Here’s another office design 101 thing that I want to get out of the way: the importance of temporary private space for people stuck in open plans.
These private spaces sometimes get labeled as “phone rooms” or something similar, implying that they exist for a person to take their loud conversation away from the rest of the workers. Well, the exact opposite situation is at least as important if not more: for a person to get some quiet away from the loudness of the general office environment.
We already know that some people need more quiet time than others. And headphones are not a substitute for quiet.
Let’s stop calling these “phone rooms” and ensure there is no judgment from anyone who matters about people using these rooms simply for quiet time.
4 comments :
LastJob managed to make it very clear that these rooms were Not For Working by making them:
1) very small
2) no chairs
3) no electric outlet
4) dim lighting
Vicki,
Glad this was LastJob and not CurrentJob. :)
we *used* to call those "offices"
I had an office at one employer - when I was interning during college. And I had a shared office with one of my on-campus jobs (ie not dedicated to be mine, but was mine when I was working).
Offices rock. Open plans, unless you're in a manufacturing environment, pretty much suck. Cubes suck slightly less - but they're kinda the bastard children of open plans and offices: good at being neither.
Ah +Warren Myers, yes. I had an office at two companies. Joy. A door. Control of the overhead lighting. Walls.
You'd think these were "more cost" right? But I was there when the Facilities folks were planning to build out the new building and the cost was comparable to putting in cubicles.
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