“A lot of this seems like it ought to be kindergarten ‘How to get along with others 101’,” said Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, an international workplace consulting firm based in Carlsbad, California.īut for open office floor plans to succeed, firm ground rules on everything from cleanliness to desk hoarding to quiet hours and employee education are essential, Lister said. Other contentious issues: loud talkers, smelly lunches, smelly officemates, colleagues who hoard unassigned workspaces they don’t even use and co-workers who leave empty or broken staplers on the desk for the next person to deal with. A messy desk or stinky trash can is only the beginning. With more companies around the globe moving to shared workspaces, there’s more opportunity for employees working in close, wall-free proximity to drive each other mad. Welcome to the dark side of the brave new collaborative workplace. “Only when the fruit flies got bad did someone finally take it out.”

“Trash cans would overflow,” Janisse said. The company’s laissez-faire attitude toward cleanliness has extended to the garbage receptacles throughout the office, too. “There are constantly coffee cups and papers everywhere.”

“No one claims responsibility for the mess on the desks,” Janisse said. So is collaboration.īut workspace democracy comes at a price. On the plus side, transparency and morale are high. “Our chief executive officer has the same office space as our interns.” “There are no assigned desks,” said Melanie Janisse, director of publications at the two-year-old, 70-employee company. Influence & Co, a Columbia, Missouri, communications firm, prides itself on working in an open floor plan office.

Openoffice space between table