An Office Dilemna
 

I'm going to be moving offices soon, and have a dilemna.

I am considering between two office choices.

Office A is a classic corner office with windows on two sides. It's a pretty big office, big enough that I think I could put a couch in it as well as a desk. It's got great views of a city scape and some distinctive buildings like the art museuam and the state capitol and the library, and you also see an urban park and just a teensy bit of mountains. It gets a lot of natural light and is bright, but the down side is that it's a southern and western exposure, which means a lot of direct sun. My guess is going to be that it may be hotter in the summer and cooler in the winter.

Office B is a window office as well, but only on one wall. It's a western exposure and probably has only one-third of the window space as Office A. The view isn't nearly as good since it looks more or less across the street at another building, but if you stand at the window and look left, you get about one-fourth of the scenery stuff that you'd get with Office A. However, it's an enormous office and has more of a den-like feel. In addition to a desk you could easily put a couch in, and maybe even two couches facing each other for a meeting area. It also has two very large built-in bookshelves. It doesn't get a lot of sun since the building across the street blocks the western exposure, but would probably have a more stable temperature as a result.

What do you think?

Views are for women and gay people.

Go with the more comfortable option: Office B.

Well, I think it'd be more comfortable. I can't stand direct sunlight when I'm indoors. It glares on my computer screen and makes it really uncomfortable when wearing formal office attire.

http://images.lowes.com/product/conv...13311900lg.jpg

http://www.heatershop.com/images/dch...ll_200_200.jpg

Choice A. Problem solved.

Too much sunlight?

http://www.blindschalet.com/images/products/10006.jpg

Ceramic tint, go with A.

Knock down the wall between them and take them both.

Shooting spree?

Dude, the VIEW is what makes the office... the extra space will end up going to waste UNLESS you plan to put a jacuzzi in the bigger office. In that case, always go with the jacuzzi option.

What you really need to do is just take the whole damn floor as your office. You've earned it.

You live in Denver?

move

Views end up as a distraction for me. I can't get any work done.

Since October I've had two offices.

My main campus office I've had since 2008. I'm in this office MWF. It is a deep, narrow office. It has a window with just an average view. It has about 12 feet of built in floor-to-ceiling book cases and a small closet where I keep boxes of papers from my old office, which I in for about 17 years. I've got a L-shaped desk, and another desk behind my main desk. I also have two visitor chairs. It has a chalk board, but I don't use it much because the L-shaped desk is pushed against it. I also have three file cabinets. The walls are covered with the kinds of award plaques they give out in academia and a piece of original art work that my wife made. The heating system has two settings: off and hell. The biggest problem with this office is that it is kind of a mess because I never know what to do with papers. It seems that most of the day goes by with meeting with students and talking to faculty members that drop by, because my office is right at the entrance to the main departmental office.

I got my second office in October. It is about a 10 minute walk from my first office and is near downtown in a building that used to be a department store. It is my TR office, but increasingly I'm only there for a few hours on those days because meetings on campus that I need to go to. Since I'm in charge of the operation located there, I could have my pick of any of the offices. There are several window offices, but they are kind of small. I decided to keep the same office that the former director had which is windowless but very large. I have a L-shaped desk, a credenza, a book case (that is empty), a decent sized conference table (which I love having), and a small seating area with a coffee table, love seat and two chairs. I haven't used the seating area except to take a power nap one day. I wish I had a couch or recliner in my campus office for an occasional power nap. The walls in this office are bare. This office is still neat because I carry all the papers for this job around in my laptop case. I have a few papers that I keep in a vertical file. This office is kind of off the beaten path so it is pretty quiet and I can get a lot done without interruptions. Overall I like this office better, since it has a conference table.

So I would pick office B, especially if you have room for a conference table.

Dude, we're talking about Kevin here... not like he does any real work anyway. DaFace does all the real work!

Common knowledge.

Just make sure there are no tenants below you. Heard that can get expensive.

