Office position vs office size

[Thersites]

Just one of those "wondering what others think" threads ... : Would you rather have a larger office in view of a highly-travelled area (highly visible) or a smaller office down at the end of a cul-de-sac corridor (low visibility)? Perhaps this is more of a personality question ...

[fizzycist]

Pre-COVID: small office out of the way. Post-covid: bigger office. Hardly anyone around anyway and big office is only chance to meet every once in a while mask2mask with trainees/colleagues.

[Ruralguy]

Probably the smaller office, as long as it was more or less averaged sized and not a peanut shell.

But it'd also depends on what you wish to and need to use your office for.

[mamselle]

You've only got half the Punnett Chart there in the poll.

What about a smaller office with more visibility?

Or a larger office more out of the way?

There are more nuances in office size, Horatio, than this world dreams of....

M.

[dismalist]

The deeper the Dean's carpet, the closer the institution is to failure.

The bigger my office, ... .

Better to better oneself than to better one's office.

Best of luck.

[RatGuy]

Hey, I'd be happy to have my own office. I had my own office when I was first hired, but administrative shuffling and changes in enrollment resulted in me sharing an office with two others.

[Vkw10]

Larger offices equate to more, "let's meet in vkw10's office, since the conference room is booked," which means I lose time to early arrivers and lingerers. Plus, I have strong tendencies to pile papers on any flat surface, including the floor, so larger office provides more opportunities to be messy and disorganized.

[apl68]

My office is located right between the circulation desk area and the back office resource services area.  With both doors open, I can hear what's going on in each area (I sometimes hear both ends of an in-house telephone conversation).  That's handy for a supervisor, but it also means that my office serves in effect as a corridor between the public service area and the back office area.  Fortunately I now have most of the staff trained to go between the two areas through the actual corridor, not through my office.

The office is large enough to hold closed-door meetings in.  We can even have three or four people socially distanced in here.

[AJ_Katz]

Much of my undergraduate days were spent in coffee shops, working in a highly focused manner.  There is something about the flurry of activity and pressure of potential onlookers that spurs me into focus.  As such, I do not care about the size of the office.  I have a larger office and agree that it's not necessarily better.  Like Vkw10 said... the bigger it is, the more stuff I will put in it...  and when it is used for group meetings, precious time is lost to chit-chat.

But one thing you didn't mention...  how sound proof is this office?  That is the bane of my existence... overhearing things that shouldn't be overheard and likely having my own conversations heard by others, even while the door is shut. 

My ideal office would be a small or medium sized space in a high-traffic zone and with a sound proof glass wall / door so that I could see the activity but not have to hear it.  Being seen in the office also has a magical effect of getting my underlings to be at their offices too...  so being able to be seen working in my office is my "lead by example" approach.  But if people can't see me because I'm down at the end of a lonely hallway, what good is it for me to be at the office at all?  High traffic zone for me...

[Parasaurolophus]

My own office with a view.

I share my office with one other person. It's tiny, but that's okay--if I had it all to myself, there'd be tons of room for books and things. It's in a high-traffic area, which is relatively disruptive but also fine. What gets my goat is that it doesn't have a window, so it's not the most pleasant space to work in.

My previous office was large, shared with two others, and in a low-traffic area. And it had a wall of windows overlooking a nicely treed quad. It was great.

[Sun_Worshiper]

I've had three offices.  Two were big and in high traffic areas (one with no window) and one smaller but in a lower traffic area (and with window).  I'm happiest in the smaller office.

[Kron3007]

It's not the size that counts....

My priorities would be more related to proximity to my lab or other facilities that I use, windows/view, etc, more than square footage. 

Regarding high vs low traffic, I usually have my door closed so I wouldn't really care.  I also find that my mess will expand to fill any size space, so as long as it is a reasonable size, bigger is not really better.  I have a medium sized office and find it is more than enough space, so the other factors would be more important than more space.

[Ruralguy]

Yeah, I also like the fact that I am :

1. near to my classes, labs, etc.
2. not too far from other important areas on campus (so I don't have to drive or take a long walk if I don't want to).
3. not highly trafficked, but close to colleagues so we can get stuff done efficiently when we need to
4. don't look out window a lot, but its nice that its there and that there's a pleasant view

but....I'm going to be moving into a new building in about 2 years, provided that the present ditch down the road  actually transforms into a building and that the college survives.
Anyway, who the hell knows what kind of office I'll have, other than the fact that all of the new offices are same size. Most have windows, but some will have good views, and some
will just look over the roof of the lower building section next to it.  on the bright side, probably better class spaces, better hvac, etc. and so forth.

[apl68]

but....I'm going to be moving into a new building in about 2 years, provided that the present ditch down the road  actually transforms into a building and that the college survives.
Anyway, who the hell knows what kind of office I'll have, other than the fact that all of the new offices are same size. Most have windows, but some will have good views, and some
will just look over the roof of the lower building section next to it.  on the bright side, probably better class spaces, better hvac, etc. and so forth.

When Alma Mater got a new classroom building, my mother moved from a basement office in the old auditorium building to...a basement office in the new building.  It was still a much nicer basement, though.

[the_geneticist]

I've had four offices so far.  One was a windowless, tiny cubby that I had to share.  It was stuffy and cluttered and far from my lab, but had a rather nice squishy green chair.  I liked that I could close the door and no one knew I was there.
Second office was private, near my labs, and had a window.  Very nice!  But was not to last and got torn down during a remodel.
Third office was small, had no window, frosted glass walls that faced a busy hallway, and way too much office furniture crammed in (stupid remodel).  Zero privacy and noisy.  Simply awful.
Fourth office is the best.  It's large, has a high ceiling, a huge window that faces a green space, close to my teaching labs, and has an antechamber.  If I close the inner door (which has no window), no one can tell I'm in there.  Great for when I don't want to be interrupted.  I do miss it.  Now my "office" is my dining room table.