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    • Cubicle Wall & Panel Extenders
    • Universal Cubicle Door
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    • Free Standing Desk Mount Privacy Panels
    • Ceiling Hung Screens
    • Ceiling Sound Baffles
    • Split Screen Panels
    • Desk & Table Mounted Modesty Panels
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    • Whiteboard Privacy Screens
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    • Privacy Panel Options
    • Tack Board Options
    • GSA
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  • Home
  • Products
    • Barriers for Health and Safety
    • Mobile Freestanding Screens
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    • Cubicle Wall & Panel Extenders
    • Universal Cubicle Door
    • Desk & Table Mount Privacy Panels
    • Free Standing Desk Mount Privacy Panels
    • Ceiling Hung Screens
    • Ceiling Sound Baffles
    • Split Screen Panels
    • Desk & Table Mounted Modesty Panels
    • Tack Boards
    • Whiteboard Privacy Screens
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Category : noisy office

Home/Archive by Category "noisy office"

4 Industries Where Office Privacy is Vital

16 December 2015Mark Canavarronoisy office, open office design, privacy screens, workplace aesthetics, workplace culture, workplace distractions, workplace privacy No comment

office privacyMore and more offices are making the switch from traditional cubicles to a more open-spaced layout, designed to create a space that encourages energy, productivity, and especially the sharing of information for the best collaboration. However, this advantage also comes with a disadvantage – a huge loss in privacy. For some industries, office privacy is not that great a concern, yet there are still many industries that rely on discretion as their bread and butter, not only for completing their work but retaining their credibility as businesses that can be trusted.

Here are four industries where office privacy is still incredibly vital.

1. The Health Industry

Anyone who’s gone to the hospital and been forced to wear one of those nightgowns with the open back understands that privacy in the health care arena is hard to come by. However, jokes aside, when the technical aspect comes into play within the offices of the doctors themselves, the technicians, the scientists, and so on, privacy between offices and between cubicles is absolutely key, considering the information they have on hand and the amount of people who could suffer if it was wrongly unveiled.

  • Identity theft.

The health care industry has more information on us than our own mothers, with access to not only our immediate contact information, names, ages, and so forth, but in some cases more sensitive legal information that could result in a horrible case of identity theft if revealed. Privacy within the office through privacy panels, personal offices, specialized computers meant to combat those “over the shoulder readers,” and other tactics ensure that only those with explicit permission and clearances can review the information, preventing a new employee, an intern, or even a long-time worker having a bad day from doing something unwise with the information.

  • Embarrassment and loss of trust.

While your name and mother’s maiden name is certainly personal information, what can be more personal than your health records themselves? In the health care industry, patients trust a certain level of confidentiality which allows them to be open about the state of their health. If you knew you were risking a few new interns joking about your rather embarrassing disease that night at the bar, you would be far less likely to trust the medical profession in the future. This logic is why office privacy is crucial in the health industry, as privacy for personal reasons is just as important as for legal reasons.

2. The Financial Industry

A title with no short limitation, the financial industry such as banking, stock brokerage, and even online retail stores are under no small amount of pressure to keep that private information private. While an office does allow for greater collaboration, ensuring that the working space is kept enclosed and private is a top priority, with the aim to ensure that the vital and even personally dangerous information they have access to doesn’t result in ruin.

  • Identify theft or financial ruin.

Just as with the health industry, the loss of personal information can lead to others taking your identity and running from the hills, sparing only the time to land some serious blows against your credibility, your financial stability, and more. Entrusting your personal information and especially your cash to an industry requires a certain amount of trust, with the confidence that such a relationship results in profits rather than financial ruin. By accidentally sharing a few numbers, a few names, or even allowing a passing employee without clearance to glance at a screen, people could be at risk of losing their entire livelihood. With this in mind, many of the businesses within this industry have taken great pains to ensure that privacy panels, enclosed cubical, personal offices, and more are set in place to ensure they can benefit others rather than stand as a massive risk.

3. Law Enforcement

Anyone who’s watched a daytime soap opera is familiar with what happens if a member of the law enforcement, or the government for that matter, leaks a vital piece of information. Not only does it weaken their evidence, but it discredits the individuals themselves and can result in slanderous claims against innocent people. This extends far beyond catching criminals and into all elements of law enforcement, where they are privy to vital information about several people that they themselves, and especially those they’re close to, may not know. With this in mind, office privacy can be the difference between a system that works for the benefit of others, and one that leads to huge lawsuits, a loss in reputation, and damaged lives.