Post pics if you can so your gallery can get a better feel for your options. If not, then option A. The view in a corner office lets people know that you are the swinging dick of the company and a man to be reckoned with.

Option A will impress clientele that comes in to see you.

That's a good point and one that I didn't consider when I voted for "B".

If this is an office primarily for your staff to work, choose "B". If you entertain a lot of clients there then I'd vote for "A".

Here is an added perspective.

We are getting a new building that will be my new first office. In our current building, the offices are relatively spacious, maybe 230 square feet. Almost all have windows, but the views range from ordinary to horrid. In the new building we will all have unobstructed views of the river. Pretty nice. But the offices will only be 150 square feet. Most of the faculty are kind of unhappy about giving up their spacious offices, despite the much better views.

Whichever office positively effects your chi is the one to go with.
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Brightness means something. Seasonal Affective Disorder (mood changes when it's dark and gloomy in the winter) does affect some people.

There have been studies shown that employees who work in windowless or interior offices have less productivity and more health issues.

I think Manpower or or one of the major HR firms did the study a few years back

Sitting in a dark closet is depressing

That's very interesting.

As a followup question, I'll ask something that may or may not be specific to your faculty.

Do you think they're really valuing the space over the views and are unhappy because of that, or are they merely unhappy that there's a tradeoff that was made instead of improvement in all areas?

And does the fact that there's change at all make them unhappy, which may impact their views? Or does change produce more happiness, which is tempering their unhappiness about the specifics?

Hmm. That's interesting.

We're in good shape there overall. We're going from a space with 50% window offices and 50% interior offices to a space with 77% window offices, and since it's got expansion room every current employee will get a window office.

So the question in my case is whether more windows and better views is better than fewer windows and more space.

Oh, good point. I may do that. I'm going over there on Tuesday.

I voted "A" unless he was going to use the extra space for a beer pong table.

Normally this is true, but my organizational style generally means that I don't bring clients into my office. I'm more of a piles person than a files person.

If you mostly work solo but commonly entertain clients, I'd lean towards the better view. If you have a lot of meetings with staff, I'd go with the bigger place.

I'll withhold my vote till we get those pics.

Okay, do you meet with staff often or is that the exception?

I would rather have the more window space to feel more connected with the outdoors

Various staff people occasionally wander in and out for short discussions, but generally for actual meetings we go to a conference room. That might change a little if I have a couch in my office.

Mostly, though, my office is "me space".

In that case, I'd probably go with A. I'm not more or less comfortable being in a big space, but a nice view can be a great stress reliever.

As long as office A has enough room for a large couch, that's really all that matters. Oh, and some blinds, and a small bar. You might enjoy the extra sun exposure:

Client: "Oh Mr. Rainman! My husband ran off, took all the money and left me with this huge marketing research project. I just don't know what to do! I don't know where to turn! Oh, Mr. Rainman, I'm desperate. I would do anything to get some marketing research done."

Kevin: "Dear, dear, it will all be OK. Just sit right down here [pats couch] and tell me all about it. Here, have a Vodka tonic, it will calm your nerves. My, that direct sunlight from the southern and western exposure is making it hot in here...."

Case closed.

In general everyone is excited about having a new building. This new building is housing activities that are currently spread over 3 buildings, and one of those is well over 100 years old. I've had more than one faculty member comment that they wish they could keep their office in the 60-year old building, while doing all of their other activities in the new building. A lot of it has to do with book shelves (12 feet of floor to ceiling shelves is not uncommon) and having to deal with decades of accumulated clutter.

I choose office B.

I choose office B for a couple of reasons. Working on a computer most every day, glare from the sun from my front glass door and window are a constant battle for me, resulting in shades pulled down all of the time anyway.

More space gives you more flexibility in office setup, working area, and meeting options. You could go classic small conference table, you could go dueling sofas. With too nice of a view, people meeting with you could be distracted and not pay as much attention to what you're saying.

