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ARE YOU SITTING at your desk this morning in an open-plan office? Surrounded by a team of people that, had you not been chosen for the job, you may never have a particular desire to be in such close proximity with?
You see, that’s the problem with these cool, open-plan layouts. They look great and, of course, we know that their tradition lies in the company wanting a non-hierarchical structure. But in a world made up of introverts, extroverts and, indeed, ambiverts how are companies accommodating for all?
The open-plan era
The open-plan offices and cubicles were invented by architects and designers who were trying to make the world a better place – who thought that to break down the social walls that divide people, you had to break down the real walls, too. It was Frank Lloyd Wright, the modernist architect, who attempted to soften the harsh working conditions laid down by the Taylorist principles of splitting tasks (and workers) into specific repetitive acts; these regimented spaces enabled an uninterrupted flow of work and more desks could be fitted into open areas than cellular rooms.
Wright’s hatred for walls in an office space quickly caught on and offices took on a new design of open-plan. It was followed in the 1950s by Quickborner, a German design group, who broke up the rows of desks into more organic groupings with partitions for privacy.
But these architects and designers forgot one thing – what about the introverts? How will they survive without their quiet spaces to think? And what about the extroverts who may be working in a small, cramped office space and need group energy to stay engaged during the working day?
Complete frustration
I was recently working with a client who was completely exhausted from work and the daily barrage of loudness and general chaos in her workplace. Each day she went in full of energy, and by mid-morning the familiar slump and elevated stress levels started to appear again.
As I listened and watched her complete frustration of not being able to get her work done properly due to falling concentration levels and cognitive overload, something struck me. Having recently finished reading Susan Cain’s book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, I had the lightbulb moment.
You see, this woman thought that she should be moving on from her role and, maybe even changing careers, because she just couldn’t get on top of things in the office. But when we took a more introspective look at her own patterns and behaviours it quickly became apparent that she is somewhat of an introvert with extrovert tendencies. She prefers the quiet and working on her own when faced with deadlines, and needs the time to think in order to function best and get the job done. But nobody has ever noticed this and the office chatterboxes who assume a completely different role to hers are literally driving her mad with their incessant chatter every day.
Here is somebody ready to leave her job all because of what she thinks is her inability to get her job done properly and on time, when in fact constant interruptions means she is becoming increasingly distracted. So it begs the question; how many more people are like her, stressed from the work environment rather than the actual job itself?
Things are changing for the traditional office
A recent study conducted by The University of Exeter’s School of Psychology revealed that if employees are involved in the design and layout of a workspace, they are not only happier and healthier, but are 32% more productive: “When people feel uncomfortable in their surroundings they are less engaged – not only with the space but also with what they do in it. If they can have some control that all changes, and people report being happier at work, identifying more with their employer, and are more efficient when doing their jobs.”
With companies such as Google spending $1 billion to develop office space in London, which will include 1 million square feet of an indoor football field and open air swimming pool, to GIY Ireland’s latest initiative “Give peas a chance” to encourage workplace wellness by growing your own vegetables at your desk, things are changing for
the traditional office.
Companies who fail to include the work environment in the “company culture” agenda will lose out and will lose valuable staff. So if you’re still at your desk, ask yourself where you are happiest working. If that chatterbox wasn’t literally in your ear every day would you get more work done? Or if you’re on your own with nobody to talk to, bring yourself closer to the action and see if you are re-energised. A few simple layout changes may be all it takes to make you more productive and happier in your job.
Karen Frampton is a Career Coach based in Waterford and writes a regular Career Blog via www.karenframpton.com/blog.
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If the British side break the protocol to suit a few hardline unionists in the north then I hope the eu come down hard on them for breaking an international trade agreement and they are punished by extra tariffs.johnson,Cummings and frost will bring Britain back to the stone age
@speedy: Yes agree and their US trade deal is then history.
@speedy: if they eliminate checks etc the UK will just become a back door to the EU. No way EU could agree to it. If UK want frictionless trade with the EU, you need to be in the EU. Johnson and his crew are just playing for the UK press… The big bad EU…. Actually it’s the petulant arrogant UK… But facts don’t matter to them.
@Mark H: They don’t even have to be in the EU, just be part of the customs union, which was on offer to them while negotiating. Remember the Norway style deal that was talked of… yeah.
@Mark H:
To use a Wembley analogy, they’re trying to get in for free!
@Diarmuid Hunt: Or agree to have a mechanism where the standards will be the same or equivalent. Not the “let’s pretend that our standards are equivalent, even though we might deviate from EU standards”
@speedy: you forgot Lord Rees of the Moggs.
@speedy: Cummings?
@Mark H: When have the facts ever mattered to any British Government.
wow is this for real .. how can any country any foreign trade minister sign an agreement with Great Britain in the knowledge that they will sign it and then change it to suit themselves, seriously who do these people think they are
The uk starting to dictate to EU but I think they are wasting their time as the protocol is what they signed up for and the DUP campaigned hard for brexit
An “honesty box” ? Yeah, that should work out well.