4. Cloud Storage

You may think that the cloud is the exact opposite of an industry in need of office privacy, since the purpose of the cloud is to share information and make it readily accessible by others. On the contrary, cloud computing and storage is home to more information than any of the previous industries combined. In fact, many of those industries turn to cloud’s online sharing and storage as a means for managing their business. This makes it clear that the cloud’s ability to give access only to the right people, and to dodge potential information leaks, is vital.

There are many facets to cloud computing, each requiring a team of experts to manage it. However, cyber terrorism is on the rise and there is nothing a few hackers would like better than to stumble upon a random office conversation, finding a few key words that lead them to unlock that sensitive information. With that in mind, cloud storage, and both the businesses and the techs who manage it, are in true need of office privacy at its best.

Collaboration and sharing truly is what makes the world go round, but when it comes to the sensitive information we’d rather keep to ourselves, and the industries we trust to keep it for us, implementing a certain degree of office privacy is the only thing standing between disaster and a well-working machine.

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Noisy Coworkers? 3 Tips to Help You Be More Productive

2 December 2015Mark Canavarrocubicle extenders, desk-mounted panels, noisy office, workplace aesthetics, workplace culture, workplace distractions, workplace privacy No comment

noisy-coworkers-195x300Everyone works differently. Each person will approach a task with a diverse and unusual array of tools, techniques, requirements, downfalls, and advantages to see it completed. With that in mind, working collaboratively can be a burden rather than a help.

 

An open office is made to encourage communication and interaction, all with the aim to boost productivity, but for some, the sound and activity can actually do the opposite. This gets turned up to eleven when general activity isn’t the only enemy – a particularly noisy coworker is. You know, the kind who likes to read aloud, take their calls on speaker, or even approaches conversations with a voice of utter thunder.

You can’t let this problem harm your productivity, but there are better ways to avoid the distraction besides hoping for a change in their personality or even a transfer. Do you have a noisy coworker? Here are three tips for getting past this obstacle and staying productive.

1. Listen to Other Things For many, the issue is not sound, but noise.

You may be able to ignore the intense sound of a storm outside your window, but the noisy conversation of two nearby coworkers can completely distract you, preventing your concentration on the work at hand. The simple answer is to substitute the distracting noise with something your mind can more easily ignore.

– Music.

Studies have proven that music in fact helps people concentrate; it allows your brain to limit the number of distractions in the environment to a single sound, and then manage that distraction. With this in affect, more brain power can be devoted to what actually matters. Instrumental music is especially favorable, as our minds do not interpret soft piano or violin in the same way it does voices – a sound that is made to draw our attention and keep our attention. In this way, Mozart becomes a much better working companion than the employee next to you, because at least he knows how to stay objective.

– Rain sounds and white noise.

In the same way music helps limit our distractions and fill our ears with something easily ignored, white noise provides a healthy substitute to voices. White noise is specifically sounds such as running water, rain, wind, and so on, which are so normal that they’reeasily dismissed. This can also apply to a simple desk fan or an air purifier that will supply dull noise, but a pair of headphones can be even more efficient. Some rain
sounds can help to not only block outside noises, but also create a more tranquil mood that allows you to focus and complete your task.

2. Get Out of Dodge

Sometimes the best approach is the most direct approach, and if you are one of those people who find music and white noise as distracting as the noisy coworker, you may need to take the situation by the reins and find a more obvious solution.

– Ask your manager to move you to a different space. Your productivity level benefits or harms the entire business, so if you’re suffering from distractions and are unable to deliver the necessary work, your manager is suffering too. By approaching your boss and letting them know that a noisy coworker– who may or may not be named – is making it difficult to work, they can move you to another area, eliminating the problem with advantages for not only you but the entire company.

– Get to work early or stay late.

Midday is known as the most prime hours for work, as the sun is high, the sleepiness of the morning has faded, and the afternoon lull has yet to set in. Because of this, you might find your noisy coworker is a lot less active and a lot less loud in the mornings while everyone is still easing into the day. This makes it an ideal time for you to begin your projects, allowing you to complete vital tasks that require concentration before the distracting person arrives. Additionally, while no one likes staying late, if you continue to work after your coworker has gone home, you’ll have a quiet office that allows you to keep your priorities in order, leaving the noisy midday for less important tasks or even some web-surfing.

3. Take Action

If these more docile solutions have not earned a result, or perhaps they simply aren’t your style, you can always resort to the fastest, most direct, and – nine times out of time – most effective solution.

