Tag : cubicle

Last week, we reviewed 70-80 years of history about workplace seating arrangements. We ended up with a quick look at the cubicle—now one of the most disparaged pieces of office furniture ever. However, when it was first introduced the cubicle enjoyed a positive reception. There’s a perception today that cubicles replaced private offices and companies need to go back to having private offices for everyone. The fact is that cubes were the closest thing a traditional low-level “bullpen” employee would ever get to an office. According to designer Douglas Ball (one of the men who was involved in early cubicle design), this type of workstation was originally intended to be a step up the corporate ladder, not a step down.

Open Office Designs Replace Cube Farms

Unfortunately, what started out as a generously sized, enclosed workspace soon began to shrink. From 1994 to 2010, workers lost 15 square feet of personal space in the average cubicle. The backlash against cubes getting smaller and smaller led to the introduction of the “open office” layout. In an attempt to counterbalance the claustrophobic cube farm trend, dividing panels were shortened and made of partly or completely transparent materials.

Next, benching systems came into vogue. Employees began sitting directly across from each other with no visual or noise privacy at all. This workplace seating arrangement turned out little better than the original bullpen setup of the first half of the twentieth century.

Finding Balance between Seclusion and Chaos

Fortunately, the pendulum appears to be swinging to the center now. Today, more and more office seating arrangements are ‘multiple choice’. Workers may have the option to sit at an assigned desk or take their laptop to a collaborative area or a secluded spot. Coworkers may even band together and rearrange a highly flexible suite of furniture on a regular basis to meet their needs.

Collaborative areas are being more carefully designed to foster voluntary teamwork rather than forced comradery. For example, a social area such as a lounge might supplement or replace a standard benching system. Cubicle walls are going up again at the request of workers who prefer less distraction and a return to privacy.

OBEX panel extenders play a role in creating a flexible office where employees have more control over their level of privacy. Our customers have confirmed that this is the wave of the future—and we’re here to help them create their ideal work environment.

Friday fun means a joke with a hidden message – What? Yes, of course there’s a hidden message. We’re a company trying to sell stuff!

Did you know? Some experts think cubicle farms are similar to zoos, in the way they modify behavior. If your workers are feeling the bite of captivity, perhaps finding ways to let them out of their cages can help!

Psychologist and corporate consultant Judith Heerwagen says you don’t have to get rid of cubicles – just ensure that workers don’t feel trapped.

“Sometimes the best thing for workers to do is to leave the workplace altogether and work from home or at a coffee shop,” she says. With the advent of VoIP, mobile phones and the ability to “plug in” almost anywhere, this is a viable options for some – but for others, how can you lessen the closed-in feel?

“People communicate better when they can see one another,” says Heerwagen. Since open offices are in decline and the traditional gossip at the water cooler option has faded with the dwindling of the regular enclosed office, most conversation now happens within cubicles.

Low-partitioned cubicles can relieve some of the closed-in feeling, and allow for spontaneous collaboration as workers pop up to ask a colleague a question. Varied cubicle extenders can help workers who feel they need more privacy attain the level of seclusion desired, while less easily distracted employees can enjoy a line of sight to co-workers.

The psychology of cubicle farms can also be addressed by layout – setting up cubes so that workers have their side to the opening instead of their back automatically reduces stress – humans have basic instincts telling them not to leave their backs unprotected, and many workers report a sense of security and “weight being lifted off shoulders” when their cubicle is reconfigured so their back isn’t to the gaping entrance to their cube.

Another option is the idea of shared space – combine two cubicles into one, design around seating for two people, and allow co-workers who commonly work together on projects to share space and resources. Alternately,. allow co-workers to come in on different shifts and take turns using a larger cubicle. Same amount of work, same number of employees, twice the legroom!

Don’t let your cubicle farm feel like a zoo. Allow your workers some say in how their cages are configured, look into cubicle extenders to provide customizable workspaces, and see higher productivity and better employee job satisfaction!

Did you know that open plan office layouts can create significant problems for workers? If you’ve been reading this blog, you’ve seen the arguments against it. However,  you need to read between the lines in some of these studies. Most people don’t know that in the early days, the term “open plan” was used for all office designs that didn’t have private offices with “real” walls – and that included cubicle floor plans!

