It can be fantastic to share an office! Isolation is something that is quite difficult for those that work at home independently. The chance to enjoy some collaboration, to possess some help with your job, or just to laugh together once in awhile can produce the work-at-home experience a lot more pleasant. But combined with the upside come some probable pitfalls.
You aren’t good candidates for a common office if:
One enjoys music while working and another desires absolute silenceYou both have to speak on the phone a lot and at the exact same time One believes 65º is comfortable and another shivers when it drops below 70ºYou have different notions of what constitutes a fresh officeIf you try sharing an office with someone whose work style and relaxation demands are too different from yours instead of tossing about ideas, you might end up tossing each other out.
If nothing listed above is a problem, a shared office may be right for you. Below are a number of different office structures with observations about how they help the individuals working in them to peacefully co-exist.
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Interaction style — Independent: Facing away from each other is a fantastic arrangement as soon as your need for discussion is minimal. It also works best for everyone who finds themselves easily distracted by the motions of another individual. Rolling chairs permit you to conveniently scoot across to another desk if you need to work on anything else together.
Storage: The drawers and cubbies to both sides of the desks may be accessible by individual without disrupting the other.
Phone use: If you both need to use the phone once in awhile, the further apart you’re the greater. If you both need to use the phone a good deal, you are not good candidates for a shared office. You won’t be able to hear yourself think if you are both talking at the exact same moment.
Interaction style — Independent: A long L-shaped desk can work as well as desks which face away from each other for those that need some separation of space. The desks will need to be long enough that you don’t back to another person when going back away from the desk to get up.
Robert Granoff
Interaction style — Collaborative: Facing each other across a large desk could be a fantastic arrangement for two individuals who spend the majority of their time interacting with each other. Additionally, it may be a nice arrangement if the two people just particularly enjoy each other’s company and aren’t easily distracted. This would also work better for just two individuals that aren’t on the telephone. It would be quite embarrassing for two people on phone conversations at the exact same moment.
Storage: inside this office the majority of the storage room is behind one of the desks. A window is behind the desk on the left side. If both people will need to get the storage often, it might become annoying to the person closest the storage to possess another person in their space too often. If you need access to the exact same storage, then try to locate it where both can reach it without bothering another individual.
Lighting: Have you been comfortable with the same amount of light? These desks equally have ample all-natural light in the windows and an equal number of light coming from ceiling fittings. Desk lamps would impact the light for both people.
James Patrick Walters
Storage: Can you every need your own storage? This office would accommodate individuals who work collaboratively but possess their own different items to shop and access. Providing at least some individual storage is good so that you’ve got your own pencils, stapler, paper — whatever you need very often.
Comfort: Exactly what exactly does every individual require to be comfortable? Sharing a workplace does not mean which you need to have identical work locations. Every individual’s desires ought to be taken under consideration. Not long ago, I helped customers who had quite different needs for relaxation but really wished to talk about their home office. One felt comfortable sitting at a desk to perform her job and she desired powerful task lighting. Her partner hated sitting at a desk and instead wanted a large comfortable chair to curl up with her notebook or novels — and she desired soft lighting.
This office might have been designed for a similar pair. There is a desk and chair with a fantastic desk lamp for one individual, while there is also a comfortable chair with a side table lit lightly from a wall sconce for another individual.
Space requirements: What workspace does each person need? It isn’t always identical. Even when two people both utilize desks and do the exact same type of work, one may have a style where they like to spread out everything on their desk, while another likes to keep things more streamlined. If the person who wants larger desktop area does not get it, they might end up spreading out onto another person’s area or onto joint areas, making another person feel like their space has been invaded. To prevent friction, assess workspace needs independently and provide accordingly.
Eisner Design LLC
Interaction style — Semi-independent: Can you every work on your own, but often should check out something together like blueprints or drawings? It is easier to look at things together when you sit next to each other. Within this office, both occupants have a nice view out the window and can work by themselves and look up to consider without staring directly at each other.
Storage: The common storage works nicely off to one side where both can easily reach everything.
Martha O’Hara Interiors
Interaction style — Semi-independent: Can you occasionally work separately and occasionally wish to sit together talking things over?
This office has covered with an extra long desk area split by drawers for independent work, plus cozy swivel chairs for all those fun brainstorming sessions.
Lighting: Every individual has her own task lighting so she can adjust lighting to her personal taste.
To sum things up:
1. First, determine if you’re good candidates for shared office space by discovering individual needs for silent, neatness, comfort, and phone usage.
2. Organize desks facing toward or away from each side-by-side or other, based on interaction styles.
3. Position shared storage so that both can get it without bothering each other.
4. Provide individual storage and storage things so every individual has what they need whenever they need it without having to borrow and forth.
5. If lighting tastes are different, give each person their own adjustable task lighting and arrange desks so every can control their own light.
6. Accommodate differences in relaxation requirements like different chair styles.
7. Permit distance apart for phone usage. Constant phone use by both individuals is an indicator that shared office space isn’t a fantastic option.
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