Monthly Archives : November 2012

Office design experts just keep coming up with all kinds of reasons why open office design is good for business. This thinking is alive and well in spite of all the studies showing that reduced workplace privacy and increased noise levels send stress skyrocketing and lower productivity. Now, there’s a slideshow up at Inc.com that puts a whole new spin on the topic of workplace conversations. Apparently, one of the 10 office design tips that foster creativity is to pack your office with people who are talking. According to Kevin Kuske at Turnstone, “If you keep a lot of energy and people in the space, everyone is free to talk, interact, because the background noise – the buzz – gives them privacy.”

It pays to keep in mind that Turnstone is very active in the coworking space where entrepreneurs deliberately choose to work around other people. So, they may actually enjoy the ‘buzz’ since they can always choose to leave when it becomes overwhelming. For employees at a traditional white collar job, less noise and more privacy is the key to getting things done. The hubbub should be confined to collaborative spaces and kept away from heads down work areas.

CC license image courtesy of Flickr user Phillie Casablanca

From Compliance and Safety comes an infographic that may shock you – unless you work in IT or HR and already know the shenanigans the average employee gets up to at work.

Featured By: Compliance and Safety

While employees’ own actions are obviously the top cause of poor productivity, they aren’t completely to blame. That 14.7% of time wasted due to distractions might be partly because of the way the workplace is set up. “Open offices” with no cubicle panels and the low cubicle panels that do nothing to increase concentration might be a factor as well. Think of how much money you might save by cutting down on time wastage by boosting panel heights!

The coffee shop gets a lot of press for being the “go to” location for off-site work. But there’s another community gathering place that might actually serve as a better model: the local library. It makes a lot of sense when you think about it. There’s a lounge area for socializing and a private corner for work that requires more focus. Of course, the ways in which an ideal workplace should resemble a library go beyond these basics. For example, a well equipped library has the equivalent of:

• A hot desking area where workers who don’t need a permanently assigned workstation can sit on a first come, first serve or reservation basis
• Worksurfaces divided with desktop panels for added privacy, peace and quiet
• A culture that strongly encourages keeping your voice down and minimizing distractions to others
• Private meeting rooms of various sizes featuring technology for specific purposes
• Especially quiet areas for individuals taking any kind of pre-employment test
• Outdoor seating for open air work when the weather permits
• An area where kids are welcome to sit and play
• Friendly mentors available to help you with anything you need and to teach you how to use the equipment properly (including ergonomic office furniture)
• Extra computers mounted on standing height desks to serve mobile employees who just need quick access for a minute or two
• Plenty of natural light through windows and skylights
• A ban on having private cell phone conversations where others can overhear!

It’s easy to see how a library would make a decent model for a workplace where people actually get things done. That’s not to dismiss the coffee shop idea completely. A café would be a great atmosphere for a break room, training and orientation area, or even a conference room where people could chat and snack before getting back to work.

Image courtesy of Flickr user Fryar’s Balsam

Today, Loosecubes is shutting its virtual doors, leaving 25,000 members and 1000 host offices around the globe to mourn its loss. The company, founded in 2010, was the brain child of Campbell McKellar and Anna Thomas. They decided that the mobile workers, independent contractors, and entrepreneurs of today needed an option besides working at home or out of their local coffee shop. The concept of coworking spaces had been around for a while, but not every city has this kind of facility. In contrast, every city does have office buildings – most of which aren’t used to capacity all the time.

Don’t Let Empty Space Go to Waste

Think of the average office you’ve worked in. There are typically quite a few cubicles that are empty all day. The occupants might be on vacation. Or, the workstations might be sitting idle while HR searches for new employees to fill those spots. Whatever the reason, this space is simply not being used. The idea behind Loosecubes was to match people in need of a temporary workspace with businesses that were willing to be hosts for a day or two, free of charge. Guests get access to a worksurface, a chair, and a wi-fi signal as well as lighting, climate control, electricity, and other amenities that the host company would be paying for anyway.

Everybody Wins, and It’s Free!

The purpose of this matchmaking service was to foster the exchange of ideas and create a network of business relationships that transcended the walls of the office building. Employers might tap into the pool of freelancers and mobile workers to find their next ideal job candidate, vendor, or business partner. Or, the visiting workers might bring fresh ideas to the business and energize employees. It was a cool concept and was greatly enjoyed by both hosts and guests while it lasted.

Enthusiasm No Substitute for Business Savvy

As a recently launched business ourselves, we certainly feel for Loosecubes. Sadly, the project petered out because it focused more on buzz than bucks. Apparently, the creators didn’t plan in advance for how to monetize their venture. Maybe if they’d been co-working in a cubicle alongside a business or financial advisor during their brainstorming sessions, things would have turned out differently…

We think our products can be used at the office and at home. In fact, our panels are sturdy and attractive enough to please the whole family. Do you have more than one child doing homework at the kitchen table in the evening? Do they distract each other? Why not install a desk mounted privacy panel to keep them separated so they can focus on their studies?

