An Office Dilemna

[Rain Man]

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?

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

[pr_capone]

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.

[Pushead2]

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

Originally Posted by Pushead2

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".

[cdcox]

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.

[Gonzo]

Whichever office positively effects your chi is the one to go with.
Posted via Mobile Device

[tmax63]

Brightness means something. Seasonal Affective Disorder (mood changes when it's dark and gloomy in the winter) does affect some people.

[scho63]

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

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by cdcox

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.

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?

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by scho63

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

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.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by pr_capone

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.

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

[CHENZ A!]

Originally Posted by AustinChief

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.

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

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Pushead2

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

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.

[kysirsoze]

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.

[kysirsoze]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

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.

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