– Ask them to quiet down. While there are certainly people who must have a patent on being obnoxious, many others are unaware they’re being so noisy. Perhaps they have an unusually loud voice, think that communicating on speaker boosts productivity, or that everyone works in a loud environment as well as they do. In these cases, they are simply trying to do their job well and do not realize they are preventing you from doing the same. By simply mentioning the problem to them and asking them to lower their loud activities, the entire situation can be resolved.

– Ask a manager to speak with them. If you find confrontation as appealing as walking on hot coals, or your coworker does indeed have a patent on being obnoxious, the next best step is to bring the issue to the attention of your manager. At this point, your manager can speak with the employ with a certain degree of authority, resolving the problem that may have caused derision or confrontation between two employees of equal status.

Noisy co-workers are as helpful for productivity as a one-man-band in your living room is helpful for sleeping, but there’s no reason to accept an inability to focus. By applying a few of these three tips, you can see the problem resolved, your productivity boosted, and perhaps a better workplace environment – since everyone else can also enjoy a reprieve from the noise. If the noise is still unbearable, you may want to look into cubicle extenders or panels. OBEX Office Panel Extenders offers a large variety of office panel extenders to fit any cubicle or desk.

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3 Reasons Why Office Noise Can Reduce Productivity

4 November 2015Mark Canavarronoisy office, workplace culture, workplace distractions, workplace privacy No comment

Noisy, talky, and Mr. inconsiderate! Know these three coworkers? Some people at work seem to have no consideration when it comes to other people in the office trying to work. Noisy people top the main complaints from office employees, about the distractions at work that reduce their productivity rates.

An article in the Journal of Applied Psychology on, Stress and Open-office Noise, concluded what many of us already knew from experience – “Noisy coworkers can make it impossible to work.” The study of forty office workers found that workers in noisy open space type office settings, had reduced motivation factors; in other words, low productivity! Open space office formats, are notorious for being noisy but interactive workplaces. But even if you’re trapped in your own personal box in a standard cubical farm office layout, noise is still a factor in distracting and reducing productivity when excessive noise travels across the office room. Here are three reasons why office noise can reduce your productivity.

1. Lost Concentration

A 2015, BBC News Business article, quoted Professor Gloria Mark of the Department of Informatics at the University of California as saying that. “Email, social media, notifications, and countless other digital distractions are eroding our ability to concentrate on individual tasks in the 21st Century.” I think all of us can agree that our well-meaning social media electronics get in the way with what could be productive work lives, especially when we get too attached to them – OR IN WORSE CASE SCENARIOS, WAY TOO OBSESSED!

There is a time for social media and it isn’t in the workplace. Social Media is best enjoyed at home relaxing after work or on the weekend. The only internet action that should be going on at work, is either accessing something for a client or researching something for your work, not playing Candy Crush, or posting something on Facebook like: “Hey Kickin it at Work bro!, I’m Sooooooh Booooored.” Shut it down and remove the temptation to social media.

Cellphones are just as bad. Unless it’s a work phone, turn it off! If it is a work phone, keep personal phone calls off of it. Many of us have kids in the workplace, but the one’s that do, also know of all the needless “Can’t Wait!,” supposed emergencies that kids call into your work for on your cellphone, just because they want to go to their new friends’ house for movie night. Don’t think your boss doesn’t notice it too, or that it doesn’t influence him on your quarterly or yearly work review.

2. Hindered Communication

The second most irritating concentration and customer service breaker is not being able to hear what either your coworkers are saying, or more importantly, what your clients or customers are trying to ask you over the phone. Technically, if an office needs a quiet zone or a phone room, there’s an excessive amount of noise going on in that workplace.

This is why it is better to at least insist on upholding some sort of moderate noise level. No one expects total silence in a busy office, but there should be some standard of expectations on your part, if expected by your employer to work to your fullest productivity level. It is only fair that you have some say in your working environment. This is why it is best to quietly try to solve any noise problems yourself before resorting to going to management.

Pull the offending excessive noise making worker aside first, so as not to create any opposite sides between other coworkers. Talk it out low keyed and rationally. If that doesn’t work, then in extreme measures, strength in numbers may be required in order to bring the problem up with management. Keeping calm is always the best policy when trying to communicate with others in the workplace. It is always important to get along, both for productivity, and the entire office morale.

