Last week, the physical spaces of cubicle care were addressed. This week let’s address caring for people – ourselves and others – in the cubicle world.
Cubicle workspaces were meant to save space and create more collaborative work environments. In some cases, collaborative productivity results. In most offices, I’ve heard more complaints about cubicle work than I have heard celebrations.
Here are some cubicle care tips for people-care.
Yourself:
- Wear earbuds as fitting. Music. White noise. Sounds that allow you to stay focused on the work and projects at hand.
- Remove the guest chair. Doing so keeps others from coming in; sitting down; and taking you off-task. Some people pile projects in guest chairs to prevent people from sitting down.
- Remove the candy-jar from your desk. If you experience too many interruptions, remove the candy. If you enjoy being the stop-by and visit desk, keep the candy-jar.
- Post a sign to alert others what you have going on: editing; on-deadline; on a conference call; or a message that politely says: “don’t interrupt me.”
Others:
- Group your questions. Gather your questions, schedule a time to ask them. In my twenties, as a task-focused employee, I wanted information as quickly as possible. However, my need for information became an interruption to others (per my supervisor). So, I learned to be more mindful of others’ time and to ask for their available time to meet and collect the needed information for completion of my work assignments.
- Time mindfulness – length of time. Two minutes is long enough to socially connect and move back to the task at hand. Less than two minutes is even better. Practice question-asking and presentations with a timer to learn how much you can share/ask in two minutes (a lot!).
- Time mindfulness – time of day. Morning is best for some. Afternoon is best for others. Figure out what time of day is best for interacting with each of your co-workers. They will appreciate it and you will more likely get better information and input.
What can you do for yourself and others to make the people-care in cubicle care more effective?
Workplace: Managing the moments of our day-to-day business lives takes work. Together, let’s explore what issues and activities affect us every day (or some days) that we go to work. – Jana