Monthly Archives : February 2012

A 2011 infographic published on the fastcompany.com website makes the argument that lowering the height of cubicle walls is good for the environment. The reasoning behind this viewpoint is that low dividers allow more natural light into the workplace. If you rely more on natural light from outside, you can potentially cut down on artificial lighting – and therefore on energy costs. As an alternative to high cubicle walls, the author of the infographic suggests installing overhead screens like the Resolve canopies created by Herman Miller. Here’s a quote about the supposed benefit: “They’re instrumental in blocking sunlight which causes glare on computer screens.”

Hmm, that’s a little bit of a double standard isn’t it? Are you trying to block natural light in the workplace or let more of it in? Is it beneficial, or is it detrimental? You can’t have it both ways. The author’s suggestion ignores a number of facts:

1. As more companies move to a flexible work schedule to make the most of their office real estate, employees aren’t necessarily only coming in during daylight hours. Call centers (which absolutely must have high cubicle walls for good acoustic control) are often open 24/7. It makes sense to design your space around the way it is actually used – not around an imaginary concept of how it might be used.
2. Not every office space has windows to the outside (especially smaller companies located in a large building). Plus, not all workers will be near a window space even if one is available. Employers who want to save energy can switch to LED and include passive infrared sensing technology that automatically turns off lights when no one is around. Both of these options are cheaper and more energy efficient than getting rid of your existing cubicles and buying new ones in an attempt to harness more sunlight.*
3. It’s true that more natural light can be a good thing. But there are ways to direct it into workspaces with higher cubicle walls while avoiding glare at the same time. For example, light shelves can be installed to redirect more sunlight downward into the room where it adds brightness without blinding anyone. The blinds above and below the light shelves can be adjusted for user comfort throughout the day.

The bottom line is this: workers shouldn’t have to choose between getting enough sunlight and having cubicle walls that are the right height to provide privacy and noise reduction.

*Unlike making cubicle walls shorter, you can easily make them higher without buying new furniture. Simply add OBEX panel extenders to any existing cube panel. That’s always an eco-friendly choice.

It’s a fairly common perception that high cubicle walls restrict workplace socialization. Read enough office furniture blogs and you’ll see the notion tossed around that “cubicle dwelling” employees feel cut off from personal interaction. Walls that come up above head height when users are seated are blamed for this sense of alienation. But what if higher cubicle panels actually improve connection and communication in the workplace?

Quality over Quantity

Cubicle panels don’t prevent friendly and amiable interaction at work. What they do is limit interruptions (a polite term for unwanted socialization). When it takes a little more effort to have a face to face talk with a coworker, people are more likely to consider whether what they want to say is really that important.

Even the simple act of rolling a chair around the corner to talk to another cube worker has the potential to make employees more mindful. It’s kind of like having candy stored on the top shelf in the pantry instead of in a candy dish at your desk. You appreciate it more (and are less likely to overindulge) when the candy is not staring you right in the face all day.

The quality of workplace communication and connection can also increase because higher walls afford introverted workers with more privacy. Not everyone enjoys being stuck in a room full of people all day at work. Having better boundaries helps less social employees cope. This means when they do choose to interact with others, they are likely to be more relaxed and friendly. Good fences really do make good neighbors.

You Can Create the Atmosphere You Want

One nice thing about OBEX panel extenders is that you don’t have to put them on every cubicle if some workers prefer the lower dividers. This flexibility provides employers and employees with an unprecedented level of control over the flow of conversation and socialization in the workplace.

Back in 2002, CubeSmart published a very interesting white paper on how often the average office worker is interrupted per day – and what effect this has on productivity. They arrived at some disturbing conclusions. First, here are some statistics:

• The average office employee is interrupted 50-70 times per workday
• The workload generated by each interruption averages about 5 minutes (more for in-person interruptions)
• It may take another 5-15 minutes to get back “in the zone” mentally after each interruption

If you’re good at math, it didn’t take you long to figure out that many workers are spending most of their time at work dealing with interruptions and the inevitable aftermath. It’s no wonder people have a hard time getting things done or performing their work effectively.