3. Divided Community

The workplace is like a miniature community, even if it is a large corporation. Work sections are normally put together in specialized groups, and those groups divided into teams. When excessive noise becomes a negative argumentative issue between two individuals or group, infighting becomes more prevalent in the workplace, and then productivity goes out the window.

Music is a wonderful thing, and it is tempting at work to kick up the tunes and get your work on. But the truth is music is a matter of taste. The feud between Rock and Rap has been going on since before some coworkers have even been born. The last thing a workplace needs is a running competition between two workplace factions who face off over Jamming vs. Bumping. Unfortunately, music can be very divisive. It can also be a major distraction and a productivity killer for other workers as well.

Excessive loud talking is also a persistent productivity drain at work. There are always those one or two people at work, that just don’t seem to get it that they can have a conversation without shouting it across the room while everyone else is trying to concentrate. These people are not hard of hearing, just hard headed. They just can’t seem to respect anybody else’s right to be able to focus on their work in peace. No one can possibly keep up with their productivity level with two bozos’ loudly talking about their antics over the weekend.

No one ever wants to get into a confrontation at work with another employee, but your job relies on your ability to produce, so it is unwise to just let it go while your production suffers. Stand up for yourself, but do it in a way that highlights your problem solving skills to your coworkers and employers, rather than get caught up in a problem at work over noisy coworkers continuing to ruin your productivity and peace of mind.

Alternatively, you can add inexpensive office panels to your existing furniture to increase workplace privacy. Click here to read more.

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Tired of Noisy Colleagues in the Office? Try These 5 Tips

21 October 2015Mark Canavarronoisy office, office design, workplace aesthetics, workplace culture, workplace distractions, workplace privacy No comment

loud-and-noisy-office-150x150

One of the most common things that people say when asked about their work at the office is, “I love my job, but I hate my noisy coworkers.” Whether in one’s own personal cubicle space, or in an open space office environment, rowdy project teams will get out of hand, or that click of employees that chatter more than they work, will start to encroach upon the sanctity of your workspace; sometimes even when they are across the room. Nobody likes a tattletale, nor the ongoing animosity or negative consequences that out-of-hand confrontations can cause in the workplace. It is better to take a subtler and more thought-out approach to handling the problem, by trying the 5 useful tips listed below.

1. Noisy Coworker Canceling Headphones

One of the most popular remedies for rude, noisy coworkers, who don’t seem to understand that other people are trying to work at the office, is noise canceling headphones. The headphones will also act as a visual deterrent to interrupting you at your desk. That “Chatty-Kathy,” who always b-lines to your desk just to shoot the breeze, will now have to have something important to say to you, especially if they want you to stop and take your headphones off.

Headphones have an air of focused concentration to them when one is tuned out to the office noise, and intently tuned into their work. For those who like to work to music, calm, soothing tunes are always a sure fire way to block out loud and inconsiderate blockheads. Big headphones have a psychological factor of letting people know you are busy. This is why small ear buds are not as effective. People are more likely to expect you to still be able to hear them through earbuds, defeating the purpose.

2. Avoid Public Confrontation

Go up to the coworker when they are alone, and politely ask them to please tone down the excessive noise. If you confront them in front of other coworkers, you risk causing an ongoing feud over the situation. Public confrontation will encourage other workers to weigh in on one side or another, causing a rift in the workplace. On the other hand, if your noise concerns fall on deaf ears, search out other working colleagues with like-minded concerns about the negative effect that the unnecessary noise has on office productivity, and then confront the offending employee as a group; as somewhat of a workplace intervention. This should be used only as a last resort though.

3. Find Quiet Refuge

Whether working in an old-school cubicle set-up, or a contemporary open office space, there is usually an open conference room, or in most open space workplaces, a designated quiet room. If your supervisor or another coworker asks you why you are working there rather than your desk, then you can simply be honest. Since they opened up the proverbial door, you can then tell them about your problem with the noise factor in the office without looking like the office snitch. This way there is no reason to have to awkwardly point fingers or name names. This solution may be inconvenient at times, working away from your desk, but it could be a productive godsend as well if put in the right perspective.

4. Be Discreet when Telling a Manager

There is a less confrontational way to tell a manager about a complaint concerning other coworkers. You can discreetly tell your superior about your noise concerns, without having to throw a coworker under the bus. Remind the manager how non-productive excessive noise can make not just you, but the whole office unproductive. This will up the issue and force the manager to actually do something, especially when low employee production will also negatively affect their standing with their superiors. Suggest that the manager sends an open letter to the whole office addressing the problem of excessive noise in the workplace. This will make your problem solving skills look good in your bosses’ eyes, and hopefully open up the eyes of the main offenders who can’t seem to tone-it-down.

