{"id":15267,"date":"2016-07-19T05:00:36","date_gmt":"2016-07-19T12:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/?p=15267"},"modified":"2020-12-24T04:09:40","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T12:09:40","slug":"do-not-disturb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/do-not-disturb\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Not Disturb"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Creating\u00a0an optimal work environment can prove daunting. It\u2019s of<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-15268\" src=\"https:\/\/www.yardi.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2016\/05\/Coworking_Space_in_Berlin-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Coworking_Space_in_Berlin\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/>ten impractical \u2013 and prohibitively expensive \u2013 to provide each employee with their own private domain. On the other hand, the surprisingly popular open office strategy has been shown to negatively impact productivity and morale.<\/p>\n<p>So what\u2019s the solution for distracted staff and budget-conscious employers?<\/p>\n<p>In a 2014 dispatch for <em>The New Yorker,<\/em> Maria Konnikova laid out all the negatives of the wall-less workspace in \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/business\/currency\/the-open-office-trap\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Open-Office Trap<\/a>.\u201d Konnikova begins with a brief history of the open office, which originated in 1950s Germany and has spread to over <a href=\"http:\/\/www.emeraldinsight.com\/toc\/f\/21\/1%2F2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">70% of offices worldwide<\/a>. This wide-scale adoption runs counter to mounting evidence open office space increases stress, reduces productivity and leaves personnel feeling resentful and dissatisfied.<\/p>\n<p>Much of the adverse effects of an open office can be traced back to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/discover\/10.2307\/255498?uid=3739696&amp;uid=2&amp;uid=4&amp;uid=3739256&amp;sid=21103198134427\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">psychological need<\/a> for privacy and control. In fact, a 2005 study revealed, \u201cthe ability to control environment had a significant effect on team cohesion and satisfaction.\u201d Additionally,\u00a0in a 2011 survey by organizational psychologist Matthew Davis, open offices were found uncontrolled interactions with coworkers created \u201chigher levels of stress, and lower levels of concentration and motivation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Noise, of course, is yet another drawback of the open office plan. Overhearing phone calls and being subjected to unsolicited comments are just some of the challenges presented by the barrier-free workstation. Konnikova cites several studies indicating noise can result in both physical and psychological symptoms. For example, unwelcome sound adversely influences <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0272494408000728\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cognitive function<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/23412582\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">mental recall<\/a>, and can even trigger the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pubmed\/11055149\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\u201cfight-or-flight\u201d<\/a> response.<\/p>\n<p>So what\u2019s the solution?<\/p>\n<p>Over at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.slate.com\/articles\/business\/the_ladder\/2016\/05\/open_plan_offices_add_distractions_and_hurt_productivity.html\">Slate<\/a>, associate editor L.V. Anderson proposes a few simple ways to reign in the chatter and clamor rumbling unabated across desks and workstations. Anderson advises employers take advantage of instant messaging apps to encourage quieter communication. One solution is to option, arrange meeting spaces for group activities. Gatherings or small <em>t\u00eate<\/em>-\u00e0-<em>t\u00eates <\/em>can take place during a walk around the building. Bosses can also designate quiet hours and offer private rooms for phone calls.<\/p>\n<p>Another option involves reintroducing personal control into the workday. For example, one study conducted by GPS manufacturer <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mapon.com\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MapOn<\/a> looked at the different ways to eliminate unwanted interactions, increase productivity and enhance job satisfaction. During the <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1UVfn5Oz03er40-kMGZ9xKp0k5GoO4icWzlUltu799E8\/edit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">study<\/a>, MapOn\u2019s programmers \u2013 a position requiring large blocks of uninterrupted time \u2013 used three methods to designate they were not to be disturbed: a sign, earphones, and <a href=\"http:\/\/luxafor.com\/\">Luxafor<\/a>, a programmable light that shines red whenever a worker does not want to be bothered.<\/p>\n<p>All three methods functioned reasonably well during the first week and half of the study. Nevertheless, within a fortnight, the sign proved ineffective \u2013 in part because the programmers themselves often forgot to deploy it. The headphones and Luxafor, on the other hand, continued to be successful after month of use, with disruptions and undesired interactions reduced by almost 75%.<\/p>\n<p>While it\u2019s clear open offices won\u2019t be retired anytime soon, many companies are beginning to offer a multitude of options to help their wage-earners cope with an unfettered work environment. Many have found that providing peaceful spaces and encouraging situational awareness can go a long way towards improving morale and mitigating the negatives.<\/p>\n<p>For example, when <a href=\"http:\/\/www.inc.com\/howard-tullman\/the-case-against-open-offices.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Inc. CEO Howard Tullman<\/a> noticed his coworkers wandering around, laptops in hand, in search of some privacy, he realized \u201cThese sad sojourns for solace and silent spaces are actually pretty clear statements that we need to rethink the latest spatial strategies and&#8211;at a minimum&#8211;start thinking about segmenting and segregating spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere&#8217;s something frighteningly productive about a little peace and privacy that we&#8217;ve seemingly lost sight of.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A mainstay of the startup culture and a visual clich\u00e9 of tech giants like Google and Facebook, open offices now account for more than half of U.S. workspace, but at what cost?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":15268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_s2mail":"yes","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2287,4],"tags":[1226,1210,86,462,1224],"class_list":["post-15267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coworking","category-news","tag-coworking","tag-morale","tag-office","tag-productivity","tag-work"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v24.6) - 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