Monthly Archives : September 2014

Should you turn your office space into an arboretum? It might be a very good idea. According to an article by Dr. Leonard Perry at the University of Vermont, there’s plenty of evidence supporting the use of plants in the office. Benefits include stress relief, better air quality, and a more well-adjusted workforce. Here are a few highlights form the studies cited by Dr. Perry:

• Visual exposure to plants reduces blood pressure in a matter of minutes
• A shield of plants around a workspace can reduce noise by about 5 decibels
• Absenteeism goes down when more plants are introduced
• Plants release moisture into the air, creating the right humidity in the workplace for human comfort
• Attractive plants cost a lot less than pricey artwork, and people enjoy them more
• Contrary to what you might assume, introducing plants and soil is associated with lower mold and bacteria counts

Plants That Clean the Air

Apparently, many plants can remove airborne toxins such as VOCs, potentially relieving symptoms such as sore throat, headache, and fatigue. This reduction of toxins in the air is measurable, and NASA has created a list of plants that seem to be particularly effective. You can see a slideshow on that topic by Mother Nature Network here. A few you of the plants you might recognize include:

• Golden Pothos (this one is incredibly hardy and does very well indoors even with little or no natural light)
• Spider plant (excellent for hanging near exterior windows)
• Elephant ear philodendron (this one’s pretty big and good for shared spaces)
• Snake plant (thrives in humid areas like the restroom and can live with little light)
• Cornstalk dracaena (a resilient shrub that can be used as a space divider)

How to Care for Office Plants

Keeping plants alive in the office can be a bit of a challenge at first. Make it part of the facility management or janitorial routine and ensure workers know how to handle the plants in their space.

• Overwatering is worse than underwatering. If an employee is in charge of watering plants, ensure others know not to do additional watering. Coarse soil dries out faster than dense soil and requires more frequent watering.
• Supply a watering can to avoid drips and spills on the way from the break room or bathroom to the plants.
• Add fertilizer to plant pots on a regular basis to keep plants healthy.
• Have a plan in place to transplant office plants to larger pots as they grow. Some plants can be cloned or divided to create new plants in smaller pots.

Going green in the office is pretty simple once you make it a habit. What steps can you take to create a more plant-friendly office?

Last week, we reviewed a laundry list of opinions about open offices vs. closed offices. This time, let’s get more specific and list some issues that can crop up in the unfettered landscape of the entirely open office. Here are a number of valid complaints that office workers have about personality conflicts in open spaces:

• The lack of privacy in an open office actually restricts honest communication because of all the eavesdropping.
• Coworkers’ manners are a huge obstacle in open environments. They talk too loudly, don’t respect the privacy of others, and have conversations on speaker phone.
• Introverts pay a “social penalty” for not engaging on the same level as their coworkers. It’s unfair to expect all personality types to work in the same way.
• Theft is more likely to occur in an open office. It’s a hassle to have to lock your purse inside the desk if you get up to go to the copier.
• HR ends up with way more work to do in smoothing ruffled feathers when everyone is in everyone else’s business in an open office.

Collaboration and Creativity

What about the perception that open offices are the best bet for keeping people connected and getting all the bright ideas flowing? Not everyone is on board with that viewpoint either. In fact, they point to a number of alternatives:

• Small shared areas work better than completely open offices. People working on the same project can be clustered together in small teams to promote collaboration.
• Closed floor plans make teamwork more productive because meetings have to be scheduled for a real purpose.
• People who work inside their heads need private space. They don’t want to be pulled into conversations or make everything a “team project” in an open office.
• Open spaces are OK for “creatives” working together on the same project, but people in operations roles need less distraction.
• The workstation isn’t the place for socialization. It should be a place to concentrate get work done. Meetings are the right environment for communication and collaboration.

Can We All Just Get Along?

There is room for common ground in this ongoing debate. Most people do agree that the right solution is industry and job dependent. Confidentiality, privacy, and ethics are important considerations. There’s also widespread agreement that an ideal workspace makes room for both private areas and collaborative areas. OBEX panel extenders and desk panels offer a solution that’s easy to retrofit into any space to achieve just the right ratio.

Do you have opinions about open offices to share? Let loose in the comments!

The open office debate will never be settled as long as there are dog people and cat people, coffee drinkers and tea sippers in the world. There are just too many variables that go into what makes some person feel alive in a bustling workspace while others feel overwhelmed. We’ve been collecting conversations on this topic for quite some time, so here’s an overview of some of the common opinions—both for and against.

In Favor of Walls:

• Desk dividers or cubicles are the minimum requirement for privacy and personal space.
• Open offices invite interruption. The sound from phone conversations is too distracting.
• Open offices provide too much information about peers. You don’t really need to know how often someone visits the restroom or the break room.
• Work takes longer in an open environment.
• Phone work should never be done in an open setting. Cubicle walls or small offices work best.
• Receiving a phone call from someone in an open office environment is unpleasant. There’s too much background noise.
• An open environment is like an ad hoc meeting that has no point, is constantly interrupted, and never ends.

In Favor of Open Design:

• An open office with lots of activity (but no rudeness) is creatively stimulating.
• Open workspaces are nicest when they feature plenty of natural light to offset the downsides of lost privacy.
• Coworkers use a lower voice when there are no cubicle walls (this was in an office that trained employees with etiquette videos when they switched to an open layout).
• People are more likely to work hard when they are in an open office environment and can see others working.
• High cubicle walls or offices create barriers to open communication and collaboration.
• Teamwork is better and the flow of communication is improved when everyone is in close proximity.

As you probably noticed, these opinions can vary greatly based on perceptions, personal experience, and personality. Next week, we’ll look at opinions about how open spaces affect interpersonal relationships and whether open or closed is really the best option for communication and collaboration. Stay tuned!

Last month, we took an in-depth look at how to assist introverts in the workplace. But these individuals aren’t the only ones who can have difficulty concentrating in a busy office. Employee with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) also struggle to be productive in today’s open office plans. Noises that some people block out can be very disruptive to workers who already have a tough time staying on task.

Examples of intrusive noises include:

• Coworkers talking
• Foot traffic through the office
• Elevator doors
• Fax machines, photocopiers, and printers
• Telephones ringing

Is ADHD Covered under the ADA?

Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. That really depends on the type and degree of limitation a person experiences in going about their daily lives. However, accommodating these workers makes sense regardless of the degree of disability. Like any employees, those with ADHD will simply do higher quality work and be more productive in the office if their needs are being met.

How Can Office Furniture and Design Help Workers with ADHD?

The Job Accommodation Network has a number of recommendations for reducing auditory and visual distractions. Locating the employee away from distractions is a good first step. Providing noise-canceling headsets or a white noise machine is also helpful. The space itself should be enclosed with cubicle walls, preferably with sound absorption panels. In an example provided by JAN, “A journalist with ADHD experienced sensitivity to visual and auditory distractions. The employer provided the individual with a private, high-wall cubicle workspace in a low-traffic area. The employer added an environmental sound machine to mask office noise.”

In an open office layout that has desks but not cubicles, installing a single cubicle might pose a real challenge. However, our desk mounted privacy panels can be installed on any standard office desk in less than 5 minutes using our universal brackets.

For workers with ADHD, choose privacy panels that feature:

• Good acoustic properties (designed to prevent sound from traveling into the employee’s workspace from surrounding areas)
• A textile covering in a soothing, neutral color
• A tall height, so that the worker cannot see visual distractions while in a seated position and so that others cannot easily look over the top to interrupt the employee’s work

The solution is simple and inexpensive—a win-win for you and your employees.