How To Work Efficiently In An Open Office

On the one hand, open offices can create a more cooperative, innovative and social environment, and it is easier for different departments and teams to exchange views.

On the other hand, open offices are also considered to be an environment that seriously distracts attention from employees. According to a study by The Sound Agency, employee productivity in this environment will plummet by 66%.

How can you promote cooperation and efficiency by working in an open environment every day? The following strategies may help you stay awake and efficient.

Build a "virtual wall"

If your colleagues' voice and movements are difficult for you to concentrate, you can try to build a "virtual wall" between yourself and the rest of the office.

How to do it? It's simpler than you think.

A pair of headphones is enough.

Even when we return to the personal world, we often listen to music which is neither conducive to concentration nor conducive to high yield.

But if you want to maintain high production, do not play music with human voice, such as radio, podcasts, and even songs with lyrics. They will only occupy more space in your brain.

"Covering the noise with music is like putting sugar on the mud. It looks like a cake, it doesn't taste like it," Trege said.

The most conducive voice of concentration is the natural and unpredictable voice.

Electronic environment music is good for blocking noise, and it will not distract people.

You can also try using stereo headphones to listen to the binaural beat.

Neurophysiologists believe that these sounds can guide the brain into a state of deep concentration, creativity and relaxation.

Separate a team discussion table.

Give Way

The key to being happy and productive is to have different spaces to do different things.

A new study by Gensler, a building design company, found that employees spend more than half their work in a state of deep concentration, about 1/4 of their time in cooperation, and the rest of their time allocated to learning, social networking and other jobs.

Of course.

People who work in the workplace still spend most of their time at their desks, but when they need deep cooperation or learning, changing the environment can help them change their files.

Place a larger "team discussion table" in the office to allow conversation and ideas to flow freely on this table and encourage a conscious chatter between the neighbors.

In a room for meetings, you can try to place high tables, so that everyone has to stand, and the walls need to use floor whiteboards. This arrangement can encourage people to actively participate in the discussion.

On the contrary, some independent rooms can be set up so that people can be quiet and alone.

You can try to put a blackboard outside the door and write what you do inside the house.

In this way, the rest of the team will know why they are buried in their heads and will make them work quietly.

If enough space is available, the machine with higher noise levels such as printers and photocopiers can be removed from the work area.

Besides, walking away from your seat every now and then can bring additional benefits, which helps to regain your focus and regain your judgement.

Scientists estimate that the pformation between helping others and doing their job will bring heavy cognitive load, because every time you go back to work, you have to familiarise yourself with the details of the work.

Let alone mention the concept of "multithreaded work", which is basically a fallacy.

If you want to solve this problem, you can divide a period of time each day, without interruption in these hours, and concentrate on your work.

Be sure to tell your colleagues that you really don't want to be disturbed during this period, except for emergencies.

Pay enough attention to the most important tasks, and you can cooperate with others or help others in the latter half of the day.

Although open offices may not necessarily be suitable for everyone, it can bring great influence to culture, innovation and cooperation.

However, like all good things, the application of open offices must be balanced.