When Jim Laird, president of Postmark USA in Austin, Texas wanted to discuss a delicate personnel matter away from the glass walls of his office, he recently met with a customer in a stairwell. The two of them were so unnerved by the sound of people opening and closing doors above and below them that they retreated to Mr. Laird’s car in the parking lot.
How can glass walls in office spaces affect the mood and productivity of employees and affect business development? While glass walls and open offices may bring more efficiency, some complain about a loss of privacy.
Example: A social media vice president working in an open cubicle, with the only available conference rooms having glass walls. In the interest of privacy, this vice president met customers at a nice restaurant to discuss discrete matters…leaving the glass wall cubicle and conference room empty. Business development took a back seat to glass wall office efficiency.
Amid a push toward openness in the workplace, more people are working in glass offices or conference rooms. According to a 2010 survey by the International Facilities Management Association, Houston, 68 percent of U.S. offices have an “open plan” design with workspaces separated by low or no walls. The remaining office and conference rooms are often glass walls.
Employers cite better communication and collaboration, lower real-estate and energy costs, more natural light and expansive outdoor views as a justification for glass walls. Many employees say the light and openness improve their mood to enhance business development efforts.
Some companies are fine-tuning the designs to make them more conducive to privacy and business development. Providing the need for individual privacy for phone calls, enlightened companies are adding private rooms.
Sensitive employees often want to move potentially embarrassing meetings away from offices or conference rooms with a glass wall. If a manager is meeting with an employee to ask, "'Why are business development efforts lacking?' or 'Why did we not create a business development plan to attract a desirable prospect'" a glass wall office leaves no place to be discrete.
Lowering blinds or turning on electronic screens that make glass opaque doesn't help: Office personnel still rush to message co-workers that somebody "is getting in trouble." The employees in an office or conference room might as well be on stage.
The solution? A combination of offices and conference rooms with glass walls are fine…as long as you provide an adequate number of “privacy offices and a conference room” for sensitive matters. Your business development efforts may just depend on how many glass walls your office contains.
Mike McCann
Mike-at-GlobalBusinessCafe.com
