Cubed

There is a new book out by Nikil Saval, called "Cubed".  I have not read it yet, but have read the reviews of it and I will be picking it up soon.  What Saval does in his book is give us the history of our current workplaces covering things like the drop ceiling, lighting, filing spaces, open door policies and yes, the "Cubicle". My total time working in corporations was 21 years.  Of those 21 years, as best as I can add up, I spent eight years in a Cube and two and a half years working in an open floor space. So, almost half, not in an office.

The best of all of those years (including a couple of years in offices that were well beyond nice and totally not necessary), were the years in the open floor plan where there were no walls and I was out in the open with everyone else.  I learned new forms of boundaries (headphones on meant I was busy), shorter phone calls, discretion of conversation (loudness and content) and time management (there wasn't any hanging around with the feet on the desk shooting the breeze).

Where we sit can make a difference in how we work.  Where we assign others to work, can make a difference in their productivity and motivation. Part of what we are to do, if we want to be good leaders and managers, is to be cognizant and sensitive to the environment that we ask people to work.

If you have people begging to work at home, you might want to ask yourself if that cubicle might be part of their motivation.