open space

Why open space office is also important

Why open space office is essential nowadays can be traced back to the times when processes are not agile, technologies are not yet very relevant, and possibly because people were yet to be exposed to gossips and the latest world news — the end result, boredom and unproductivity at work. Today, it has become one of the most effective ways to impose transparency in the office. In fact, more and more organizations are practicing mobile working where there is no definite office space, or even if there is, they make sure workstations allow employees to see and discuss with everyone more actively and conveniently. Encouraging employees to interact personally rather than utilize other available resources to communicate can help generate productivity with quickest turnaround possible, build rapport and eventually reduce employee stress.

The problem with open space office

Even with the goal that open space offices can completely speed up collaboration, the downpour can be that employees get distracted by unnecessary conversations that ultimately burn down productivity. It may even get worse to the extent that people can carelessly discuss delicate information such as retorting on office politics or exchanging each others’ salary details. Some senior employees realize that too much of an open-plan environment can blunt their highly-paid brain power. It seemed to them that most of the times they lose focus on performing complex analyses because of too much distraction and noise. In some studies, open space setup result to more sick days than usual. The reason could be the environment itself (due to the weather) for real sick leaves, or the environment itself, still (i.e. stressful environment) for “fake” sick leaves.

Survive in an open office space

Have “personal breaks” out of the office

Most companies today follow the 15-15 break rule. Thats’ fifteen minutes personal break in the morning, and the same in the afternoon. This way, instead of employees eating up extra time for unnecessary chit-chats, they can save it for the allotted break time.

Show your colleagues that you do not want to be disturbed

A simple busy icon in your chat status would mean you only accommodate discussions that need critical attention. For this reason, even at an open office space, managers can make sure that hush discussions only relate to the project without them necessarily eavesdropping, which can hurt trust. Sometimes you dont’ want to bear the brunt of annoyance from a teammate that you also need to make reality do even when everybody knows the companys’ rules are too loose. With this, you make sure that everyone is responsible and utilizes their eight hours at work.

Make your office a familiar and pleasant working environment

These days, corporate offices adapt to a more homey feel when setting up workstations, meeting areas and pantries. Make the office your comfort zone by placing couches in meeting rooms, setting up a gym or yoga room for the health conscious, offering free coffee and soft drinks, setting up sleeping quarters, ensuring that companys’ core values are practiced everyday by placing friendly messages across the hallways, and always motivating employees by providing satisfying remunerations and rewards.

Enclose your personal space

This may not apply much to organizations that are heavy on personal collaboration but can be important to organizations that require employees to concentrate on their own. Call centers make sure that no distractions happen while their agents are busy taking calls. As such, enclosing personal space is a must for those types of employees. But to avoid distractions even in an open space, creatively divide between your stations by simply placing decorations around it and minimizing worthless conversations.

Insulate yourself from annoying noises

In an agile environment where meetings can happen anywhere, what sounds like a positive discussion to the eyes of your managers may sound like hisses and screeches to you. Your teammates rioting about a simple issue may stretch even more if you try to mix your spittle with it. Just calmly insulate yourself from annoying distractions by listening to mellow music like waterfall sounds and jazz while enjoying your work.

Rent a meeting room outside

Book an affordable and classic meeting room if you want less distractions during your meetings. Access Bird Office website so you will have plenty of workspaces, training rooms or board rooms to choose from. Definitely a meeting room by-the-hour is the ultimate solution to your meeting room needs specially if you run out of room in the office and you want to organize a quick brainstorming. In Bird Office, it is up to you to decide on the size, the time of availability, the kind of equipments to utilize and the meals and snacks to order.

An open office space is a great place to work in if everybody follows the basic rules. But in the end we will only focus on productivity by making sure that project deliverables are completed on time –regardless of the workplace, because after all, business is business, you dont’ want to let your boss down.