Yeah, it's all of the above privacy: I'm one of three people on the second floor, and the other two are in private offices on the other side of a huge room. Then there's a cube partition that protects anyone from seeing my screens.

Now, the only unfortunate thing is that a lot of people use the bathrooms that are ten feet away, so there will still be a regular march of people, just not as regular; and for the most part they won't have any need to look in at me.

The long-term plan is to move all of engineering in this room of cubes, but this company is shitty at executing long-term plans. I might be in this level of privacy for a while.

Cool. I figured your exit interview would be very floor plan focused.

Focus
 

I've been working late, like until 2-4am, on a big migration project that is very high profile that it's 100% my responsibility to sign-off that I have tested every possible function of all systems/interfaces--compiled a list of scenarios, devised a test methodology, work through technical issues, take every variable into account.

This requires a total focus that I can only achieve after normal business hours.

Yesterday, mid-morning, I was on a con call with the vendor, and they wanted me to queue up a new test scenario--a process that takes about 20 minutes and that I've devised a workflow that cannot be deviated from --and can easily be ƒucked up.

Halfway through, a couple of co-workers started up a casual conversation about 10 feet away from my desk. And my brain just stopped. And I realized, it's literally, physically impossible for me to do this task while people--that I can see out of the corner of my eye!--are over-writing my internal dialogue--a repository of variables that must be available on-demand.

And that's why I've been working until 4am --because there's literally no other time that it's possible for me to do this work.



...or...what if...I had an office with a door...

Here ya go and put on the headphones:

https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/wh...eGenerator.php

In my previous office I had to run this at a very loud volume, and spike the frequencies that match voices, to achieve total isolation. Not great but it's better than nothing.

Yeah, you're right. I think I posted a few years back, I tried out different "sound isolating" headphones, but nothing beat my Sony MDR-7506s. I would play "Music For The Mozart Effect, Volume 2, Heal the Body" and behind that, run https://simplynoise.com/ to fill in the gaps (constant pink noise, oscillating white noise).

UT, this is great
https://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/wh...eGenerator.php

I love graphic EQs <3 <3 <3

I am about to be moved into the strangest office arrangement I’ve ever seen in a clinic. Our patient care space is being expanded and will eat up the two docs’ offices that exist. Okay. A third doc is being added. The powers that be have arranged for little cubicle-things to be constructed in the (previous) conference room. The cubicles are about 7 feet square, do not reach to the ceiling, and have all-glass fronts!! The plan is to put desks against the wall (they’re putting in the wiring now).

So we will be in little fishbowls of glass, with no hindrance to sound (so much for HIPAA and the confidential calls I make as an MRO to inform a company rep that their employee is positive for X, Y, and Z).

And our computer screens will face the front glass, so anyone can read over our shoulders ... and the cubicles are so small there will be no problem doing that. There will be lots of opportunity for people to gawk, as they all have to walk past the 3 cubicles to get to the single staff bathroom. There are so many privacy/HIPAA issues here ... leaving aside how horrid these things will be to work in.

I am just shaking my head. Can’t even begin. And no input has been/will be requested or welcomed. Construction on these things began only a few days ago and is nearly complete, because they’re ‘assemble by number’ items out of boxes.

That's just bonkers.

Does your organization have a Compliance Officer you can report HIPAA violations to? Sounds like you will need to move into the cubicles and then document everything that qualifies as a regulatory issue, and report that through the proper channels. They should be required--by policy--to remediate the issues, and you should be shielded--by policy--from retaliation--but obviously confirm these things.

There is a Compliance Officer, but reporting this will be my quickest way to unemployment. Been there, done that, don’t want another t-shirt. The government says nice things about protecting whistleblowers and those who report problems, but for the most part it’s just noise.

Set a picture of people mooning as your computer screen background and switch to it when people get nosy.

If anyone complains, tell them it's online proctology CME.

The push for energy efficiency...

My new digs are such a different feeling, it changes *everything*.

Suddenly, I can concentrate. My job is now suddenly much easier.

I'm weaning off the anti-depressants because I don't think I'll need them now

I'll be able to continue the weight loss I need to forge ahead with

My rotator cuff tendonitis is falling away

All good news!

It's wonderful to hear this. :)

In just 3 weeks it'll make your hair shiny and more manageable.

Good news everyone!