Monthly Archives : November 2013

Is your office a cacophony of racket, making it nearly impossible to get work done? Here are some ideas to help.

First, a cubicle extender could mean the world if your boss can be convinced it’s in his or her best interest to make the investment. You might do an informal poll among your office employees to see if they feel productivity would go up if they had a more private place to work in.

Cubicle privacy panels can be adjusted at different heights for each employee’s needs, and really enhance working conditions for those who work alone, while other desks can have shorter cubicle walls to allow collaboration between team members who need a more back and forth working environment.

While corporate is taking the idea of adding cubicle panel extenders to the budget, here are a few things you can do to limit distraction.

1. Wear earplugs. They can help down out repetitive annoying sounds, like the guy four rows over who keep clearing his throat, the printer coming on and shutting off, or the fax beeping incessantly.
2. Wear headphones. These are a boon if other people continually want to chat when you are trying to work. It’;s a social barrier as you are obviously listening to something and they would have to shout to get your attention.
3. Play soothing sounds. Even if your boss doesn’t allow a radio in your cubicle, you might be able to slip a sound machine in that produces a calming overlay on top of the office jangle. You can even find websites that can play soothing sounds like rainfall on low on your speakers.
4. Be firm about interruptions. Let co-workers know you have a heavy workload and you can’t get everything done if you take time out to gossip.
5. Ask for a desk in a quiet part of the office. Can’t hurt!

Don’t give up if you have trouble staying focused. Keep trying things until something works, and rally other employees to your cause. Your boss might be tempted to try something new if you show them stats on how better working conditions do increase quality performance and productivity!

Yeah… that’d be GREAT…

We’ve run down a lot of Friday pet peeves over the last couple of months. maybe we’ve missed one that you’ve been dying to tell us about. Does your cubicle neighbor jog a mile before work and then forget to shower before coming in? Does your boss not seem to understand that standing outside your cubicle with a cup of coffee for an hour keeps you from being productive instead of the other way round? What eats you up about cubicle life? We want to know what is the single thing that would most improve your workplace if changed.

While you are thinking, we’ll throw one out there. So many offices we see have cubicles that don’t really serve any purpose, with walls that are so low they don’t block any noise or provide any privacy. A cubicle wall extender would make a huge difference in keeping the peace in a busy, noisy office! (You wouldn’t jump every time the dude with a cold snorts through his nose, for one thing…)

Sadly, office cubicles don’t always have the best reputation. There are even movies about hassled, unhappy cubicle workers. Surely. however, this is not the fate of all those cubicle dwellers in the world!

Here are some of the reasons the cubicle manages to stay relevant, even with all the negative press – they aren’t just a cheap way for office owners to keep things running, they are actually beneficial for the right kind of workforce. You might be surprised how many workers prefer  the privacy of a cubicle compared to the chaos of an open office layout or the closed off feeling individual glass walls can cause.

Cubicles Actually Benefit Collaboration!

When you are in a glass office, it’s hard to bounce ideas off of coworkers. Low walls between those who work together often can make it easy to converse throughout the day, while cubicle height extenders can help those on another aisle ignore the conversation.

Cubicles Lead to Less Distractions

In an open office layout with no walls, it’s easy for employees to become distracted.  It’s not just the movement of people walking right past; its the music, the crackling of food packages, the phone calls and so on. Cubicles provide a much needed  level of privacy without undue isolation.

Cubicles Lead to Greater Productivity

Office cubicles offer a certain level of accountability, since managers can easily see who is working and who is goofing off. It’s an easy way to stay on top of deadlines, with less chance of people slacking off since they are in close proximity.

Cubicles Make Employees Feel Like They Have Privacy

Even relatively low walls can provide a sense of personal space for employees, and [panel extenders can increase that for those who need an even quieter workplace or who work on sensitive issues.

Cubicles Actually Foster Social Interaction

Employees are much more likely to get to know their co-workers in a cubicle setting, and can also control what interaction happens which contributes to a happier, healthier workplace environment.  People were meant to live and work and play together, and cubicles prevent complete isolation.

If your open office or glass walled office layout isn’t working well, you might consider using cubicles and panel extenders to create a more fluid workplace, where everyone has the space they need and no-one feels overwhelmed OR cramped!

Is your cubicle too dark? One of the top workplace pet peeves in cubicle environments is that the workspace is dim. Sometimes this is due to lighting; causing eyestrain as workers peer at computer screens. In other cases, the lighting isn’t the issue – it’s a deeper problem.

One solution is to drop cubicle walls, allowing more natural light from far away windows to reach each workspace; another idea is to use panel extenders to provide a higher wall so a small light can be installed, providing each worker with the amount of light he or she needs.

Other tips can include using cubicle partitions that help reflect light, teaching employees how to alter brightness and contrast on their monitors, adding space to cubicles by expanding their footprint, and allowing employees to decorate their offices – sometimes dark and gloomy is just a perception, and a little change is all that is needed to fix a negative view. Panel extenders can help here too – allow workers to indicate how much privacy they need and how much open air head-space.