CubeSmart argues that most of these interruptions have little or no value. In other words, they aren’t mission critical in any way. In-person interruptions seem to be the biggest time suck. They generate the most stress and make it hardest to return to your former level of concentration afterward. That’s the main issue that CubeSmart seeks to address with its CubeDoor and CubeBanner products. The concept is simple. You just attach the retractable “door” to the cubicle panel and stretch it across to create a physical and psychological barrier against interruption when you need to concentrate. It’s a polite way of saying “I’m busy. Come back later.”

We’ve Got a Great Solution Too

It’s doubtful that the interruption trend has gotten any better over the ten years since CubeSmart wrote the original white paper. In fact, with the trend toward lower cubicle panels, things have probably just gotten worse. That’s why we’ve created the OBEX panel extenders. They are designed to automatically cut down on visual and audible interruptions in the workspace so employees can reclaim their productivity.

Stay tuned! In the upcoming weeks, we’ll look at other great products that can be combined with our cubicle panel extenders for an even more efficient work environment.

Have you seen the controversial study showing that a cluttered workspace might actually make people more efficient? If not, you can read it here. Participants in the study had their organizational skills and cognition tested after sitting in a messy cubicle vs. a tidy one or one that was only partly cluttered. Participants who sat at the messy desk tended to come up with the simplest, most efficient strategies for organization. The working theory is that being exposed to clutter makes you crave simplicity. You have to streamline your thought processes so you don’t get overwhelmed.

If you are a manager, you might worry that your messiest workers will find this article and use it as an excuse not to tidy up their workspace. If you find it’s a battle you can’t win, you might try just adding panel extenders to their cubicle so you don’t have to look at the mess 🙂

As the perils of sitting for long periods are becoming more and more widely publicized, it’s not surprising to see so many height adjustable workstation options hitting the office furniture market. Some are designed around a counterbalanced mechanism that allows the user to move the work surface up or down with minimal effort. Other tables rely on a crank mechanism or an electric motor to accomplish the same thing. Some are freestanding, but many are incorporated into a traditional cubicle setup.

While these new, adjustable worksurfaces may be great for workers’ metabolism, they won’t necessarily be a good match for cubicle designs with low-height panels. Whenever employees stand up, they will lose the privacy and noise control provided by their cubicle walls. Our cubicle panel extenders could be the perfect partner product for the sit-to-stand generation of workstations. You can use them to easily and cost-effectively add much needed height to any cubicle. Discover how to use OBEX panel extenders to match the needs of tomorrow’s workforce as they stand up and get to work.

Have you ever noticed that some of the best inventions tend to be based on the simplest ideas? Think of a paper clip. It’s just a piece of metal bent into a racetrack-shaped spiral. But it’s cost effective, easy to use, and comes in handy at the office every day. OBEX cubicle panel extenders have the same appeal – and for the same reasons. They offer a sensible alternative to purchasing new, taller cubicle panels when you need to create more privacy for employees. Installation takes about 5 minutes and workers will appreciate the noise-dampening effect instantly.

Why Higher Cubicle Walls Matter

Over the past decade, there’s been a trend in the office furniture industry toward creating a more “open” work environment. This includes choosing workstations with low panels that are supposed to increase a sense of teamwork and collaboration. In some situations, this type of design works just fine. However, like all fads, it doesn’t serve all participants equally well. In fact, some employers and employees are finding that this trend is actually counter-productive.

Cubicles have long been the mainstay of acoustic control in the workspace. Doing away with high cubicle panels in favor of more openness also means losing this important tool for managing noise levels. As the volume goes up, it becomes more and more difficult for workers to remain on task. It’s becoming increasingly clear that being able to hear everything around you doesn’t necessarily enhance collaboration or communication. Instead, it just makes it more difficult to focus on getting the job done.

How You Can Take Control

Maybe you were sold on the idea of low cubicle panels by an office furniture dealer eager to help you create a “modern” looking workspace. Or, perhaps you inherited a set of workstations with low panels from a previous facility manager and didn’t have a choice in the matter. Either way, there’s no need to buy a completely new set of cubicles to fix the problem. Instead, you can easily retrofit your existing workstations with 12” or 24” high panel extenders to reach the correct height for maximum noise control. These extenders are available in widths from 24”-66” with universal brackets for thicknesses up to 3.75” to fit all standard cubicle panels.