Instead of griping, Burkus suggests, have a conversation with your team about how you can all work optimally in an open office. You don’t want people to see you as persnickety or difficult. There’s laughter, there’s humor, and you feel the rhythm of each other’s work and lives.” Dillon recommends trying to embrace the open office concept by focusing on the positives, “the bonding,” and downplaying the negatives, “the occasional TMI.” At the very least, resist your impulse to be the first to grumble about the noise, says Burkus. And yet, she says, “There’s a lot of benefit to getting to know your colleagues on a more intimate level.
That modicum of privacy ensures that “your colleagues can’t overhear your phone calls” or know precisely which “websites you’re browsing” at any given time. After all, there’s a certain level of psychological safety that comes with having an “office with a door,” says Dillon. We all crave some solitude in the workplace. You need your own “survival strategies” as well as some ground rules that you and your team can agree to. But as companies increasingly adopt an open layout, it’s important to learn how to deal with unwanted noise, says Karen Dillon, the author of the HBR Guide to Office Politics. The trouble is, all those interactions “can be very distracting” when you’re trying to get work done. When designed well, these spaces can foster collaboration by “offering opportunities for serendipitous interactions with people all over the company,” says David Burkus, an associate professor at Oral Roberts University and the author of the forthcoming book Friend of a Friend. Some research indicates they spark creativity and camaraderie, while newer studies suggest that open offices encourage employees to avoid one another. There is an ongoing debate about the pros and cons of open offices. How can you make peace with your open office? How should you handle loud coworkers who are disturbing your focus? What’s the best way to cope with the noise and distractions in your office without coming across as antisocial or rude? To make matters worse, your colleagues can be distracting - maybe they’re having loud conversations or their cell phones are constantly chirping. Let’s face it: The open office can be a nightmare, especially when you’re working on something that requires your undivided attention.
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