Do you work or are going to join an open space? If you are looking for the keys to working well in this type of layout, you must first be aware of its advantages and disadvantages. Indeed, for the employer, the open space is a real space saver, and for the employees, this configuration allows a simplified exchange and a more convivial agreement in each service. Hierarchical barriers are also erased, in order to optimize work and improve the performance of the company. The open space also has some disadvantages if certain principles are not respected:loss of intimacy, stress, deconcentration... only harmful consequences on the employee but also on the objectives of the company. To avoid these drawbacks, various principles or rules can be adopted to improve open space working conditions.
For the success of open space work, the behavior of employees is an important element. Indeed, noise can easily surface in an open space, hence the need for good rules of conduct. Employees can therefore, for example, lower their voice by a semitone, when talking to their colleagues or when they are on the phone, reduce the volume of their phone, avoid listening to music or watching videos without earphones, favoring isolated spaces for personal calls... These gestures are many and varied but must, that said, respect rules of intimacy and discretion.
Despite the trend towards open space and exchange within an open space, nothing prevents you from setting some conditions if you believe that these are favorable for the objectives or the performance of the company. If you do not wish to be disturbed every 2 minutes, you can inform your neighbors that you are busy, or that you do not wish to be disturbed. Also, for advanced and longer meetings, you can very well choose to isolate yourself in more distant spaces, so as not to disturb but also not to be disturbed. The goal is certainly to encourage exchanges, but to set some limits in order to avoid any overflow.
If the open space sometimes tends to lack of privacy, your space can however be personalized by you. Decoration, a plant, office accessories, a personal touch that allows you to feel comfortable, without disturbing or encroaching on the space of your neighbors. Be sure to respect the homogeneity of the open space by avoiding too bright colors, or noisy decorative elements.
