Office Communication & Walls
In many office buildings, the walls are exceedingly thin, and only offices of higher-level executives are walled off. That leaves everyone else with nothing but cubicle walls between them, and these tend to be at most, a couple of inches thick and do not reach from floor to ceiling. This means that communication within an office environment can be challenging, because it's easy for everyone to hear what you say.
Other People Are Reading
-
History
-
Over the past 20 years, office design has been largely influenced by the notion that fewer walls will result in better communication between employees, and that in turn, that better communication will lead to higher productivity, notes a Fast Company article by Linda Tischler. Unfortunately, no one has been able to measure whether this notion has any basis in reality. Despite this, many companies continue to embrace open spaces with few walls between employees, partly because it's cheaper than putting all employees in their own offices.
Dilemma
-
While it's true that fewer walls between employees can facilitate communication, the question remains whether this is more often a good thing than a bad one. Employees who communicate more often may be better at sharing ideas and coming up with answers. On the other hand, they may also be better at making small talk completely unrelated to work and thus wasting valuable company time.
-
Semi-Privacy
-
Thin office walls and cubicle walls may create the perception of privacy. Unless walls are simply glass partitions, it's likely that others have to physically enter your space to be able to see you. However, this sense of privacy is only visual. While the types of walls typically found at offices may mask noise, they don't absorb it completely.
Challenge
-
Lack of acoustic absorption provided by traditional walls poses clear challenges in companies where employees' duties require them to be on the phone a significant part of the day. The chatter from conversations going on in other cubicles and even adjacent offices can interrupt others' thoughts and make it difficult to focus. Another challenge is holding private conversations without being overheard. Let's face it, once in a while it's necessary to make a personal call from work. Unless speaking at whisper level, employees face the chance that coworkers will overhear information that they'd rather be kept private.
New Etiquette
-
Today's office configuration has led to the creation of new rules of workplace communication etiquette, notes an Intercom article by Gary M. Smith. For many employees, these are unspoken rules, while other companies have been known to post these in shared spaces. These rules may include speaking in a lower tone of voice, and knocking before entering others' work areas or before speaking to someone at work in his cubicle, regardless of whether there is a door on which to knock.
-
References
- Photo Credit office 2 image by Omely from Fotolia.com