5. Last Resort Relocation

People have different noise thresholds in the office, some people need the hustle and bustle of the office with a noisy talkative background in order to work properly. Others are just the opposite. They need a quiet, serene atmosphere in order to concentrate on their work. Most offices have areas that are quieter than others, and a move to that section, if it is feasible and permissible by management, might be the only option left. Once again, this is a situation where being totally honest will work to your advantage. You can state the other lengths you have gone through in order to try and fix the problem. Most employers will be understanding in this situation, and at least know that you are trying to be a team player about the noise problem.

Your workplace productivity is what pays the bills, gets you noticed by management, and gets you promoted. This is why it is important to take excessive noise at the office seriously, especially when it distracts you from doing your job properly. Workplace loudmouths will always be an irritating factor that everybody will have to deal with at some point or another at the office. Following the tips above will give you the advantage you need in order to shut down those rowdy office clicks, and muffle those irritatingly distracting coworkers that just won’t cop-a-clue and shut the heck up!

Alternatively, you can add inexpensive office panels to your existing furniture to increase workplace privacy. Click here to read more.

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Hard Time Focusing at Work? Try These 3 Tips

7 October 2015Mark Canavarronoisy office, workplace aesthetics, workplace culture, workplace distractions, workplace privacy No comment

1. Shut Down Distractions.

According to USA Today, nearly 50 percent of American employees say that they work for only 15 minutes before becoming distracted, and that 20 something year-olds are the most likely to be distracted at the workplace. This can be directly linked to the modern age of e-mail dependency, social media hysteria, and both generations Y and Z’s refusals to put down their smartphones. All these personal digital age workplace distractions will only stop interrupting us if we take drastic measures – We need to knuckle down and go cold turkey by turning digital distractions off at work.

Some might say, “But what if something terrible happens at home and I miss it?” No boss is going to fire someone for getting a landline call at work for a “real” emergency. Work offline if the internet is not required. Remove that temptation to check out what your friends are posting on Facebook, or take a quick peak at that mountain of email that is mostly just spam anyway. Turn off that cell phone, and rejoice in no longer having to answer those outside calls that truly could have waited. Workplace distractions are nearly always man made. They can also be easily made to go away with just the push of a button, unlike that distracting coworker that never leaves you alone.

2. Keep it Clean.

Clean it up! Keep it clean, and one will find a whole new world that has been swept clear of numerous built up distractions. The only thing one usually needs to work efficiently at their desk, is their PC or laptop, a working file, and a safely enclosed drink in order to have a productive work zone. Take time to organize, categorize, and label proper destination spots for all of those daily papers that add up. IE: Reminders, contact information, files, etc., and keep them off the top of your desk and where they belong. This will ensure that the time consuming distraction and aggravation of clutter will be permanently removed from your daily working routine.

Everyone should take some time out for the important pertinent little details at their workspace; this will help ensure it stays smooth flowing and productive. Just like if someone was trying to find something in a cluttered, dirty house, a cluttered, dirty desk is just as difficult to try and accomplish something with. All those seemingly helpful notes everywhere – That snack packet from yesterday that is taking up valuable real-estate on the desk – Those multiple photos of people’s families, their vacations, their dogs; all add up to potential distractions that make people lose focus at work.

3. Micro – break.

Studies have shown that micro-breaks help calm anxiety, and that they enhance one’s problem solving skills. Micro-breaks are little 1 to 3 minute breaks that are taken at least every hour. Micro-breaks are much more effective than taking a few long breaks every several hours. Using one’s brain all day without letting it rest properly allows the brain to grow weary, causing a person to lose focus. This continues to worsen until the brain gets the rest it needs. The longer that rest is prolonged, the longer time it will need to recover.

That old nose-to-the-grindstone mentality of the work gets done first, and then we take a break, has actually been proven to hinder one’s abilities to work properly, rather than increase productivity in the workplace. Break up the monotony of office work; take little mini-breaks after or during a productive work session. They allow the brain to rest, regroup, and start fresh again. This allows one to be focused and on-track with the task at hand when they come back. The practice of taking mini-breaks helps to combat brain fatigue, which is like hitting a mental brick wall when trying to concentrate on a long or complicated project.

