A common misperception is that collaboration is always a group activity when, in fact, people also need time to be alone to do their best thinking, writes Praveen Rawal
When people say they need some privacy, it can mean very different things. For some, it could be the space to find the rhythm of work, disconnect from the commotion, or an environment where their best work can thrive. Almost 85 per cent of highly disengaged employees are not satisfied with their work environment because they find it hard to concentrate easily. Office workers are interrupted as often as every three minutes by digital and human distractions. These breaches in attention carry a destructive ripple effect because, once a distraction occurs, it can take as much as 23 minutes for the mind to return to the task at hand.
With this in mind, private offices are also widely thought of as traditional work spaces that force some difficult tradeoffs. Workers get more privacy but less interaction with others, plenty of quiet but no collaboration.
Given such a predicament, Steelcase research and design consultants have explored five design strategies for rethinking and reshaping the private office, making it more effective:
Zones for work modes
Throughout the day, people switch back and forth between concentration and contemplation, then collaborate and converse. Zones for different activities help workers smoothly transition from working alone to working with others. Simple tools can help manage and display information: tackboards, markerboards, and sliding screens that can hide or reveal information as needed. Desk chairs are not going away, but research shows that people want to modify their posture during the day. Provide standing areas, places to perch, lean or lounge. lounge seating supports individual contemplative work and also welcomes colleagues.
Accommodating technology
This means allowing workers to select the best locations for their technology tools. Often, private offices limit worker access to power and data. However, the office’s usable space expands when it allows flexibility for primary and secondary technology tools. Provide power and data outlets that let people work away from walls and corners and closer to visiting colleagues.
Making space personal
Private offices often reflect professional achievements. This may influence the size and design of the office itself. A flexible private office lets people make space their own by choosing how they host guests, what personal items they display, and how they stay connected to coworkers. To help them maximise productivity, provide display space that doesn’t interfere with work. Shelves are commonly used for personal display, but consider an alternative: long work surfaces that extend beyond the primary work area. This extra space provides ample room for work, and additional display space at seated eye-level.
Providing privacy and control
A traditional advantage of the private office is the ability to concentrate and protect confidential information. Yet this security and control is compromised if workers are approached by guests entering the office. And while privacy is often an advantage, it can become a barrier to connecting with coworkers. The primary chair should face the door, or be in profile to the door. Define a collaborative zone and a private work zone, and provide piling areas that are out of sight to guests, but accessible to the primary worker.
Planning solo and team work
In shared private offices, provide acoustical privacy for phone and laptop work, and a collaboration zone for working on documents with others, and for displaying information for group review and editing. Storage between workstations can provide both seated privacy and a common work surface when standing. Place monitors where two people can easily view them in a side by side, collaborative posture. Smaller private offices need access to nearby meeting spaces, which provide both group collaboration space and a refreshing change of venue.
Collaboration is critical to the innovation process. Yet a common misperception is that collaboration is always a group activity when, in fact, people also need time to be alone to do their best thinking. Considering the points listed above, let’s not forget that social interactions are delicious things to the brain. So a healthy balance is key.
The writer is Managing Director, Steelcase, India and Southeast Asia