in the bathroom.
Put up and "I'm from here." map. Even if it's just your city or tri-county area.
Maps. Just find maps from random places.
LEDs. Can't forget LEDs. (Just be sure to over drive them with an incorrectly designed power supply so they burn out and/or try to catch things on fire... HHOK) LEDs everywhere! (Everybody else is doing it.)
Get some lasers and front-surface mirrors. Get a laser to bounce back and forth across the office a few times then smoke something in the dark to make it appear
TUX. Can't forget TUX. He could use some wall space - right?
Beastie. Can't forget Beastie. Make a blanket!
Random sports equipment usually looks sorta cool hanging from the walls. Find a surfboard.
Replace some standard office equipment with the same piece, but made out of LEGOs.
Spare/Junk/Coastered CDs can be put on the walls in interesting patterns or made into clocks.
Make the coffee machine run off a generator connected to an exercise bike. Put people on rotation and make sure they get to work on time. Maybe riding the bike is enough exercise to replace the need for coffee?
Build a still. Like on *M*A*S*H* Imbibe on Fridays.
Build a file-cabinet maze.
Get some flourescent paint. Buy some blacklights.
Mess with the bathroom somehow. Make visitors wonder.
Paper airplane airport. Practice landings. Make a launcher with rubber bands.
Print out banner ads for your wall.
Tin-can-and-string telephone/intercom???
Get some fish.
Get yourself a "Jump to Conclusions" mat for the office.
You could probably etch a number of carpets or other surfaces with bleach or acid. Just mask and pour! (Carpet would probably need something heavy to push down into the pile to prevent run-out. Masking tape won't work unless you use a spray bottle. Mask -far- back.)
Take a Friday afternoon to go shopping for old couches and coffee tables. How about a gaudy lamp from 1964 for the corner of your office??
Have a "Cubicle Pimp-Out Contest". Flashy and Gaudy wins.
Remodel. Just moving stuff around will be fun and interesting for the next few weeks.
No windows in your office? Buy yourself a sledgehammer. It won't come with directions. You don't need directions.....
Re:Use your creative muscle people! (Score:3, Interesting)
The best part was that his sleeping area was accessed by a hatch in the floor, with a poster of a mushroom cloud un
196 candles & dorm-room.conf (Score:2)
Our dorm rooms had somewhat modular furniture where it could be hooked up in different ways. I hooked my bunk-bed to the back of my roommate's closet module and put my desk underneath. You can't beat floor space. It took a few hours to get all of our junk out into the hallway and do the transformation, but made the remaining 7 or so months there a great deal more comfortable.
I
Re:Use your creative muscle people! (Score:3, Funny)
Yeah, that's good thinking. I can replace caffeine with a terror-induced heart attack every morning.
Re:Use your creative muscle people! (Score:3, Funny)
Seriously.
Please! - slowly now.... drop the tinfoil... Drop. (Score:2)
Readers should "consider the source" when deciding to implement these ideas. We *are* Slashdot - and with that dot comes great powers. Use your "creative muscle" wisely people! Don't ask your boss.... ask your conscience.
I still think random maps on the wall are always fun. Don't deny the maps..... Got some blank wall you can put a tack into? Got some old maps in your desk drawer at home or one in your car from your last trip to Elba, NY [iinc.com] or Urbana, MO - ha
You're right - we're all worthles..... (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm not sure if this is intended for me specifically, or the general reader. I am responsible about getting my work done - and I use my creative muscle at home and at work. Feel free to do whatever you'd like at your work - sounds pretty exciting from here. Unless you work odd hours or have your own business, I'd say you aren't much different from many readers here looking at the times you've been posting over the past few months.
Isn't superiority wonderful??
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I'll give you 8 out of 10 on your attempt at condesention. It sounded pretty good at making people feel bad. Making *me* feel like crap - Sorry that I can't give you better than a 3. Do try again. It's appreciated by us all.... I'm sure especially by your boss.
Like - for sure. (Score:2)
Doing anything tonight Mr. Coward? You sound cute.
I've never met anybody with your first name. Why did your parents name you that?
Re:Use your creative muscle people! (Score:1, Offtopic)
Not totally, but they're getting there. It's something to strive for.
Considering all that "straight" implies...
... I'll
How about.... (Score:2, Funny)
Bah (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Bah (Score:2)
I am windowless on purpose (Score:2)
I learned a long time ago that for my work windows just don't work for me... Either the monitor faces the window and gets a ton of glare, or the monitor faces away from the window and you get bright lights (the sun) in your eyes while trying to type. Either way - I prefer an interior office, no lights, and take a walk in the big blue room in the afternoon.
