The office: a space odyssey

Many of us don’t work in offices anymore; instead we’re crammed by the dozens into barn-like rooms with row upon row of desks, no walls and very little natural light. “Breaking down the silos” they called it some years ago; it was the dawn of a new working age in which those who had once been lucky enough to enjoy an office of their own were hauled out to sit amongst the support staff, and those who had toiled (or played Tetris undetected for hours) below the parapet walls of the cubicle blinked in amazement as the three foot high walls were carted away.

That’s right; we’re all one big happy family of PAs, middle managers and directors sitting side by jowl in an increasingly frantic and noisy workplace where you’re lucky to get ten minutes of silence in which to concentrate before someone cracks a joke or asks if anyone wants tea and then they’re off! and it’s once again it’s as if you’re working in the middle of a cocktail party as people stand behind you talking loudly about last weekend over your head to the guy who sits opposite.

You get increasingly stressed as you realize you’ve been reading the same paragraph for fifteen minutes and despite meaning to write a financial report you’ve actually been absorbing the details of that girl in HR’s hen do in Ibiza. Where will it end? Eventually someone – me maybe, or you – will stand up and shout “Could everyone please just shut up for an hour? Please?!” and there will be an uncomfortable silence, kind of the opposite of the quiet you’ve been craving to do your job properly, and then everyone will start muttering about how highly strung you are and why don’t you just chill?