I hope that's somebody's living quarters in the photo, and not their office! I've worked at a couple of offices that felt tightly packed, but they were nothing by comparison to that ;)
As a long-term proposition, I'd say that table is suitable for no more than 3. (Not sure what official guidelines are, but I'd say you'd need around 150cm x 75cm, or 5' x 2'6", per person. That gives you enough room for keyboard-laptop-monitor depthwise, and two monitors-plus-space widthwise. But the more the merrier, of course... humans are social, but not THAT social.)
>I hope that's somebody's living quarters in the photo, and not their office! I've worked at a couple of offices that felt tightly packed, but they were nothing by comparison to that ;)
That looks like a typical university hackathon to me. Certainly not excusable if it is an office. Thankfully my only workspace (at an internship) had nicely sized desks for everyone, and the company was looking to expand by renting more office space rather than decreasing desk space.
I've been to the offices that look like that - I always assumed it's a typical startup setup. Frankly, I probably wouldn't last more than a week in such conditions - I don't respond well to sharing personal space with other people for prolonged periods of time.
And doing serious development on lap tops realy! you need some decent 2 or 3 monitor set ups with a nice i7 workstations with some nicer mechanical keyboards and mice.
Yes I know you can get docks etc for laptops but its far more expensive for the same performance.
Just for ergonomics alone you should use a desktop setup over a laptop setup for any prolonged periods. It's as good as impossible to use a laptop and not be hunched over.
Or you could use a docking station with proper keyboard, mouse and monitor(s). Works great if you also need to attend some meetings or conferences from time to time.
Also, as a developer I don't need i7. SSD, great monitor, keyboard and mouse, and lots of RAM, yes - but CPU? Depends on domain I guess.
> Or you could use a docking station with proper keyboard, mouse and monitor(s).
Proper keyboard, mouse and monitor(s) setup is what I meant with "desktop setup". Of course whether the actual computer is inside a laptop, inside a desktop cabinet or inside a phone does not matter for ergonomics.
It's a London based startup, they all look like that until they get some serious funding - and some don't move beyond it even then. If anything, that's above-average.
What do these companies that don't move then spend the money on? Because it doesn't seem to be the salaries ;)
Suggested office square footages: http://www.officespacefinder.co.uk/officespacehow.html - does this place look like they've got even 50 ft^2 per person?! Packing your staff in like battery hens or galley slaves is unhealthy. Those poor people in the photo (assuming it is their office - the question has yet to be answered conclusively) are suffering from terrible ergonomics and cramped working areas, both physical and virtual.
So what if you're this scrappy startup - that sort of thing is a false economy. Your staff are pretty much your only asset.
My first real office (after a couple months working out of my living room) was a shoebox. I was mostly meeting with clients but when I was around I didn't even have a desk. I had a chair... by the door.
I'm usually shocked by how well equipped startups office are for teams of less than 10 in SV.
As a long-term proposition, I'd say that table is suitable for no more than 3. (Not sure what official guidelines are, but I'd say you'd need around 150cm x 75cm, or 5' x 2'6", per person. That gives you enough room for keyboard-laptop-monitor depthwise, and two monitors-plus-space widthwise. But the more the merrier, of course... humans are social, but not THAT social.)