Category Archives: Definitions

Private office or not?

Why should companies have private offices? 

According to this post the benefits of a private office are:

* Fewer distractions.

* Ability to personalize the space, to make yourself more comfortable, without distracting others with your personal preferences.

* Ability to have a radio/MP3 player running, for background noise (and filtering out others’ noise), without bothering anyone else.

* Ability to use speakerphone if you need to type while you’re talking, without bothering anyone else.

* Ability to close the door and put a “DO NOT DISTURB” sign up if you’re working on something critical and need to work without interruption.

* Ability to close the door if you’re working on a Security-related item, instead of having to take who knows how long going to who knows where to a secure workstation setup”

We have challenged many of our clients whether they should have a private office or not. The arguments that it all depends on the line of work is only an excuse I think. We discussed the issue with law firms, consulting companies and banks. Apart from the need of physical separation (Chinese walls) required by FSA regulations, the need for a private office is quite often only a status confirmation. I believe that we should look at the job performed and the needs rather than status, thus confidential calls could be made in meeting rooms close by, how many private telephone calls are managers making anyway?

The benefits of not having a private office:

* Managers more approachable to the staff,

* Reduced real estate costs, often managers are spending most of their time in meetings, visiting clients etc… we noticed that the occupation levels of private offices is actually quite low. 

* Less hierarchy, many companies talk about a flat organization, but the lay out of an office often says it all. Directors in private offices, managers sitting on desks slightly away from the team and team leaders sitting at the head of the table. 

* Better communication, for example studies in call centres have shown that when managers, sit on the floor with their teams to have a significant impact on production and motivation.

 

Revolution at work (part 2)

What is a revolution? According to the Oxford Dictionary it means either “a forcible overthrow of a government or social order, in favour of a new system”  or “a dramatic and far-reaching change”.

Let us return to Gibson’s Steelcase book, there are 5 principles that should be taken into consideration in designing a 21st Century workplace (the 6 C’s):

Cost Efficiency: economic use of space, less emphasis on status and hierarchy,

Collaboration: the office should promote teamwork, exchange ideas, 

Communication and Concentration: the workplace should have a right balance between interaction and privacy, 

Complexity: as the complexity of work increases, the office should step away from standardization and offer multifunctional workstations to suit different tasks and activities,

Change: by having a flexible work environment the office can adapt quickly to changes in the organization and challenges,

Connectivity: provide the latest communications and information technology.

It is clear that these are the keys to creating a 21st century workplace. But will it create a revolution at work? A forceable overthrow of an order in favour of a new system? Some of the companies in Gibson’s examples such as Zero Knowledge Systems have either gone bust or in the case of Netscape has been broken up. Does this mean that all these ideas did not work? Or does it mean that some of the more traditional companies, succeeded despite or regardless of  their workplace design?

 

 

Revolution at work (in the office)? Part 1

A few years ago Steelcase, the American furniture company published a coffee table book with the catchy title: “revolution at work.” The book was written by Rowan Gibson and focussed on social, technological and economical forces that, according to the book, are the driving forces of change in the workplace. The book looked at how companies around the world were addressing these forces to create a workplace culture that is basically employee orientated. Examples of how companies create these new workplaces include concierges at Texas Instruments who will fix cars while employees are at work, Netscape’s on-site dentist, Sun Micro’s dry cleaning service or Analytical Graphics who offer haircuts, massage and shoe shines. Is “revolution at work” a synonym of “perks at work”? 

So when recently the Financial Times reported that when Microsoft stopped providing towels in their toilets the staff noticed that something was about to change. Recent layoffs confirmed the paper for towel oracle. With ten of thousands of employees in any industry, even in some of the so-called recession proof industries losing their jobs, what about all those perks that Gibson noted in the book? Are the perks that provide the joy in the job? And: what is a revolution at work? Did it really happen? 

Yesterday I watched the classic Sergei Eisenstein‘s film The Battleship Potemkin and especially the scene were the sailors rebel against receiving maggot infested meat for their meals had me thinking whether a revolution at work, and today that means in the office, would at all be possible (or needed)? The idea of a revolution in an office is itself funny and brings to mind another great film, The Meaning of Life, by Monty Python. Specifically the scene where the old and weary office workers start a revolution by throwing their young and dashing managers out of the window. This to me is hilarious. The scene is funny because of the analogy used, slaves on a ship fighting their cruel masters. The idea of a mutiny in the office is funny, just like golf hooligans would be funny, as offices are not seen as places of violence or revolution, (nor is a golf course). The work might be boring, or tedious, but unlike some factory or construction work, it is not physically draining nor life threatening. In the same way I think like most films about soft drugs, think Cheech and Chong are funny, while those about hard drugs, such as Christiane F are rather depressing. 

So is a revolution at work a contradiction in terms?

 

 

Desk Rage

 

“The peak of office employee stress levels which ultimately starts with the screaming of vulgar language within the workplace. It can often times lead to assaulting fellow employees, abusing office equipment and/or stealing of company property, abusing sick days and ultimately poor production at work. A possible side effect is that the employee continues to take out his or her rage at their residence in the form of kicking small animals and drinking heavily.” 
From the Urban Dictionary.

 

Bullshit Bingo

From the Urban Dictionary:

A game that can be played in large meetings. The players write down management-nonsense word like “Out-of-the-box-thinking”, “Synergy”, “Content streamlining” etc. in a 5 by 5 square bingo card. 
If a word or phrase is used during the meeting you check the box. When you get a five box line (horizontally, vertically or diagonally ) you shout “BULLSHIT!” and win.

Company bigshot fancypants: “And that is why this merger is going to benefit shareholder value by creating value driven content. 

You: “BULLSHIT BINGO!” 

Company bigshot fancypants: “You’re fired!”