Tips to Help You Maintain Privacy in an Open Office Setting
It’s annoying to have an open office. It’s distracting. It also takes away your privacy. Unfortunately, some managers still think that it’s a good strategy. They believe that there will be more collaborations and positive relationships forged when there’s an open office.
If you dislike facing many people all the time and you want to have a private space, you just have to make the most of the situation. These are the tips to help you maintain privacy in this weird setting.
Lock your desk
You need to have a desk with a drawer so you can keep your things. You still bring valuables to your workplace and you want to protect them. The worst part about being in an open office is that if you end up losing things, you will find it difficult to blame someone. It’s an open space and no one would take responsibility. Therefore, it helps if you can have a drawer that you can lock to keep your valuables intact. You might also have office supplies you personally bought and you don’t want to share with anyone.
Talk outside the office
There are times when you have to talk about sensitive issues and you don’t want anyone to hear the discussion. Since it’s an open space, everyone would hear the information. Therefore, you can send a message to the concerned individual to meet you outside for a talk. You can also do it through text messages, but there are times when you prefer to clarify things personally.
Stop using papers
You have to learn how to digitize everything. Even a note to remind yourself about a task should be saved on your phone. You don’t want anyone to see what you have written. You might also be working on sensitive information and you need to keep it private. You might be friends with some people at work, but you can’t trust everyone with the sensitive information.
Come to work early
Another strategy to make it easy for you to work quietly is to come to work early. It might entail sacrifice but you can maintain your privacy at this time. Once people start to arrive, you already accomplished a lot. Therefore, you’re free for the rest of the day. You won’t be bothered by the loud noise anymore. You can even collaborate with other people on tasks that don’t require privacy and isolation.
Ask an end to this rule
You try your best to work with whatever you have. You want to keep working without getting bothered because you have no choice. However, if you couldn’t take this environment anymore, you need to ask for an end to it. There’s no point in pursuing an open office if it doesn’t lead to productivity. If you can convince your bosses that this type of office structure is only hurting everyone, it might end soon. You just have to be patient for now.
Photo Attribution:
1st and featured image from https://unsplash.com/photos/l9QPabiKKhw
2nd image from https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-2955358-young-business-people-meeting-outside-office-building