Of course, there are many other different variations of distractions around the office. They are bound to pop up eventually. Turn off the e-mails, remove the temptation of social media or game sites on the internet, halt personal calls, tone up the work-desk with a quick cleaning, so that it’s actually conducive to work, and take a few minutes of time out in order to give the brain that short break it needs to function properly. These simple tips will all add up to a less distracting, enjoyable, and noticeably more productive working environment.

Alternatively, you can add inexpensive office panels to your existing furniture to increase workplace privacy. Click here to read more.

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5 Ways Privacy Panels Can Increase Employee Productivity

2 September 2015Mark Canavarrocubicle extenders, desk-mounted panels, noisy office, office design, office furniture, open office design, panel extenders, privacy screens, workplace aesthetics, workplace culture, workplace distractions, workplace privacy No comment

privacy panelsNew techniques, tools, and methods for boosting employee productivity are being discussed, argued, and decided on every day. One tool in particular is being hailed as an effective method of helping employees avoid distractions, feel more comfortable in their work environment, and work harder – producing work that is fast, efficient, and quality. The tool in question is privacy panels; compact and often stylish boards that make each individual desk into a working office without the impersonal look of a cubicle.

Here are five ways that privacy panels can make employees work harder, work better, and work happier:

1. Less Visual Distraction

No matter your working style, the human mind is designed to pick up and respond to movement in our area, even if it has nothing to do with you. Some argue this is an engrained cultural habit brought on by many flashy billboards, colorful screens, and constant entertainment, while others say it is a primal trait designed to keep us alert to predators or nearby danger. No matter the origin of this habit, as a worker, you’ll naturally be distracted by a coworker rising to copy a paper, retrieve a cup of coffee, or signal to another coworker. Although there’s very little entertainment value in these visual distractions and your coworker is probably not a tiger is disguise, trying to keep your attention on your work with these little disruptions is difficult.

The quality and speed of your work production relies on your ability to focus and build momentum, completing more tasks at a faster rate. By installing privacy panels around your desk, you are able to block out these little things catching the corners of your eyes and focus solely on your working tasks. This will boost productivity as well as the quality of work you can create.

2. Less Noise Distraction

While privacy panels mainly serve as a visual block, they also block a certain amount of sound. Although you won’t be spared the noise of a coworker shouting across the office to signal another employee, the small clicking of fellow keyboards, your coworker gathering together their paperwork, or the shifting of chairs on the floor will be canceled out. So if a coworker seems to be taking out their passive aggression on their innocent keyboard one annoying clank at a time, a privacy panel can dull this distraction – if not eliminate it entirely. This may seem like a small advantage, but your ability to block out all forms of distraction to focus your mind on your work will make a significant different in your productivity.

3. A Sense of Privacy

Privacy panels serve to seclude you and your desk away from the rest of the office, and by doing so, make you feel secluded in your personal area. With this new solitude, you can focus on your tasks and complete projects, knowing that there will not be a curious coworker glancing over at your computer screen or a bored intern wanting to watch you work.

Additionally, privacy panels serve as a visual barrier between you and your coworkers, encouraging them to leave you to your work, rather than disturb you. You are less likely to enter your boss’s office if the door is shut, and this same instinct will be placed on fellow coworkers with the panel’s advantage. When you settle down at your desk for the day, having this block tells them that you’re not to be disturbed. This can prevent a bored employee from deciding to stop by for a chat when you have a deadline, or a well-meaning coworker interrupting you with matters that could be handled at another time. This allows you to focus for longer periods and complete more.

With this peace of mind of knowing you have reliable privacy, you can shut off that portion of your mind that expects to be distracted at any moment. This reserve — similar to the mental trait that makes your eyes sharp to catch sight of a stalking tiger — ends up becoming a distraction of its own, and a privacy panel eliminates the issue.

4. Customized Work Space

Privacy panels, though minimal, serve as a set of walls between you and your coworker’s office space – creating a small and efficient “office” of your own. With this new privacy and sense of ownership, you can feel free to add personal decorations to your area without fear of disturbing other workers. These personal touches are known for boosting productivity, as they make workers feel more comfortable in their space; this confidence allows them to think creativity and concentrate on their work. These decorations can vary from family photos on their desk to large cat posters on the panels to a range of hanging lights or trinkets.

This also serves the rest of the office, as these little accessories are hidden from view and do not provide distraction for other workers. Perhaps your coworker has that trademark “Hang in There,” cat poster that grates on your nerves; there’s no need to suffer the sight of that every work day. Each employee will have the ability to customize their own personal office space, and not be distracted by each other’s additions.