Our universal brackets are designed to work with most desks, workbenches and tables without leaving scratches. They can be installed lengthwise or crosswise to divvy up the table space however you like. Installation is simple and takes only a couple of minutes and an Allen wrench which is provided with the panel. Your 10 year old could put this thing together!

Image courtesy of Flickr user nateOne

Have you read the article by MoneyWatch contributor Amy Levin-Epstein about how to concentrate while working in a cubicle? We all know that focusing at work is difficult when you sit in close proximity to other employees. What’s new about this piece is that the author asked a couple of ADD/ADHD experts for their opinions. Attention Deficit Disorder and related cognitive disorders aren’t just confined to children. Kids who have trouble sitting still and paying attention in school are also likely to be bored and easily distracted on the job when they grow up.

That’s a problem that can take a big toll on an employee’s productivity and their chances for career advancement. The open office environment that’s become increasingly popular with facility designers poses special challenges for those who have a short attention span. The whole idea of the open office is to create that “buzz” and get people to interact with each other more. But for a person who is having difficulty staying on task, this is far from helpful.

How to Boost Attention on the Job

Amy’s article talks about a few ways to cope with visual and audible distractions at work. One suggestion is to create ‘blinders’ in the workstation that reduce the tendency to look around at every distracting movement. This approach has the added benefit of cutting down on outside interruptions. If coworkers can’t easily see an employee, they are less likely to try to engage that person in conversation.

The suggestion to use potted plants to block the view is nice, but not likely to be that effective. Plants don’t serve as much of a barrier and they take up floor or desk space that could be put to better use. In contrast, desk-mounted privacy panels take up very little room on an open workstation. Cubicle panel extenders are mounted on top of existing walls, so they don’t take up any footprint on the desk at all. These products are specifically designed to block visual contact and reduce racket to help employees concentrate. If you have a worker with ADD/ADHD, this might be a wonderful gift to give them a boost toward greater effectiveness at their job.

No, don’t bring your own beverage. Bring Your Own Baby! That’s a topic Jen at Arnolds Furniture blog brought up recently. She talks about the pros and cons facing employers in their decision about whether it’s OK for employees to bring little ones to the office. Apparently, some employers are finding that moms (and dads) are more willing to curtail their parental leave if they can tote their tiny tot to work. If they can continue to bring their baby to the office, this eliminates a couple of the biggest reasons moms don’t come back to work after having a child:

• The inability to find affordable, quality childcare
• The thought of spending so much time away from their little one

Employers who make the workplace child friendly can enjoy high levels of employee loyalty and retention. However, babies do make noise and are too cute to ignore. Having those cubicle extenders handy to cut down on distractions is a must if you have a “bring your own baby” policy!

Lighting experts at Philips and office furniture designers at Haworth have put their heads together and come up with a bright idea for combining their products. Since lighting is a key feature that lift employees’ moods, it’s important to ensure the workplace is well lit. However, quality is just as critical as quantity.

Choose Your Luminosity with Care

Natural daylight is best while flickering, oddly tinted fluorescent lights that make everyone’s skin look chalky green are arguably the worst. LED lighting comes the closest to mimicking sunlight. In fact, LEDs can be created in literally dozens of different subtle gradations of “white” as well as hundreds of other colors. In addition, unlike filament based incandescent bulbs and tube based fluorescent lamps, LEDs can be delivered along a much more diffuse surface.

Divide and Illuminate

Haworth and Philips are leveraging these features of LED to create the ideal workplace lighting solutions that combine furniture and illumination. Haworth already features Philips lighting in the MeetYou lounge furniture series. Now, the companies are collaborating on more innovative ideas. One forward-looking design is the lighted divider concept. Imagine a workplace where light is used to define boundaries.  Instead of creating dark nooks and crannies, these gently glowing screens would make the workplace appear more bright and open – even as they provided necessary separation.

Let There Be Light

We like the idea of incorporating light into dividers. This could be done with floor-to-ceiling walls, head height privacy screens used to delineate teaming areas, and even in desktop dividers where the LEDs could provide task lighting. So far, Haworth and Philips are just debuting their LED office furniture ideas in Europe. But we think you could achieve something similar by attaching a clamp-on LED task lamp to one of our cubicle panel extenders or desktop dividers. That way, employees can get all the light they need even with higher cubicle walls that provide more privacy.

Did you think we had run out of novel ways to use panel extenders and desktop dividers? Not even close!

Every good manager knows that rewards and recognition go a long way toward keeping employee satisfaction levels high. With a custom-printed “Employee of the Month” panel extender, you can let everyone in the office know who has done an outstanding job over the past 30 days. Along with the text, you could choose to add graphics like party balloons and confetti. Then, have a cake or other tasty gift delivered to the employee’s cubicle for everyone to share. Since our products are easy to install and remove, you can simply transfer the “Employee of the Month” panel to a new workstation as needed.

Image courtesy of Flickr user 4nitsirk