Headphones everywhere, focus work scheduled offsite, and political battles over desk assignments. Six signs your office is losing the privacy fight.
Six telltale signs the open floor plan is costing more than you think.
Distractions are no joke — every year, they cost companies millions of dollars. Instead of publishing another study, we compiled a list of telltale signs that your office lacks privacy. Do any of these sound familiar?
Don't get us wrong, headphones are amazing. But workplace experts are just starting to understand the long-term effects. Spontaneity and creativity are limited when people go into the headphone zone. It also limits awareness of conversations the wearer would have gladly participated in.
The number one reason knowledge workers fight for a flexible schedule is because they don't think they have the tools to focus at work. We know — it is literally our reason for existing.
Your once-beautiful office is now littered with piecemeal privacy solutions. If only your space had been designed around privacy from the beginning, you would not be emailing an Amazon customer service rep to submit another warranty claim on those flimsy screens.
We have all seen the power pacers circling the perimeter taking calls, gesturing wildly. Offices lack more than focus rooms — they lack places to take sensitive calls. Designing an office with nooks and crannies for multiple types of private work would be a welcome addition.
Have you ever worked in an office where the hierarchy of desks was treated with more reverence than the Declaration of Independence? Sitting next to distracting coworkers or people with different work rhythms can make the office feel more like a student union than a campus library.
Companies are rushing to give people a reason to come back to the office. Before you drop five grand on an espresso machine, survey your employees to make sure the workplace is designed to help them tackle the work you have given them.
We are passionate about understanding the types of privacy and ways to solve the problems of the modern office. Pair this with our guide to visual, acoustic, and territorial privacy for a fuller picture.
Take off the headphones
We will help you audit the space and spec dividers, panels, and rooms that solve the right problems.