Shift to open plan office need not be a hindrance



My company has decided to redesign the office and make it completely open plan. I will lose the office I have worked in for the past five years and join my colleagues on the main floor. To be honest, I like my privacy and don't like this new layout. I also feel slightly demoted by the move. How do I adapt? TM, Dubai

I have a lot of sympathy for you. I much prefer having an office to working in an open plan environment. I find it easier to concentrate and I find I get interrupted less (although it still happens a good deal). It is also much easier to have confidential or private conversations, whether on the phone or face to face. However, I do recognise there can be benefits to an open plan office. It is more egalitarian, and it does seem to foster more of a sense of team spirit. In open plan we are, it seems to me, more likely to form good relationships with more members of the team. We are also likely to be more transparent as an organisation. It is also argued, of course, that proximity can lead to more arguments, more relationships that are dysfunctional and that hold back the team, so I suppose it can be looked at either way.

Regardless of the strengths and weaknesses of open plan versus more traditional office-based architecture, the fact remains that you are being required to adapt to an open plan environment. So what can you do? If the thought truly upsets you, then of course you can look around for another job, making sure that your own office is part of the job specification. But you may not have that luxury. I don’t really have a lot of sympathy for your feeling of being demoted. I can understand you being demotivated, but unless your job role or title has changed, feeling demoted seems to be a little self-indulgent. If you accept the new order, then there are two broad areas where you need to plan in advance.

The first is how to concentrate at your desk when there is lots of activity and bustle going on around you. I don’t know whether your open plan is one where there are cubicles or screens around the space, or whether it is a true open plan, perhaps even one where every desk is a hot desk and there is not even a space you can call your own. Regardless, some people seem better able than others to shut out the world around them. If you are one of these, then the transition will be easier. But after five years with your own office door, this may be unlikely. So invest in a good pair of headphones and make sure that there is lots of music on your phone or portable device, or that you can get good reception on a radio. Sounds played quietly into your ears can drown out a lot of the discordant noise around you, so the idea here is to retreat into your own quiet space via the earphones. Here, you can concentrate on your work uninterrupted by what goes on around you.

The second area of challenge is interruption. Somehow, people think that if you are in an open plan environment, you are permanently available to be interrupted. This can begin to feel quite invasive, and can also interrupt your flow of thoughts, making your work disjointed. Here’s my idea: have a traffic light system on your desk. When the traffic light is red, it means you don’t want to be interrupted. Amber means you are busy, but if the interruption is important then you are available. Green means you can be readily interrupted. You need to maintain your lights so that they always accurately reflect your level of availability. Not everyone will respect them, but you should find that the number of interruptions is minimised. The system might even catch on around the rest of the open space.

Other thoughts: if you have a job that allows home working, perhaps you can schedule the work that requires maximum concentration and do that at home, meaning that when you are at your desk you are doing things which are more reactive or more mundane and you are available for interruption. If you are regularly on the phone as part of your work, then headphones are probably useful as well. Get full headphones so that you are cancelling out the maximum amount of background noise. This makes the call much easier for you and for the other party. If you regularly need to have confidential conversations, then you will need ready access to a space where these can take place – make sure this is built into the design of the open space.

Doctor's prescription: Embrace the change. I quite see you don't relish it, but you can't avoid it, so it is much better to be accepting and to manage it so that you can work as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Roger Delves is the director of the Ashridge Executive Masters in Management and an adjunct professor at the Hult International Business School. He is the co-author of the book The Top 50 Management Dilemmas: Fast Solutions to Everyday Challenges. Email him at business@thenational.ae for advice on any work issues

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Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

Boulder shooting victims

• Denny Strong, 20
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• Kevin Mahoney, 61
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

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How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The specs

Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
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RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile

Started: 2016

Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel 

Based: Ramallah, Palestine

Sector: Technology, Security

# of staff: 13

Investment: $745,000

Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors

MATCH INFO

Schalke 0

Werder Bremen 1 (Bittencourt 32')

Man of the match Leonardo Bittencourt (Werder Bremen)

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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FIGHT%20CARD
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Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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SPECS
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
SPECS

Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now

Types of policy

Term life insurance: this is the cheapest and most-popular form of life cover. You pay a regular monthly premium for a pre-agreed period, typically anything between five and 25 years, or possibly longer. If you die within that time, the policy will pay a cash lump sum, which is typically tax-free even outside the UAE. If you die after the policy ends, you do not get anything in return. There is no cash-in value at any time. Once you stop paying premiums, cover stops.

Whole-of-life insurance: as its name suggests, this type of life cover is designed to run for the rest of your life. You pay regular monthly premiums and in return, get a guaranteed cash lump sum whenever you die. As a result, premiums are typically much higher than one term life insurance, although they do not usually increase with age. In some cases, you have to keep up premiums for as long as you live, although there may be a cut-off period, say, at age 80 but it can go as high as 95. There are penalties if you don’t last the course and you may get a lot less than you paid in.

Critical illness cover: this pays a cash lump sum if you suffer from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Some policies cover as many as 50 different illnesses, although cancer triggers by far the most claims. The payout is designed to cover major financial responsibilities such as a mortgage or children’s education fees if you fall ill and are unable to work. It is cost effective to combine it with life insurance, with the policy paying out once if you either die or suffer a serious illness.

Income protection: this pays a replacement income if you fall ill and are unable to continue working. On the best policies, this will continue either until you recover, or reach retirement age. Unlike critical illness cover, policies will typically pay out for stress and musculoskeletal problems such as back trouble.

The biog

Fatima Al Darmaki is an Emirati widow with three children

She has received 46 certificates of appreciation and excellence throughout her career

She won the 'ideal mother' category at the Minister of Interior Awards for Excellence

Her favourite food is Harees, a slow-cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled wheat berries mixed with chicken