How Bosses Can Maximize Cube Farm Productivity

Whether you call them by their common name, cube farms, or the more formal term of office systems furniture they are a common sight in many offices. They are so prevalent that Scott Adams' comic strip Dilbert regularly lampoons them. Initially hailed as a way to increase office productivity by providing more privacy to workers, these cube farms are now being seen to have the opposite effect in many cases. Worker distraction increases and worker productivity decreases.

How Can I Get More Productivity From My Cube Farms?

If you can't get rid of the cube farms at your office, the next best option is to improve the productivity of the workers in those cube farms. Workers are more productive when they are motivated. Find out what motivates them and provide it. Figure out what demotivates them and clear away as much of that as you can. Remember that these workers are individuals so the motivation and demotivation factors will vary between individuals.

When it comes to the cube farms themselves, there are four key factors that you can adjust to improve the workers' satisfaction with them. These factors are layout, light, sound, and environment.

What makes a better layout for a cube farm?

Probably the most visible aspect of a cube farm is the physical layout of the cubicles. To increase worker satisfaction with the cubicle layout consider size, shape, location, height, and degree of personalization.

• Size
  As a rule of thumb, workers will prefer a cubicle that is "larger" over one that is "smaller". You need to balance that against square foot costs. This can be done with a simple cost-benefit analysis. The easiest way to balance these factors is to look at what the individual worker needs to do, what tools they need, and how they work. For a Customer Service Representative (CSR) who spends their shift sitting behind a computer at their desk and talking on the phone a smaller office may be needed than for a graphic designer who needs to layout floor plans, models, and color swatches rather than just viewing them on a computer screen.
• Shape
  Rectangular shapes are most common. They fit best into the rectangles that most offices building are. There is less "wasted" space than with other shapes. Here again, however, the key is to consider the worker. Right-brained, creative people often feel trapped in regular, repeating shapes. They feel stymied and less creative. These people could benefit from floor plans that make use of curved shapes. Logical, left-brained workers will be less demotivated by repetitive shapes.
• Location
  To make people more effective, you want to provide them easy access to the people they need to work with. This may mean putting all the software engineers together, but it also means keeping them close to the test engineers. Remember that closeness is not as important as access. A designer and a tester who are across the wall from each other actually have less access to each other than if they are across the hall.
• Height
  Simply put, the higher the wall the lower the communication, but the higher the wall the greater the privacy. You have to balance these competing needs. The key, again, is to look at what the worker is doing and whether they need to be communicating with others informally or they need privacy to be able to concentrate on the work at hand. Consider also the personality of the workers. To achieve maximum productivity, introverts will need more privacy than extroverts in most cases.
• Personalization
  The more you can let individuals customize and personalize their workspace, the more satisfied they will be. It is prudent to set clear boundaries ahead of time on what is and is not permissible, but beyond that you will want to give them as much latitude as possible. Think of it like a dress code for cubicles.

Light

Light is a key factor is both cube farm layout and employee productivity. Some employees are happier working in a dark hole where their computer screen is easier to see. Others need high light levels to read other documents on their desk. Still others need natural light as they work with colors. The key is to not mix individuals with those competing needs in the same areas. You can put workers that nee light on exterior walls and the others further inside. Or you can group workers who prefer less light into areas where you can turn off most of the overhead lights. Here again, the key to how much light is needed depends on both the job they are doing and the individual themselves.

Sound

Probably the complaint heard most often in cube farms is the noise. Because most cubicles have only three sides and no "top" there is very little sound absorption. Whatever noise is generated in the cube farm travels easily. For spaces where creative teams need to feed off each other's energy, this can be a good thing. But when you have people that need to concentrate on what they are doing (specification writers, for example) or be able to hear customers on the phone (like CSRs) lower noise levels are beneficial. If you can't reduce the noise level, consider generating "white noise" to mask some of it.

Environment

Finally, it is critical to maintain the proper environment in the work area. This means adjusting the heating, cooling, and ventilation to appropriate levels. Just as sound travels easily in a cube farm, so do odors. Whether that odor is cooking popcorn smell from the lunch room or someone wearing too much fragrance, a well-designed air handling system can reduce the effects.

Bottom Line

Cube farms are not particularly conducive to high productivity. However, you can maximize the productivity of your employees in such work spaces by paying attention to the needs of their individual jobs and of the individual workers themselves. By paying attention to the cube farm layout, lighting, sound levels and environment you improve the motivation of your employees and, as a result, their productivity.