5. Wall Space

Privacy panels, in addition to serving as stand-in walls for customization, can also serve as wall space for work-enhancing objects. You can place corkboards on the panels to schedule out the day’s work or place important reminders, or charts which gauge the progress and tasks of a recent project. Additionally, the barrier allows employees to place file cabinets near their desks without degrading the look or style of the office as a whole. Then they can store important files, objects, and tools to continue their work without having to pause and retrieve these items from another location.

This simple addition to any office space can make an employee’s work day more productive and far more enjoyable, benefitting the business and the workforce combined.

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Consider a Table Mount to Increase Productivity in Your Office

20 May 2015Mark Canavarrocubicle extenders, desk-mounted panels, noisy office, workplace culture, workplace distractions, workplace privacy No comment

privacy-panel

This would be a perfect reason to consider installing a table mount in your office space, or several table mounts, if the area calls for it. Some office spaces are certainly larger than others. There are many benefits to adding table mounts, some of which have already been mentioned. In addition, it is a known fact that when people are working in close quarters, they are going to either become very close friends; or they are going to clash. Either way, it doesn’t make for a good office situation, and in turn, decreases overall productivity. If you become friends with the person you are confined with, there will typically be random conversations that have no business entering the office. It may be talk of what happened last night or what shows are all the rage this season. On the other hand, if you clash; then every little detail that’s overheard could be a cause for scrutiny. What’s worse, this could end up costing one or both of your jobs.

If you feel like us here at OBEX, and you know what great things could come from installing table mounts in your office; contact us for more information. We will be happy to assist you with making your office more productive.

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The Top 5 Causes of Poor Work Performance

13 May 2015Mark Canavarrocubicle extenders, desk-mounted panels, noisy office, office furniture, open office design, privacy screens, workplace culture, workplace distractions, workplace privacy No comment

office-space

While the definition of poor work performance changes, the causes of the performance gap seem to be universal no matter the industry, company, job description, or typical group of people. Some causal factors of low or high performance are employee – centric issues and others are organization issues. These tend to overlap. Most issues are influenced by both the employee and the organization. For example, if Employee A’s manager asks him why he has only been averaging seventy – five phone calls per hour, he could hear one or both of the following reasons:

Example #1: “I am distracted because my wife is due to have a baby. Every time I hear a phone ring I think it is her calling to tell me that she is going to the hospital.”

Example #2: “My coworkers are bothering me. The one on my left keeps laughing really loud and the one on my right asks me a question every few minutes. I can’t concentrate on my own calls with all of these interruptions.”

The first example is an employee issue. His life at home is leaking into his life at work. In other words his work / life balance is off. The organization can do little to help him. He is in control of how distracted he is or is not. Example #2 is an organization issue. Because of the way the office set up its employees right next to each other, and because of the managers’ ineffectiveness to keep his coworkers quiet and train the rookies, he is distracted by factors he can’t control. Because companies have little to no influence on what is happening in the employees’ life that might cause disruptions, they have to focus on the organization’s factors. Below are the top five causes of poor work performance, specifically ones that companies can cause or allow to happen, and therefore they are the ones that can be fixed.

  1. Lack of sound privacy. Every worker is unique. Employee A might be productive when there is loud music in the background. That same music might be distracting and annoying to Employee B. Employee A could train himself to hear his coworkers conversations as simple white noise in the background while Employee B can’t help but listen intently to whatever is being said. Additional noises such as tapping on computer keyboards and squeaking chairs are also big distractions. This cause can be fixed with additional partitions and noise-cancelling headphones.
  1. Lack of visual privacy. No employees have reported that they like it when someone is looking over their shoulder. Those who have their desks set up right in their manager’s line of sight say that adds additional, unnecessary stress. Managers typically think that their presence makes employees more productive but the result is the exact opposite. Workers are less likely to play online games and surf social media sites when someone can easily see them, but studies show that does not improve work performance.
  1. Lack of personal space / Overcrowding. Open office models typically put four to ten people around one table. They each have their own chair, their own computer, and their own basic office supplies like pens, but nothing else belongs to them. They are literally bumping elbows and they do not have the opportunity to make the space their own. No pictures of their kids and their pets, no calendar with quotes from their favorite comedian or politicians, and no jar of their favorite candy. When an employee feels “at home” at work, he works better. Companies need to give employees the opportunity to personalize their space.
  1. Inability to control the environment. An employee who is shivering because he is cold, or sweating because he is hot, is an ineffective worker. The same employees need to be able to adjust the curtains or shades on the windows when the sun is getting in their eyes. He needs a chair that can be adjusted up and down, left and right, and is not different the next day because someone else sat in it after he did.
  1. Second – guessing, or excessive mistakes due to poor training. A company’s first priority should be making sure that their employees are well trained. That way they will not be interrupting each other with questions, or doing their own work slowly because they are struggling to remember what to do next or how to do it.

