FOCUS WELLBEING
TIME TO FOCUS
Eve Fitzhenry, Head of Marketing at Boss Design, explains why quiet space free of distractions
is an essential component of modern workplace layouts
If you ask o ice workers what they find most irritating
and unproductive about their workplace, they are likely
to suggest o ice noise and distractions. This issue has
intensified over recent years for several reasons. Not only
has the proliferation of mobile devices grown, the amount
of space allocated to each person has fallen substantially as
companies adopt more space-intensive and agile workplace
models. In short, we are making more noise than ever before
– and we’re closer together while doing it.
In addition, as collaboration continues to drive workplace
design and as o ices trend towards more open and flexible
environments, the lack of private spaces for employees to
concentrate and focus is now an issue. So much so that a
36 APRIL 2019
recent comprehensive study published by Oxford Economics
and Plantronics showed that three-quarters of employees
said they need to take walks outside, while 32 per cent listen
to headphones in order to focus and block out distractions.
Meanwhile, employees in the noisiest o ice environments are
more likely to swap their job for a working culture that o ers
fewer distractions.
It’s not all about noise, however. Cramped o ice space in
which employees have no personal space or control, and openplan
o ices that o er little privacy, can seriously compromise
individual focused work. Furthermore, open windows, lack
of meeting space, chatty co-workers, and the proliferation of
mobile devices in general, only serve to exacerbate the problem.