Today, most people consider the term open plan to mean benching or other workstation setups that have low dividers, or even no panels at all. They use the term “closed plan” both for actual cubicles and for architectural walls that create separate workspaces for individuals, which can be deceiving as the average cubicle is about a tenth the size of a regular office and not at all the same thing!

An Australian study about the health effects of “open plan” offices compiled data that showed higher stress levels, elevated blood pressure, and more conflict in office environments where walls are lacking – meaning open office spaces caused problems! The doctor interviewed regarding the study said lack of proper physical barriers/boundaries was the problem, saying:

“The high level of noise causes employees to lose concentration, leading to low productivity, there are privacy issues because everyone can see what you are doing on the computer or hear what you are saying on the phone, and there is a feeling of insecurity.”

So how do you manage space constraints with cost effective employee benfits?

Since we can’t throw reducing the average office’s real estate footprint out the window, compromises have to be made. The main problems to be addressed when dealing with an office created with an open floor plan are, as noted:

• High noise level causing distraction and lowering productivity
• Lack of visual and audible privacy making workers feel stressed

Offices with little or no panel privacy are at highest risk for employee dissatisfaction.  Our panel extenders (which can be included with cubicle orders) could be a lifesaver – they can make cubicle walls taller and increase their noise blocking ability. This helps immensely with both issues, and could be the answer to all of your problems!

Do you have the cubicle crazies? By that we mean the obsessive need to get OUT of the cubicle at regular intervals, for fear you’ll become a hermit and start keeping a pet rock as a friend?

Here are a couple of easy ways to combat the cubicle crazies and get that much needed break.

1. Make your cubicle a place you LIKE to be. That will make it more welcoming and you won’t feel so trapped. Try to keep it down to essentials and only have stuff in your cubicle that you need.
2. Make friends. If you are included in the weekly gossipfest by the water cooler and get invited to every party with cake, you won’t feel so isolated!
3. Eat lunch anywhere but in your cubicle. It’s vital to get out at least for half an hour or so and breathe non-cubicle air!
4. Don’t be shy. work on projects with a partner so you have an excuse to get out of your cube and pop in to theirs a few times a day.

Your cubicle shouldn’t doom you to a life of playing solitaire in between tasks. Make your cubicle a fun place, then schedule regular retreats to the outside world. You can beat the cubicle crazies!

Cubicle workers can have a hard time staying fit! After all, sitting for 8 hours isn’t exactly a work out, and when you add 4 cups of coffee and the odd fast food lunch, you should be concerned for your overall health!

Hitting the gym is impossible – no extra hours in the day between family, work and commute – so how can you burn calories and stay healthy even when stuck in a cubicle? We’ve found at least five ways.

1. Number one is obvious. Don’t stay in the cubicle all day! It can be hard to break away from the computer and even breaks are often spent online. Forgo your Facebook check-in and take a lap around the office instead. Getting up and moving every hour or so – even if it’s just a quick trip to the copy machine and back –  is a great way to keep your metabolism engaged.
2. Stand up. Even if you are in your cubicle, you don’t have to sit the whole time, Stand up when on calls, pace in a circle when reading a hard copy draft, anything to keep you moving. You can burn up to 225 calories an hour just by standing up and moving while at the office!
3. Invest in a “desk-stepper”. If you have to sit and type for long periods of time, a desk stepper is ideal. It fits under your desk and allows you to work your legs while seated – up to a 90 calorie burn every 20 minutes! It’s also a good investment if you are prone to stiffness, leg problems, or have to worry about poor circulation or clotting.
4. Get co-workers to work out with you – even if it’s showing up to work ten minutes early and taking a fast walk around the building before clocking in, or doing calisthenics at lunch. It’s amazing how having a partner can motivate you!
5. Drink as much water as you can. Make a deal with yourself – before every cup of coffee or soda, you have to down a bottle of water. You’ll find your cravings melt away and you get used to drinking water!

What are your best ways to stay healthy in a cubicle environment?

