Tag : workplace privacy

On this blog, we’ve written a lot about how to deal with noisy coworkers. But dealing with nosy coworkers can be even more challenging. We found one tale of nosiness posted on Yahoo Answers that made us shake our heads. The questioner asked what to do about her mom’s coworker who is always in her business. This coworker crossed the line way past giving unsolicited advice in some pretty disturbing ways. However, most of us just deal with the occasional coworker who apparently just doesn’t have enough going on in their own life.

The answer posted includes some very good tips for dealing with a run-of-the-mill busybody. Here’s an excerpt: “Sometimes a nice way to begin the confrontation process is to just thank the person for being a caring person. If their goal is to feel like a caring person, and you satisfy that, they may not feel the need to be so nosy. If it increases the nosiness, a specific thank you for their advice/observation can be given, so they know that the specific advice they gave “got through.” Then they might feel like their obligation to get their point across has been satisfied.”

How do you deal with nosy coworkers? Is the answer none of our business? Let us know in the comments.

Haworth’s workplace library has a wealth of resources to help you design a great workspace that boosts productivity and enhances employee satisfaction. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be taking a peek at some of these research documents. The “Privacy Matters” whitepaper is a good place to start. This paper by Drs. Bellingar and Kuprit takes on the topic of environmental psychology and workplace privacy.

A Changing Privacy Landscape

It turns out, the definition of privacy can vary depending on the person, the specific activity they are engaged in at a given point in their workday, and the expectations in their particular field of employment. Privacy used to primarily mean being alone. But this definition has shifted to be more about selectivity and choice in who has access to your time, your space, or your mental resources. The element of freedom is particularly important. As we discussed last week in the Swedish study, employees may have a greater sense of privacy even in a completely open workspace if they aren’t tied to a specific desk.

In the Haworth paper, the term privacy is used to talk about the amount of control employees have over limiting incoming stimuli (such as distractions) and protecting outgoing information (such as private conversations). A drop in productivity occurs when workers are exposed to too much incoming distraction – either visual or verbal. A drop in satisfaction and personal security occurs when workers are exposed to too much observation or eavesdropping.

Supporting Workplace Privacy with Furniture

Offices with doors, taller cubicle panels, and even floor to ceiling walls are architectural configurations used to support and indicate zones of increased privacy. The greater the degree of enclosure, the greater the sense of privacy. In fact, one study quoted in the Haworth paper revealed a linear increase in the perceived privacy rating of the space with an increased number of enclosed sides. So, a desk with three privacy panels or a cubicle with 3 high walls would be 50% more private than one with just 2 sides shielded.

Some of the most interesting information in the whitepaper has to do with the types of features different workers value for creating privacy. For some, having access to a conference room to enhance the privacy of group meetings was most important. For others, having a fully enclosed individual workspace for solo tasks was critical. Some types of workers found that facing away from distractions or being located far from activity hubs was the best way to cut down on interruptions. Others found that higher cubicle panels were more important than orientation or distance.

One result that held true across studies was the need to have easily reconfigurable tools to increase privacy as needed. In other words, it’s all about having the choice to limit access. Since our privacy panels install in just a few minutes with a simple Allen wrench, they definitely fall into the category of lightweight tools that are easy to reconfigure!

A research paper called “Noise and Perceived Privacy – Flexible Office Space Matters” published at acoustics.org by Christina Danielsson reveals some very helpful information about how employees respond to different types of office layouts. A study of about 470 employees in various Swedish companies gathered data about the satisfaction level for seven different office types including:

• All private offices (fully enclosed)
• Open plan offices (with assigned workstations and few or no dividers)
• Flex offices that had no assigned workstations but lots of options for where employees could work within the layout – including “backup spaces” featuring varying levels of enclosure

Not surprisingly, private offices were most prized for acoustic and visual privacy. However, those in flex offices reported just as much visual privacy as those in private offices. They also reported better acoustic privacy than employees in open plan offices. Open plan spaces that housed a lot of employees were at the bottom of the list for both types of privacy. Interestingly, satisfaction with privacy was better in flex offices even if they did not specifically offer truly private spaces. Apparently, having the freedom to move around instead of being pinned down to just one place to work makes a big difference. In other words, the perception of autonomy is linked to the perception of privacy.

The paper concludes with this statement: “It is highly important to recognize the relation between perception of privacy and noise, since it is known that privacy has a mediating effect on negative stimuli such as noise. With knowledge of the architectural and functional features importance for these issues costly mistakes for organizations such as a decreased environmental satisfaction and job satisfaction among employees can be avoided for organizations in the design process of offices.”

Whatever type of space you create, be sure there is some built in privacy for all employees. This can be provided in terms of:

• The layout itself (architecture and floor plan)
• How each space is furnished (perhaps a mix of individual workstations, collaborative and lounge furnishings)
• The inclusion of enclosed spaces for individuals or groups (private or semi-private areas)
• A work culture that permits greater freedom of movement within the office environment

How are you ensuring the perception of privacy at your office? Share your ideas in the comments.

Herman Miller’s new white paper “New Technologies, New Behaviors” highlights the ways today’s tech is changing how people accomplish their work in the office. One interesting factor that increases the need for visual privacy is the use of Skype. In the past, only a super-high tech conference room would have videoconferencing technology. Everyone in the room knew when it was on and broadcasting their image and could act accordingly.

In contrast, today the coworker sitting in the desk behind yours could easily be caught on your laptop webcam without their knowledge. That’s not polite or professional. Visual traffic adds to distraction already created by audible background conversations when you’re trying to conference online. So, having some sort of privacy panel on desktops is more important than ever. At least, that’s our takeaway point!

CC license image courtesy of Javier Linares

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