A reader writes:
Sounds like Anne Kreamer has an office with walls and a door, or works at home. In the real world, we don't get to be surrounded by well-behaved geniuses with whom we can have engaging conversations. Without headphones, I would have no chance to get any work done, while my cubicle farm coworkers talk loudly about TV shows and basketball scores.
Another reader adds:
First, I work in a collaborative space, and I've helped with the change management for promoting open spaces, telework, and Google collaboration tools at work. I am all for the power of adjacency. However, the fundamental principle behind open work spaces is permission to not engage.
Collaboration is important, but we have to acknowledge that it doesn't necessarily increase productivity or creativity. Sometimes what people need is the quiet space to think, and headphonesare part of that. Headphones are a polite, passive way to signal that I'm busy doing "my" work, not "our" work. I'm still working in an social and collaborative space, but I also still have control over how my time gets used.
I'm 24, and I see collaboration and crowdsourcing and social as unparalleled opportunities to tap the potential of communities and 2+2=5 and all that sparklehands-funtimes-awesomeness. But I also work on change management for these initiatives at a government agency, and it's not some magical fix. It's a tool. In the same way that offices and cubicles weren't the solution, constant socialization isn't the one and only answer. I'll keep my headphones, thanks.
The Dish 