How does your office deal with cubicle gloom?

Did you know the state of your cubicle can say a lot about your personality? The way in which you organize – or don’t – can provide clues to your work style.

• If your cubicle is messy, with papers everywhere, inspirational quotes all over the cubicle walls, and cubicle extenders obviously added simply so you have more wall space to pin stuff to, you are probably a spirited personality who is great with the overall view, very positive, but not that detail oriented. Your advantage is that you can get others pumped up and ready to go!

• If your desk is covered with paperwork, but it’s organized in piles, and you have not one but two calendars to track business and personal appointments plus pictures of family as well as recognition of personal accomplishments such as diplomas or awards, you are probably a direct personality.  You know exactly what you are capable of, expect others to measure up, and are great at organizing even though you may come off as a little bossy (you just want everything to be perfect!)

• If your cubicle is cluttered, but you know where everything is, your cubicle is decorated with an eye to comfort and serenity, and your family life is evident in photos and belongings, you are likely a  considerate personality style. You are an excellent mediator, you like things to run without confrontation, and you feel that working relationships should be as important as personal ones.

• If your desk is tidy and clear of papers, with only what you are currently working on in view, you clean your desk every night, all of your files are organized to death and your cubicle walls feature charts and graphs and conversion tables, you are likely a systematic personality. You like specifics, and aren’t that amenable to being told to “go with it”, but given direct instructions you are the best person to make sure it is done precisely right.

For the best productivity, work together with all of the personality types on your office, splitting responsibilities to take advantage of your strengths. Your cubicles can all be a little more friendly with each other if you accept that everyone is different!

Is your cubicle chair broken down and squeaky? Does it refuse to roll the way it once did? Does the back give way, suddenly, leaving you hurtling backwards to land on your back like a scene from Nine to Five? Or is it just uncomfortable?

Studies show that workers are happier when they have a good office chair to sit in. As a manager, requisitioning decent office chairs should be something you address regularly, to ensure that everyone can function at maximum productivity levels.
By standardizing chairs with a model that has a lot of adaptive function, you can bring joy to every cubicle. You can also use cubicle extenders to help customize each workspace without losing overall uniformity.

If you can find the balance between buying a custom office chair for everyone and half of your staff being miserable, you’ve done a good job! Listen to your cubicle workers and find a compromise that works for the majority.

You may like to think of your cubicle as your home away from home, but it’s really not. It’s more like being invited to your boss’ home. You have no expectation of privacy, unbuttoning the top button of your jeans after the Thanksgiving dinner is frowned on, and you can’t kick back and watch the big game.

You have to treat your cubicle like a workspace. Doesn’t mean you can’t be comfortable, but steer clear of these things if you can help it!

Don’t:

1. Do things you would do in a bathroom. Personal grooming should be a no. If you need to tweeze an eyebrow or nose hair, floss a tooth or clip a nail, take a break and do it elsewhere.
2. Cook at your desk. Food prep is out, too. If you bring your lunch to work unassembled, take it to the break room to put together. Your sandwich doesn’t need to be stacked on your desk as mustard and mayo fly willy nilly.
3. Go nuts with the decorating. Over the top decor should be reserved for your Aunt Genevieve’s parlor. Don’t stuff every available nook and cranny with photos, pictures, seasonal decorations and so on. It’s your cubicle, not a crafting room!
4. Expose toes in public. Stay clothed, please! Taking off a suit jacket is one thing, but when the shoes and socks come off you’ve gotten a little too comfortable.
5. Do your shopping at work … if you can help it. We know it’s the holidays, but obsessively clicking on the eBay button to see if your bid won is annoying.
6. Use your work computer to stalk your ex. Just because your computer IP won’t trace back to your home doesn’t mean authorities can’t find you. Let it go! (In fact, don’t stalk, period, should be the message here!)
7. Be a yapper. Stop chatterboxing. Not everyone wants to hear about the trip you took to Vegas for the ten zillionth time. Ask for cubicle height extenders to protect other employees from you if you can’t restrain yourself.
8. Bring everybody down. Sure, you have a right to your feelings, but stuff them down while in the workplace. You can meet one of your friends for a cry in your beer after work.

Keep it real, and keep it professional! Your cubicle should be an extension of your professional self.

It’s time for another workplace peeve! How about the person who talks about his or her pet constantly, has fifty pictures of it on his or her cubicle desk, and takes up a donation for when it gets sick and needs a couple thousand dollars worth of veterinary care?

Do they show up with it at parties wearing matching costumes? Are there always stray hairs floating off of their clothing and into your coffee cup? How do you nicely request that the pet – and all mentions thereof – stay on personal time and out of your cubicle at least?

While pet-lovers certainly make up the majority of Americans, not everyone is so enamored. If you are a pet aficionado, be sensitive to others’ phobias, allergies, or just general disinterest. Your cat may be like part of your family, but not everyone will understand your passion. Join a cat fancier’s club instead!

Is someone in your adjoining cubicle gaga over their animal friend? Tell us about it!