Q: I work in a 20-person office that uses one of those shared-space open floor plans. I sit at a long table along with several co-workers all of whom are easy going and generally focused on doing our jobs. Recently however, one of them got engaged and another is planning an adventure-type vacation. These two are now chatty and spending too much time on shopping sites and social media, sharing with the rest of us and becoming a disruption. Aside from spending 8 hours a day with earphones on (and looking rude), what can I do to focus on my work?
A: Oh, the joy and challenges of the coveted and hated open floor-plan workspace. Not a huge fan.
It’s supposed to increase cooperation, cross-pollination and sharing of ideas, but it also increases the chance of interruptions, hearing too much information (TMI) and loss of visual privacy. These are all stressors.
What you’re describing though, can’t be blamed entirely on the open floor plan, you might be in the same pickle if you were in cubicles. In fact, this is a common problem.
So here are some options, with their ramifications.
1) You could lecture them about not surfing the web on company time. You would be right. But I don’t recommend this. It probably won’t change their behavior and you’ll likely be scorned for being sanctimonious.
2) You could complain to management. – I also don’t recommend this. While it may be effective and result in a reviving/reminder of the social media personal-use-of-the-internet policy, the risk of your co-workers finding out you ratted on them isn’t worth it. Plus, who wants to be that person.
3) You could be totally transparent. – This is more my style. You could say, “Hi guys, I like hearing about the exiting things you guys are up to, but only once or twice a day, not throughout the day. I get easily distracted so I’m going to be wearing these earphones a lot, just FYI.” Every word is true. And chances are others in the group feel the same and might follow your example and start wearing ear buds. Even if that doesn’t happen, your statement will at least let the two offenders know they should restrain their wedding and vacation enthusiasm. Hopefully, this works as subtle peer pressure.
Readers, how about you? How would you handle this?
©Copyright Eva Del Rio
Eva Del Rio is creator of HR Box™ – tools for small businesses and startups. Send questions to Eva@evadelrio.com
