How Do You Find Privacy at the Office?

One of the greatest challenges to office professionals is being able to carve out a time and place to focus on their work while politely deflecting all of the distractions that come our way. Even the most prepared and disciplined employee has difficulty managing the expectations of clients, colleagues and bosses—particularly when they all feel it is no problem at all to call, stop by or request that you visit them immediately to discuss an important matter.

This article elaborates, “That cubes aren't good for concentration most people already know. Panels give the illusion of privacy because you can't see your neighbor, but anyone who has sat in one for more than an hour can tell you that the fabric between you does little to protect you from hearing your neighbor. Offices aren't much better. Even if you have a private office, chances are that you don't get that much focused work done in it. Why? Because when you're there, everyone knows where to find you.”

Some employees will go to extremes in order to find peace of mind at the office, whether this means sitting on the toilet for 25 minutes in the bathroom, taking jaunts around the parking lot to collect their thoughts or hiding in the stairwell while psyching themselves up to lead a big meeting. The truth is most of us do our best work when we’re left alone, but in today’s culture where everyone is connected and accessible in a variety of ways, it is more difficult than ever to establish some alone time.

This reality has led some office professionals to take fairly drastic steps such as coming in on weekends to catch up on the work they weren’t able to accomplish during the week. Still others decide to arrive early or stay late to get there work done. Are you one of these employees? How do you set boundaries and make time for yourself, and your work, at work?

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