Do you have a cubicle pet? Of course, bringing Spot or Fluffy to work is probably not an option, but many workplaces don’t have a hard and fast policy against other types of pets.

Here are just a few ideas for you to add to your workplace to make it seem a little more homey and fun!

1. A fish. A small fish tank is easy to maintain and many fish are hardy enough to survive with daily care and even across a weekend if needed without a lot of attention. A fish can bring some color and interest to your cubicle!
2. A lizard. Likewise, a small terrarium is an easy to maintain and keep up with option. Just throw some extra crickets or mealworms in and make sure the water bowl is full before leaving on Friday!
3. An air plant or cactus. Of course, you may have a green thumb and want something more challenging, but mossy air plants or small cacti are very easy to take care of and can be a cool way to decorate without a lot of commitment.

Dress up your cubicle with a “pet” and see how much more fun it is to go to work every day!

About 40 million working North Americans work in cubicles. Some like it, some don’t – and the correlation between those who feel positive about their workplace and those who don’t is directly related to how their workplace is managed, more than it is the mere fact of being a cubicle worker.

The modern-day cubicle has been formally denounced by the man who actually came up with the idea – Robert Propst. Cubicles were put forth by Propst in 1968 as a way to increase office productivity by providing personal work-spaces with plenty of shelving and increased work-surface areas. He hoped that this would help out office drones who were having difficulty with more open work-spaces that gave little storage or utility space and were so open distractions were common.

With cubicles, he felt, employees would have more room to work; partitions could be used to pin up projects and to provide the privacy that the earlier open offices lacked. Surprise – the original plan also called for adjustable desk levels, similar to today’s “newfangled fad”, with the idea that workers could benefit from the chance to spend some time standing up.

Overall, cubicles were supposed to be beneficial to the worker. After all, health can be largely dependent on your environmental comfort, which is determined by whether your immediate space meets basic physical, functional and psychological needs. A well appointed cubicle with panel extenders of appropriate height would give each employee space and privacy to work, without completely cutting them off form their fellows.

Sadly, economics completely screwed up Propst’s dream. Office space costs climbed, and instead of being focused on worker benefits, cubicles were used to maximize real estate. They became tiny and cramped, and designed to cram a lot of people into a limited area. Instead of being the flexible units that Propst intended them to be, cubicles became rows of cages, and the term “death by cubicle” emerged. TV shows, comic strips and movies made sharp commentary about cubicle life, pointing out that people were being trapped in boxes while being encouraged to think outside them.  Productivity fell, as did worker health, satisfaction, and stability.

But death by cubicle doesn’t have to be a thing. Cubicle panel extenders and a larger footprint can make cubicles worker friendly again!

It’s Friday, and let’s talk about one of the most annoying things in the office around the holidays. No, it’s not the canned music that seems to start up in early November, or the cubicle decorations that get out of control – it’s the office sweater party. Amarite?

Every cubicle worker knows about the ugly sweater party. It’s a horrible perversion of the traditional Christmas Party, the one for which everyone could dress up nice and get tipsy and maybe a little office romance would finally spark.

Of course, maybe that’s the point. No-one is getting it on with someone wearing one of the ugly Christmas sweaters…. I mean, have you seen these things? It’s like an elf threw up on your grandma’s nightgown.

What’s your holiday pet peeve? Tell us about it. we know you’ve got one. Maybe it’s something that bugs you a little all year round, but Christmas just takes it to Defcon 4 status. Talk to us!

It’s the holidays, and the Kristmas Muzak is in full swing. Piped into every cubicle thanks to over-zealous office managers, the noise isn’t even the worst of it – it’s the petrifying boredom and annoyance that sets in around December 1 after it’s already been playing for three weeks.

Does your office have an alternative to cheesy generic Christmas pop? Are you allowed to wear noise cancelling headphones? Better yet, do you have a cool weekend manager who turns on Mannheim Steamroller or Transiberian Orchestra and encourages everyone to rock out for a while?

Let us know your thoughts on overall office music, especially around the holidays. Should your workplace be booming with so-called “good cheer” or should mandated auditory enhancements be kept to a minimum?

Tell us what your favorite (or least favorite) Christmas song is, while you’re at it – and why. We really, really want to know.