The intended meaning of the poll is less than perfectly clear to me. Are you asking about (1) working in an open space where your boss is actually, literally, nearby and behind you all the time? Or about (2) working in an open space, full stop?
(I work in an open-plan office. My boss is usually on another continent and when he’s here the place where he usually sits doesn’t give him direct sight of what I’m doing. I dislike open-plan offices, partly because of the feeling of being watched all the time and partly for other reasons, but it’s at the “mildly uncomfortable” level. If my boss—or anyone else, actually—were actually sat behind me watching me work all day I’d rate it as “beyond horrible”.)
I wanted to ask about working in an open space where your boss is… let’s say in the same room, somewhere where he can watch you all day long.
Not necessarily immediately behind you; could be on the opposite side of the room; could be sideways. And of course sometimes he leaves the room for meetings etc., but his official sitting place is in the same room as yours, and he uses it almost every day for a few hours.
And “boss” doesn’t necessarily mean the owner of the company; simply someone who is above you in the hierarchy; someone who gives you commands and who could fire you or significantly contribute to getting you fired. So it’s not a room full of equals.
I think you should clarify that in the original post. I interpreted it much more closely to what gjm labeled as (2) than (1), and voted mild accordingly. If I had realized the intended meaning I would have voted for horrible.
The intended meaning of the poll is less than perfectly clear to me. Are you asking about (1) working in an open space where your boss is actually, literally, nearby and behind you all the time? Or about (2) working in an open space, full stop?
(I work in an open-plan office. My boss is usually on another continent and when he’s here the place where he usually sits doesn’t give him direct sight of what I’m doing. I dislike open-plan offices, partly because of the feeling of being watched all the time and partly for other reasons, but it’s at the “mildly uncomfortable” level. If my boss—or anyone else, actually—were actually sat behind me watching me work all day I’d rate it as “beyond horrible”.)
[EDITED to clarify meaning.]
I wanted to ask about working in an open space where your boss is… let’s say in the same room, somewhere where he can watch you all day long.
Not necessarily immediately behind you; could be on the opposite side of the room; could be sideways. And of course sometimes he leaves the room for meetings etc., but his official sitting place is in the same room as yours, and he uses it almost every day for a few hours.
And “boss” doesn’t necessarily mean the owner of the company; simply someone who is above you in the hierarchy; someone who gives you commands and who could fire you or significantly contribute to getting you fired. So it’s not a room full of equals.
I think you should clarify that in the original post. I interpreted it much more closely to what gjm labeled as (2) than (1), and voted mild accordingly. If I had realized the intended meaning I would have voted for horrible.