You Won't Find Me in My Office, I'm Working

Last week the New York Times ran an interesting article exploring how employees are getting outside their normal workspaces to get more work done. The idea is that not a lot of actual work is being done at their desks. With all the distractions and interruptions, people are finding their "white space" where creativity and momentum can grow and thrive. These "white spaces" are vast and varying depending on the individual. Busy coffee shops... a quiet corner in a library. Some progressive companies are actually encouraging people to find their "white space" and are taking huge steps to create these spaces on campus. The NYT times writes...

Technology companies are eliminating assigned space for open floor plans. Cisco Systems, Google and Sun Microsystems have already knocked down partitions. This month, Intel began testing alternative floor plans at three locations — creating open work areas with clusters of armchairs, library-style tables with laptop plugs, electronic white boards where inspired doodles can be transferred to e-mail, and a variety of conerence rooms when privacy is needed. It is not just the high-tech firms that are becoming cozier.

The creative industries — such as advertising and design — are embracing the approach, too. At ?What If! (yes, that is really the name, punctuation and all) an “innovations company” (that seems to mean marketing) with a Manhattan outpost, employees never sit in the same place two days in a row. This is known as “hot desking,” said Nina Powell, the managing director of the United States office, and the purpose is to give workers a perspective that changes with the task.

When the work requires collaboration and interaction, she said, the communal tables are the place to be. When the work is more introspective, there are cafe-style booths providing quiet and privacy.

What is your favorite and most productive "white space?"