I'll take a house with a view and an office with functionality and room for toys if I want.

All else equal, I'd go with Office A for the sunshine and the view (unless the comfort factor is really significant).

But one factor that you didn't address is the proximity of these offices to all the workers in your company. You don't want these guys walking in and interrupting your naps all the time so you should pick the office that is the most remotely located. Just install an intercom so you can push a button and tell DaFace to pick up your dry cleaning or wax your car.

Kevin: Oh, look at the time. I feel a heart attack coming on right now. I'm gonna have to let you leave. Thanks for coming in... OHHHHHH!

Floors.

Everyone knows that the floor connects your body to the world, and thus carries particular importance in this equation.

Are you choosing between marble and parquet floors? Shag and tile?

Maybe you could put in a shallow sand floor with those peace inducing rake marks. Would you rake your own office or have someone else rake it? These are the tough questions.

Okay, the decision was made. I went with Office B. I decided that I prefer to have more size and a higher likelihood of HVAC comfort instead of a nice view.

My new office is practically a dorm room. It's 14x19, so I'll be able to put in a couch and coffee table and stuff, and a mini-fridge. I'm down with it, even if my view is squat. Plus, it's closer to the front door, and I like to bark at the mailman.

Here are the pictures prior to move-in.

As you can see, my view is kind of squat - straight into another building if I'm sitting in the office. If I stand at the windows, I can get an oblique view down the street, which is okay (Photo 3). If I look the other direction, I can also see the people on the rowing machine at the YMCA gym.

Picture 5 is the inside wall of my office, which looks through glass into what is becoming our kitchen. I'd rather not have the windows, but I'll just put the blinds down. No big deal.

Office A is 12x15 and is your basic rectangular office. However, it's on the corner and has some really nice views. You can see the Capitol, the main library, the art museum, and the big park where the Occupy Denver people camp. Plus it's fun to see the cars coming toward you on the main downtown entry street. It's a very nice office.

However, a couch would be just a little bit crowded, and the windows are on the south and west sides, which is going to produce a lot of direct sunlight, and direct sunlight bothers me.

Man, I would kill to have an office with a window. I had a window at my last job that looked straight at a brick wall. Didn't think I would miss it, but I do.

Yeah, it's nice to have one, and I really, really like the view in Office A. The photos don't do it justice. But I think my main window goals are just to have a window where I can see the weather and get a little natural light. So while a panorama would be nice, I'll just stare at the office drones in the next building.

I've never had an office without a window. It would suck. It sucked enough that my new(er) employer didn't have windows that opened.

I knew you would make the right decision.

And this is DaFace's new office.

http://www.hermanmiller.com/lifework...ice-corner.jpg

Nice window.

B is the right choice, or would be for me. I tend to position everything with my back to the windows anyway (I hate it when people can walk into my office and I have no idea they're there). In RainMan's case, this is particularly critical so he can stay on ChiefsPlanet 8 hours a day with no one noticing (excepting DaFace anyway).

You spend too many hours at the office to be uncomfortable temperature-wise. You'll not appreciate the view so much when you're sweating or shivering...

Your dilemna has created a bigger probelm.

I'm not paying for a window. He's there to work.

LMAO You should think about putting a tiny window at the top of his wall that he can't quite see out of just to keep his spirits up.

http://www.livinglutheran.com/stories/prison-window.jpg

Na, I've been here 5 years - I practically own the place now. :D

I took an office on the same wall as Office A. It's not the corner (I'm not THAT senior), but I can't complain about the view.

I posted this on Facebook a while back:

http://i.imgur.com/YPI67.jpg

I'll mention, however, that there's a roofing crew working on the building outside my current office at the moment. Not that day laborers are all that exciting to watch, but they're at least movement aside from pigeons.

I voted office A but looks like its B. They are both good though.

Do you get your own private bathroom?

I'd go with the better view - for no other reason that the impression it will make on clients. Be comfortable at home.