It’s week 6 of the Support Driven writing challenge and the prompt suggested we write about our space and where we work.  While I enjoy my current workspace, the prompt really got me thinking about how I miss my cubicle.  Something, you don’t often hear…so I thought I’d write about that instead.

In tech, you’ll often hear an open concept office being used as a recruiting tool or selling point.  However, when you talk to employees that sit in an open office they don’t always love it.

The allure of the open office totally makes sense.  No one wants to work in an office space type place where it’s all cubes and you’re a cog.  The standard corporate hierarchy is erased, everyone has the same desk.  Smart people tend to have their best ideas when collaborating with others.  Businesses want their employees to be empowered to make the best decisions possible.

That allure is fading a little bit.  Startups aren’t so small anymore and funding isn’t quite as easy.  I’ve heard from all types of employees that noise-cancelling headphones are their greatest assets at work.  The constant chatter and conversations are distracting.  It’s hard to focus on the task at hand when a million other things are happening around you.

The solution that I hear most often proposed is a quiet room, so you can focus on your work without distraction.

I love this idea, because personally, I’m not as productive in a quiet space.  I like to have a little noise to tune out, but I understand sometimes you need to focus.

It’s this balance that makes me miss my cube.

Being in Customer Service, there’s always someone on a phone call or discussing an interaction within earshot.  When I sat in a cube it was great.  I had enough of a partition, that I could focus in on my calls as needed and still be involved on things going on around me…if I wanted to be.

I also liked that it was my cube and I could decorate it.  It was my little space.

I think that’s what I miss most about my cube…a little place at the bustling office that was my own.