Re:I am windowless on purpose (Score:1)
If we ever work at the same place, I'll trade ya. :-) Can't stand being windowless, I get sleepy and depressed when deprived of sunlight.
Re:I am windowless on purpose (Score:2)
Plants (Score:4, Informative)
If possible you may also want to smuggle in a "super-daylight" flourescent light. You want something that is about 5500k with a CRI higher then 80. A single 2ft or 3ft tube, or 20w to 30w compact would be fine.
Re:Plants (Score:3, Interesting)
No Windows??? (Score:3, Interesting)
Add your own window(s) (Score:1)
I know I would do it if I just happened to have 8 LCD screens laying around.
My solution.... (Score:2)
You want to be different [just like everyone else] (Score:4, Interesting)
The amount of time, effort and money these happy idiots invested in this endeavor was truly astounding.
The companies high lords of chaos (management) eventually shipped about 99% of the company offshore to Hyderabad and Bucharest (the 1% left in the US was, you guessed it, management).
The message being if you have the time to waste making your office "pretty" you might not have enough real work to do. At least from the point of view of the bottom line fixated management.
So these days I keep it spartan. Books (lots of java API manuals), maps on the wall (I do a lot of GIS related work). A couple of my large monitors display virtual fishtanks or random slide shows. And if you have tiled floors a good rug is a must.
Twisted "inspirational" posters (Score:3, Interesting)
For instance, "Limitations - Until you spread your wings, you have no idea how far you can walk."
James
Re:Twisted "inspirational" posters (Score:2)
They don't have my favourite one. It says something like "Teamwork - it's amazing what we can accomplish together," and the picture is a shot of the Nuremberg rallies.
Re:Twisted "inspirational" posters (Score:2)
Gawd
- Talk to me, lie to me, give me shameless stats, even send me to goatse - but please, oh please gimme a link - PLEASE!!! I have large wads of transferable cash, I must have it!!
Sera
Re:Twisted "inspirational" posters (Score:2)
http://www.despair.com/ [despair.com]
Happy now?
Re:Twisted "inspirational" posters (Score:2)
Re:Twisted "inspirational" posters (Score:2)
It's a little different than I remembered. The picture isn't from the Nuremburg rallies AFAICT, but it is a bunch of the Wehrmacht marching down a street with swastikas in the background. The text is "Because together, we can accomplish so much more."
Re:Twisted "inspirational" posters (Score:2)
I've also got a couple of small bits of art on the wall and some old computers (Spectrum, Apple IIc, Atari 400) on a shelf.
Ahem (Score:2)
Perfect for: China, china, and of course: China (and disaffected college students)."
Go browse around, it's a really funny website!
Ideas for ya (Score:4, Informative)
I actually posed this question [slashdot.org] to the
Inspired by TGI Friday's (Score:2, Funny)
Two framed 27" x 40" movie posters from the first two Terminator movies.
Between them on a plexi shelf mounted on the wall stands a 14" endoskeleton figure.
A framed share of Apple stock from Oneshare.com.
A few items of memorabilia from the local AHL team's championship season a few years back, including a photo of me holding the Calder Cup (being a season ticketholder has its privileges).
The motherboard from my very first computer, a Tandy 1000 c
Enormous stacks of paperwork. (Score:3, Funny)
Of course, a nice collection of pens of many colors can provide enjoyment. Don't use the neon ligut under your overhang cabinets. Bring a small lamp.
Finally remember this: Don't have anything at your cube you can't live without.
Cube life (Score:3, Funny)
If you can't do that and you like your neighbor, pull an Office Space. Tear out the intervening wall and share a double cube. This makes your area look roomier even though you still have the same space.
If anybody asks, tell them Derek told you it was OK. Unless your company actually has someone named Derek, in which case use Sheldon.
Not responsible for the reactions of Maintenance or Supervisory staff when they find out about these changes.
4D (Score:1)
Re:4D (Score:2)
YOU ARE BEING DOWNSIZED (Score:3, Interesting)
I started out at my last company in a cubicle, about a year or so later I had an office. Not a large one, but an office nonetheless. Things were going good, then about a year later I was moved to a smaller office. I was being paid well and the work was cool, so I didn't complain to much.