In order to get ideal work from their employees, businesses must create the ideal work environments. This goes beyond ensuring occupational health and safety. It goes beyond making sure that the workplace is clean, beyond having water fountains and bathrooms that work, and beyond managerial accountability. With so little influence over an employee’s ability to balance work and life, work must be the focus. Recently big name companies like Google, Facebook, and Square have been praising the open office model. In order to improve managerial accessibility, transparency, and employees’ opportunities to collaborate, their workspaces have done away with enclosed offices and individual cubicles. They have literally taken the walls down between their employees.

Those same employees agree across the board that the open office model does get them more face – time with their coworkers. However, they also report the following negative consequences of it: lack of sound privacy, lack of visual privacy, overcrowded workspaces and an inability to control their personal space / environment. Only twenty five percent, that is one in four workers in the United States, say that they work in the ideal environment for peak job performance. The causes of poor work performance are not a problem for that twenty percent because they have sound privacy, visual privacy, and their workspaces are not overcrowded. Companies must prioritize and invest in creating these ideal environments not only for their employees but for the business at large.

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Using Desk Mounts to Increase Employee Productivity and Privacy

6 May 2015Mark Canavarrodesk-mounted panels, noisy office, office design, privacy screens, workplace distractions, workplace privacycubicle furniture, desk mounts, office furniture No comment

desk-mount

In 1967, two designers, Robert Propst and Herman Miller ventured to improve the privacy and lower the buzzing level of confusing distraction that office workers had been living with. They invented what they called, the “action office.” Recognizing that people are more productive working within their own territorial enclave that they can personalize, the inventers found a way of making walls around desks to provide flexible mini-office spaces.

Propst’s concept was to structure desk space with two or three-sided vertical divisions that defined a territory and provided walls for privacy and without hindering the ability of workers to view and participate with others. These walls were are also entirely flexible and adaptable allowing for multipurpose use. The idea of the “action office” was nearly universally adopted by 2005.

The desk mount allows offices to construct privacy spaces around the structure of individual desks flexibly and without damaging the furniture itself. Desk mounted privacy panels easily attach to the desks themselves using special mounts. They come in a variety of custom colors, frames and fabrics to enhance and match any office décor. The desk mount system quickly transforms open office designs into mini-office space which a person can call their own.

The carrel structure afforded by these desk-mounted panels also provides privacy for study in libraries or special classrooms or test-taking environments. Recent studies have shown that students with certain forms of learning disability function much better within structures defined by carrel spaces that cut off peripheral distraction.

This year marks 45 years since the invention of the “action office.” The concept has revolutionized the work environment of millions of busy offices. OBEX desk mounted panels can improve any open office environment. Please contact us to explore the options we offer.

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Increase Your Employees’ Productivity by Increasing Their Privacy!

29 January 2015Mark Canavarronoisy office, workplace distractions, workplace privacy No comment

micro-manager-productivitystudy by Harvard, “employees figure out the quickest ways to get things done… [by being] able to identify the sorts of shortcuts and workarounds that boost productivity.” The problem arises when employees don’t get any privacy to work in – so “when managers [constantly] watch their workers work, employee productivity dips [because] employees feel more compelled… [to] follow all corporate policies to a T,” even when they’re inefficient.

The study showcases real life examples of coworkers in manufacturing plants who utilize little strategies and tricks, here and there, which exponentially boost overall productivity. However, whenever management came around, they stopped using these shortcuts – seemingly resulting in the study drawing the correlation between productivity decrease and management observation. Astonishingly, the study found that when companies “kept a curtain up between workers and managers, productivity increased by 10 to 15 percent.”

Increasing cubicle privacy isn’t just about giving employees a breather from administrators – it also gives them a break from coworkers! According to another article, coworker noise – such as telephone calls, frustrated blurts, and etc. – has caused “30% of workers in cubicles, and roughly 25% in partition-less offices, [to be] dissatisfied with the noise level of their workspaces.”

Have no fear, OBEX is here! We offer cubicle panel extenders, mounts, and all sorts of supporting materials to increase the privacy of your employees’ workspace. Increase your employee productivity and contact us today!

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