@Fr. Fintan Stack: Ha, yeah I laughed out loud at that part. What could possibly go wrong?!
After years of waiting for the UK to reveal its frictionless technological solution to eliminate customs checks for goods entering Northern Ireland, we are presented with the honesty box!
Breaking the protocol and putting the Good Friday agreement in danger will do them no favors on Capitol Hill .
The tories should have been honest in the very beginning with the electorate
@Hugh Mc Donnell: Tories honest…. That shouldn’t be in the one sentence
@Niall Lee: it’s called an oxymoron
They used to say “The sun never sets on the empire” I think that’s because even God wouldn’t trust them in the dark.
@Francis Devenney: or it’s because it never rose in the first place (still in the dark ages)
The Brits are at it again.
@Handsome McWonderful: Evidence in support:
If Brexit has taught us anything, it is that the UK can’t be trusted to tell the truth.
So the only way to make the protocol work is to ignore it and the agreement they signed up to.
You’d swear they didn’t help write the thing with the way they’re carrying on
Honestly I think it’s just time to take a hard line with Britain, they haven’t approached negotiations in good faith since the outset and seem to think every agreement and promise they’ve made in the past can be broken as they please.
A tinpot country run by a despot would have more integrity and competence than this lot. Only option now for the EU is hard retaliatory punitive tariffs which will paint these delinquants as the victims for ignoring the deal they made an international law treaty. This statement will be the malicious falsehood that they ever intended to honour or implement the protocol. England / UK is sinking down the toilet under that joke Johnson.
Really! An honesty box!? I wouldn’t trust the Brits as far as I could throw them!!! What a laugh…
Oh hahaha let’s sign an honesty box with all the cocaine producing countries too!
The NIP was a concession made to the UK by the EU. The UK made the argument that they would implement the checks when they formulated the agreement. All the EU has asked for is that the UK comply with their side of the agreement.
Today it was stated in the UK parliament that UK suppliers are deciding not to export goods into NI because of the hassle of complying they can’t be bothered to do the necessary paperwork.
NI are in a unique position that the protocol allows them to export goods into the EU and also into the UK without restrictions. Most UK companies would give their right arm to be able to do the same.
So, where does the problem seem to be…… The DUP.
They need to realise this is not like one of Boris’ revolving marriages – negotiated it, signed up for it – stuck with it -
Global warming, pandemic, age of online misinformation, asymmetric warfare, ransomware, rise of far-right…..and the English; was it ever thus!
UK should need to consult the dictionary to study the meaning of “honesty “ and then try and understand why other EU countries do not trust them in particular when Johnson is in charge.
Wish someone would just tell them to feck off
@David Lynch: we did, they only got three quarters of the message
More of the same BS. How long did it take the UK to “negotiate” Brexit?
Unbelievable arrogance!
Any nation thinking of doing a trade deal with the UK (under this current government) should think hard and tread cautiously – better still – save yourselves a massive headache – just don’t do it.
U.K attempting to move the goalposts while the match is being played
An ‘Honesty Box’…operated by the Tories? Hahahaha
Oven Ready
Oven ready turkey
I wonder where ‘On the right side’ is? Poor dear.
@Bill Spill: I hope he has realised that there is no point posting anymore, bar the odd you know who, nobody agrees with him, just laugh at him.
Who the fook do they think they are ……
Four years hundreds of thousands of wasted money and time !!M
It’s time to collapse the agreement & go to WTO
@Joe Thorpe: how could anyone trust them in any agreement their goose is well and truly cooked
What a shower of eejits.
The brits made a nuts of the negotiations and now they want to change it
borderless ireland because of the good Friday agreement. So stick a border in the northern part of the Irish Sea – drive a wedge between mainland uk and it’s sovereign country Northern Ireland to protect the good Friday agreement. Oh hold on that can’t be right can it? Guess it is …. Whilst everyone in Europe rejoices at getting one over on the uk the good Friday agreement will unravel. But not because of the uk. If I was frost I’d tell Northern Ireland we tried our best leave matters as they are and wait for the fun and games to start.
@Nigel Barlow: how about the Britain and HMG gives back the country they stole and pillaged back to its rightful owners.
@Gary G: quite welcome to It
That’s Feck with a ‘eU’
What amazing is they continue to go this route after the G8 and the G20 meetings. Where they were clearly told by the rest of the world. Don’t even try and do this.
Irish hory indeed world history has so many examples of the British and “Honesty”.
Yet the expect everybody to agree with this.
An agreement they insisted upon and agreed to, now they have changed their mind because of their own red tape, which they insisted upon.
I expected them to pull some dirty tricks but nothing as simple minded as this.
The laughable part is they are saying they got great trade deals from other countries and so far every one of them is worse than the present EU deal.
The have not move the goalposts, they are trying to change the game and the rules as they go along. The rest of the world is sharpening their knives as the realise how weak the Uk government are.
have your say