About a year after that, the office was reconstructed, while we worked, so people that had offices had to get cubes, and while some got their offices back - I didn't. I made a fuss, I tried to make deals - nothing, absolutely nothing worked. They said they didn't have room. My cubicle was a large one, but it had a weird "doorway", monitor faced out, and it was on a corner of an intersection where people naturally gravitated to hold impromptu meetings - meaning I could hear everything and had no privacy, period. Meanwhile, the office I used to have continued to be unoccupied.
For about a year this went on, and my old office continued to be unoccupied (along with about 2-3 others - but there wasn't room, remember?). I continued to have a cubicle, no privacy, and my one solace was that my supervisor allowed me to work from home over VPN three times a week, so it wasn't too bad for those two days I was in the office. My productivity never reduced, and my supervisor was pleased with my work.
Eventually, another individual moved and took my old office (me and him got along ok, so I didn't begrudge him having it), even though we supposedly "didn't have room". Whatever. Several months went by, my project was cancelled, and I was "let go"...
All in all, it was a fortunate thing to happen - I work for a business still in a "startup" phase, with fewer people than I have fingers to count them on. Furthermore, I sit in an "office" room which is quite large (24 x 16 feet), three walls of which have whiteboard space, plus a video projector and screen. I get to work on very interesting projects, and I make more money.
I don't know what my old employer was smoking, but they need to give it up.
I have a red swingline stapler (Score:2)
Just 3 items: (Score:2)
Don't encourage people to stay (Score:1)
it is, unfortunately, primarily about image (Score:2)
I like the suggestion for a rug, btw. When I go back to an office from working from home, I'm getting one.
A professional-quality photograph of your family, girlfriend, or pet is good. Don't use a "wacky" frame.
I also always hang up my patent plaque from a previous employer. I'll happily hang up any new ones, too.
Hanging up dipl
Re:it is, unfortunately, primarily about image (Score:2)
I have a sign hanging on the wall... (Score:2)
Unnecessary Optimization Rules:
1. Don't.
2. If you feel tempted to violate rule 1, at least wait until you've finished writing the program.
3. Non-trivial programs are never finished.
The sign is to remind myself not to do unnecessary work.
A few thoughts (Score:3, Informative)
First of all, if possible go with static decorations, as neat as those little moving doohickies and thingamuhwatzitz may seem, they tend to be distracting, often catching the corner of your eye. Along these lines, think color scheme, if you tend to just pick things willy nilly then you can end up with major clashage.
I prefer a deep somewhat victorian color scheme, deep reds and browns, golds, things of that nature. If your stuck in an office then a more modern look might be appropriate, white and black with chrome.
Light level is also important, Most people have an optimal light level that they like to work in, I prefer a low light environment, too much light makes me sick and gives me headaches. A lot of people have the opposite problem, be sure to know what sort of light level works best for you and go with that.
Carpet is also important, along with adding a bit of style to the room, a good carpet can cut down on noise, especially if you have a lot of people walking through your area.
When working with limited space, it's also important to think multifunctional, for example shelves can break up the monotony of a wall space, as well as providing much needed horizontle surfaces.
P1mp your screen (Score:1)
Best thing to do is get a good desktop wallpaper/theme and keep your cubicle uncluttered. If you really wanna p1mp it bring your ibook/laptop and slideshow personal pictures or wath the Simpsons
Photos (Score:2)
Just be happy you have an office. (Score:2)
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
The Zoo. (Score:1)
I have a nice corner office with windows, at least that is how I describe it. It is inside the building with a clear view our reading room.
I think of it as my own personal zoo. The patrons can watch me and I can watch them. I do remember not to feed the animals though.
Poetic Technologies... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Here's a novel concept (Score:4, Funny)
That's only for emergencies!
Re:Here's a novel concept (Score:4, Insightful)
Some people have a hard time doing work if their environment sucks. Thus the fixation on ergonomics. Think of cube decorations as "mental ergonomics" if you want.
Re:Here's a novel concept (Score:5, Insightful)
Here is a game you can play. Find and empty white room, with a single empty desk and an uncomfortable chair. Take your laptop, and try to get some work done there.
Your brain will look for anything to ramp up the level of stimulus. And that doesn't mean your work. It means stuff like feeling compelled to spend three hours customizing the font and colors on your laptop screen. Or checking your email every thirty seconds.
Is it a crime to, say, play music while you work? This guy is just looking for the equivalent. Happy employees are better employees.
Oh - wait a sec. Do you work for EA?
Re:Here's a novel concept (Score:3, Interesting)
It made me
Re:Here's a novel concept (Score:2)
Re:Er.. what? (Score:1)
Re:You insensitive clod... (Score:1)