Cubicle Etiquette?

zrgn asks: "Our team is moving to an open office type environment in a couple of weeks. The problem is that most of them have never worked in that type of setting before and thus may not know the do's and don'ts associated with a cube farm. I have two questions: what types of cubicle etiquette things have Slashdot readers come across that may help us in the new environment? (ie. don't listen to your voice mail on speaker phone); and What are some creative ways to relay 'cubicle rules' to the rest of the team?"

Comments

Just common couresy

[jtev]

Basicaly just don't do anything that's going to have an unwanted disruptive effect on your coworkers, That doesn't mean that you don't disturb them just make sure that you keep in mind that they can hear you.

Dont stare....

[camilita]

Seriously. If you are not going to talk to somebody, dont stare at their work area without a reason.

People already feel without privacy without the looking.

Re:Dont stare....

[Bitsy Boffin]

*sigh*, have you never thought people might like privacy, for the sake of privacy, most people don't like others "standing over your shoulder" and a cube-farm induces just this (the feeling, not necessarily people doing it).

It's like that feeling that you're being watched. Nobody likes that feeling wether you're doing something you shouldn't or not.

And believe it or not, a person's private life does not only exist outside of the workplace, you can't just check it at the door, sometimes your personal matters intrude into your workday, that's just the way it is, and when they do, you'd like a little respect and privacy.

Re:Dont stare....

[AlecC]

I find that my typing rate drops by about a third and my number of errors doubles if I think someone is watching ove my shoulder. Just nerves. But, from an employers point of view, that would be a serious drop in my productivity.

Don't wear strong perfume/cologne

[SolemnDragon]

Seriously- i worked at one place where the woman near me wore perfume that made my eyes water and my athsma go off... her kid had bought it for her, so she wore it every day until i finally convinced her to stop by threatening to go to HR and discuss with them that i'd already gone over my medical issues with the woman and was having to use my inhaler several times just to get through the mornings that she came to work.

Also, don't transact personal business on the telephone unless you REALLY want the whole office to know about it. That goes for making appointments, calling friends, the works. Sound carries well, and people tend to talk louder when they're on the phone with people they know well, because they're more comfortable.

Don't listen to music without headphones, don't pop popcorn and bring it to your cubby, and remember that anything you put on your wall may be seen by anyone at anytime.

that said, personalising your cubby can make you feel more comfortable. Even hanging colth on the walls is oke in some places, so get a good set of guidelines put out for what IS acceptable as well as what isn't. Offer, if possible, several types of whiteboards, corkboards, whatever, so that people feel that they can customise it at least a little.

Depends on you!

[bluGill]

People tend to hire, and like to be hired by people who are like them. Thus most people will want the same thing. 3:00 nerf ball fight is expected for some, grounds for dissmissial in others. So customise all the rules you read for your enviorment.]

When you read all the funny posts that others have made, try to figgure out how violating that rule can be useful. In tech support you might want to turn up the speakerphone volumn when a really dumb caller is on for instance, so everyone can share the laugh. (or maybe not? what works for you)

Anyone who doesn't decorate their cube with pictures of the kids/spouse, and their "art" is not human and not someone you want to work with. I mention this because some companies try to enforce a no cube decerations policy. That said, keep it up to standards. (Even if everyone in the office is a nudist don't have nude pictures, customers may visit if nothing else)

Make sure their are whiteboards in every cube. I found that the whiteboard was the most useful thing in my cube, and so did most of the others I knew.

Basically, common sense...

[jonadab]

* Think before you act. If it would annoy *you*, chances are
it may annoy the guy nextdoor, also.
* Keep the noise down. If you must have sound from your PC or
stereo, get headphones. If you need to carry on a conversation,
go to the person, rather than yelling across the room.
* Don't do anything you see done in a Dilbert cartoon.
* Shower or bathe at least once a week whether you need it or not.

There may be a handful of other things peculiar to the environment,
but I'm certain that you can get 95% of the way there with basic
everyday common sense.

Re:Flaming Nurf Darts Are A No-No

[fm6]

Which kind of points out the uselessness of this kind of list making. Show common sense and consideration. And don't think it's beneath your dignity to apologize. Everything else comes from that.

The Golden Rule

[achurch]

Just remember what they taught you back in elementary school:

Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

Others have posted good lists of what to do and what not to do, but it all boils down to the same thing: if something would annoy you, then it will also annoy others, so don't do it. And remember that not everyone shares your tastes.

I work in a Japanese office; for those of you not familiar with Japanese offices, they basically consist of huge rooms (my office has about 90 people in it) with rows upon rows of desks, and if you're lucky a back wall to your desk. It takes getting used to, but if you can deal with having other people around while you work, it's not that big a deal. It may also serve as an impetus to reduce your Slashdot browsing time. (Or then again, maybe not...)

Seen it done well, and done badly

[travail_jgd]

Our team is moving to an open office type environment in a couple of weeks. The problem is that most of them have never worked in that type of setting before and thus may not know the do's and don'ts associated with a cube farm.

I've been in a couple of environments where cube farms have worked well, and a couple where they've caused more problems than solved.

Since you're moving into a new environment, make sure that a couple of things are taken care of. These are more management-oriented, but they're things to think about.

• Verify that all of the office equipment is conveniently located for everyone. Having to walk down the hall, around the corner and down another hall just to get a one-page print-out gets very tiresome and wastes a lot of time.
  
• Try to plan for additional staff. Any new hires won't do well if they're stuck by themselves on the other side of the building because you ran out of cubes.
  
• If possible, have a meeting room (or just an unused office) for your group only. Personal calls can be made there, and having 3 or more people discuss projects is much easier. This also works well as a lunch-room!
  
• Be careful of "land-grabs" from other departments. I know one company that was pressed for space, and put minimum-wage phone-slaves right next to the programmers. (Think "sharing cube walls".) The minimum wagers didn't care about etiquette, so their radios were turned up, conversations were loud, and office supplies (including chairs!) were "borrowed" from other cubes.
  
• Get a large wastebasket that you can put in a somewhat isolated area. Let everyone know that any food-related trash should be put into the large wastebasket, and not at their desk trashbins. It's one thing to have someone eat something stinky -- another to deal with it for the rest of the day.
  
• Try to get locking drawers for the cubes. While common sense says that people shouldn't leave anything of value around, some people do need to store medication and other personal items.
  

For the general etiquette tips...

• As everyone else has said, keep the noise levels down. Headphones are good, and speakerphones are usually bad.
  
• Announce yourself before entering someone's cube. There is nothing worse than having a coworker walk right up behind you and suddenly start talking. Wearing headphones compounds this. (There are little "rear-view" mirrors that aren't too expensive in case anyone doesn't get the hint.)
  
• Don't hover outside someone's cube "door" if the person is busy. If the person acknowledges you, then you can sit down. Standing around like an idiot isn't going to make anything go faster. Standing around like an idiot for 15 minutes annoys you and them.
  
• Don't throw things over cube walls. Murphy's Law dictates that beverages will attract projectiles in the worst possible ways.
  
• If anyone has a walkman or portable stereo, write down the serial numbers. If (when?) it vanishes, there's some proof of ownership in case it appears elsewhere in the building.
  
• You don't work in a deli. Just because you're in an open environment doesn't mean that users can just walk in and place requests.
  

Re:l'etiquette d'cube

[Jucius Maximus]

"3) ditch the amusing new mail sound. Silence is golden."

Ditch all OS sound effects. Whenever I set up a new machine for someone I always turn off the sound effects. This is especially important on laptops so they don't wake up all the people within a 10 foot radius on the train.