Comments on: Don’t blame the cubicles http://commons.iabc.com/employee/2006/03/23/dont-blame-the-cubicles/ A Blog Community for Business Communicators Wed, 07 Jan 2009 22:22:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Tom Keefe http://commons.iabc.com/employee/2006/03/23/dont-blame-the-cubicles/#comment-198 Tom Keefe Mon, 03 Apr 2006 20:48:31 +0000 http://commons.iabc.com/employee/2006/03/23/dont-blame-the-cubicles/#comment-198 I remember hating my first work area. I was a reporter at a daily newspaper in Decatur, Ill., where I sat in a row of five desks. Only a 12-in. "wall" separated us from an identical row of five desks across from us. We had zero privacy, and the sound of phones ringing, a half-dozen separate conversations, and typewriters clacking (yes, they were still using typewriters and typesetters) could be very distracting. In other jobs, I've had my own office, but more typically have resided in some form of CubeLand. I remember when one company converted from offices and separate desks to cubes. We grieved over the loss of privacy and storage space. The high cube walls in my current company discourage the kind of quick communication that I enjoyed at the newspaper. I'd like to be able to see whether the person I need to talk with is sitting at her desk, instead of walking across the floor only to see her empty chair and PC screensaver. However, regardless of the office furnishings, my ability to communicate and collaborate in person with coworkers has been fairly constant. The truth is that more often than not, we see people sending emails to coworkers in the next aisle, rather than get up and walk over. I remember hating my first work area. I was a reporter at a daily newspaper in Decatur, Ill., where I sat in a row of five desks. Only a 12-in. “wall” separated us from an identical row of five desks across from us. We had zero privacy, and the sound of phones ringing, a half-dozen separate conversations, and typewriters clacking (yes, they were still using typewriters and typesetters) could be very distracting.

In other jobs, I’ve had my own office, but more typically have resided in some form of CubeLand. I remember when one company converted from offices and separate desks to cubes. We grieved over the loss of privacy and storage space.

The high cube walls in my current company discourage the kind of quick communication that I enjoyed at the newspaper. I’d like to be able to see whether the person I need to talk with is sitting at her desk, instead of walking across the floor only to see her empty chair and PC screensaver.

However, regardless of the office furnishings, my ability to communicate and collaborate in person with coworkers has been fairly constant. The truth is that more often than not, we see people sending emails to coworkers in the next aisle, rather than get up and walk over.

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