You do like your intimacy, don’t ya?

Some of these offices are cool anyway!! Check Ain’t No Disco for more.

There are times in life when you’d really like to be alone. But then, working in an agency might sometimes lead to a quite disturbing situation: sharing your vital space with your coworkers. What’s wrong with that? 

Nothing, if everything goes well. At the very moment when a stressful event happens, it’ll look like hell. How to survive this? Take note and a deep breath…

1. 1. Create an intimate bubble. Simply try to make your space “yours”. Keep it tidy, with a few personal elements. Your dog’s picture in a frame would be too personal — try to stay discreet. This can help you to concentrate on you work. Or at least, give you the courage to go on…
2. 2. Buy good headphones. I mean really good ones. You must be able to hear anything but your music, or better, silence, when you put them on. An open plan is noisy, and this might be tiring.
3. 3. Know when to isolate. Need a break? Go to the rest room, or anywhere you can get some peace. Go outside to breath fresh air. Just try to find some space to be alone.
4. 4. Keep away from gossipers. This kind of off working space is like a small village: everyone is your big brother, and the coffee/cigarette break looks more like a old-lady tea party than a professional meeting. This might be excruciating when under pressure.
5. 5. Try not to let your coworkers stress get on your nerves. Protect yourself from their bad karmas. If impossible, try to work from home.

I’ve just read a book called “L’open-space m’a tuer”, or the open-space killed me (with a mistake in the verb, referencing to a french murder story). The authors talk about how unproductive is an open-space office, and specifically on how it affects your well-being. They also discuss the discomfort that feel most of the young executives working in communication agencies, the “cool diktat”, and the side-effects of 2.0 management. It’s worth being read and really appeals to anyone working in that kind of agency, even if a newbie in management theories.

Not that the disposition of your office will lead to your success (fengshui anyone?), but it’s interesting to see how it affects your production. I, myself, am not very convinced by the open-space structure.
I’d much prefer to work with fewer people in the same room, and especially fewer people doing the same thing as I do. It’s sometimes creepy to take the phone to be flamed by a client you don’t even know, or worst, being forced to share the stress of people with tight deadlines, when you are yourself quite light on work. (Which I don’t think is egocentric, but just human…) 

Any suggestions about it? Tips and tricks to isolate yourself? How to get a promotion to have you own office? Any insight on a fantastic life in an open-space?