(ARA) - What’s the hottest topic at your office water cooler?

A) Whether Jim and Pam, the star-crossed lovers of “The Office,” finally get together this fall?

B) Where to go for lunch today?

C) Who’s going to eat the two-day-old, stale doughnut in the box by the coffee machine?

D) How the company’s new open-office furniture plan will facilitate collaboration while maintaining a high standard of individual productivity?

If your office is like most, the hottest conversations are about Jim and Pam or the doughnut ... not the new office plan. And it’s likely conversations can be heard throughout the entire workspace, whether everyone wants to hear them or not. It’s the challenge that comes with the modern open-office design.

More than 50 percent of American offices use some sort of open-plan layout where workers inhabit cubicle workstations without doors or ceilings. The collaboration is great, but these open environments also require increased consideration of others.

A March 2006 survey of more than 2,300 office workers by Harris Interactive and Randstand reveals that 32 percent say an office loud talker is their biggest pet peeve. Annoying cell phone ring tones in the office come in as a close second at 30 percent, while 22 percent voted for voices blaring out of speaker phones as their biggest annoyance.

Sound solutions
“An open office environment not only can be alive and vibrant; it also can be productive,” notes Jim Cahill, vice president of systems for The HON Company. “It all comes down to good design and furnishings. A well-thought-out office space fosters a constructive work atmosphere. A poorly planned one can be very problematic.”

Furniture manufacturers, such as The HON Company, have begun to develop creative solutions for open-office environments -- ones that offer a variety of configurations that promote interaction and teamwork but also offer features that give workers their own workspace and a sense of privacy when they need to work independently.

Panel systems (better known as cubicles … or cubes), such as HON’s versatile Initiate system with Nature Core fiberboard, work in any office setting and can be configured in a wide variety of ways -- enclosed workspaces, teaming, even small meeting areas.

The insides of cubicle walls require “filler” to provide acoustic control and tackability. Instead of using synthetic materials typically used in cubes, HON is now using Nature Core which is made from an annually renewable natural fiber, kenaf, which has been used for years in automotive interiors as insulation against road noise. The HON Company is the first office furniture manufacturer to render this material suitable for exclusive use in panel systems. So, if it can help keep road noise to a minimum in car, just imagine what it can do when it’s used in office cubicle walls.

Creative solutions
There are other simple solutions that help make open office environments conducive to both teamwork and individual projects. Some of it comes down to planning. Some is just good office etiquette. Paying attention to your office’s culture and overall environment is the first step to successful collaboration.

With that in mind, here are other tips to helping everyone in your office survive in the concrete jungle:

* Create private rooms, either with an unused conference room or with panel systems, to give employees a place where they can make personal calls or use a speaker phone in a conference call setting rather than in their work area.
* Designate group-work areas where teams can meet to interact rather than talk amongst private cubicles.
* Lower cubicle panel heights. This provides more freedom, increases cubicle space and flexibility and also allows workers to better personalize their space so it isn’t so Dilbertville.
* Require all employees -- from the CEO to the receptionist -- to set their cell phone ringers to vibrate rather than a ringtone during office hours.
* Turn your computer volume off or wear headphones.
* Take lunch breaks away from your desk. Ergonomically, it’s healthier, and it also doesn’t force everyone else to endure food smells or eating noises.
* Respect each other’s privacy. Don’t hover. Don’t borrow things without asking. Don’t use someone’s computer without permission.

Striking a balance
Contemporary offices thrive on interaction, but a delicate balance exists between maintaining a lively, productive office and keeping such interaction between employees from becoming distracting and annoying.

The combination of flexible modern furniture systems, careful planning and also good business manners help create an open office that promotes healthy interaction amongst workers without productivity-hindering disruptions.

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