Personal Workspaces

Management's original idea was to create a more organic office environment where every worker would feel as if their six by six cubicle was an extension of their own home. The effort was to make it less sterile, less like an office. It would, the management decided, make their employees more at ease, and lead to an overall better attitude, a sunnier disposition, which would lead to higher productivity.

Whether or not this new initiative would bring results is still yet to be determined, but what it has brought--to no small amusement--is a completely different workspace. Gone are the grayness of bare cubicle walls. Gone are plainly undecorated desks. We are now a panoply of colors, awash in knick-knacks, inundated with photos of family, significant others, and pets.

Greg has long described in excrutiating detail how large his family is. Thanks to management's new decree, we now no longer need to listen to him go through his family tree. It is all there in glossy finish, covering every square inch of free space around his desk and walls.

Sarah, having an abundance of bobblehead dolls at home, decided to relocated about thirty of them to work, and she claims that this is only a tenth of her collection. Now, whenever we stop by her desk, it is both customary and irresistable to tap a few on the head before leaving. She does not enjoy this.

James brought a hammock. It is a miracle of space efficiency that he has been able to fit it inside his small work area. I am dubious that this addition in any way increases his efficiency however.

For myself, I did not bring anything to adorn my walls or desk. I have an MP3 player which I had before they were even allowed because I was bored out of my mind, but that is it. I did add a door, something which is probably outside the rules of the new corporate mantra. Now people must knock before they disturb me, which I find most advantageous to both getting and not getting work done.