Does your work space suit all your employees?

Dear Jean at JMR

I am an employee of a small charity that has a number of young employees. The office is open plan, with shared facilities and a separate meeting room. The office is noisy, and I struggle to work whilst others are talking – sometimes about work and other times about what they did at the weekend. I have spoken to my boss who also seems unsure what to do but was open to ideas. Anna

 Hi Anna thanks for sharing. You sound very frustrated with your working conditions. Everyone has different ways they produce their best work. Working with a sports facility I was able to address this same issue. Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) tool employees were able to recognize the work space that enabled them to concentrate and produce their best work. They identified different preferences: some employees liked to chat whilst working and could switch from what they were doing at the weekend to working, whilst others needed a quiet space to work. Sylvia said, ‘After completing the MBTI workshops with Jean, we were able to set up the office to suit everyone. We created a quiet area and a communal area, so employees could decide where they wanted to work and when. This flexible arrangement meant all employees met their targets and were not disturbed by others when they had an important piece of work to complete. I could not recommend Jean enough. She enabled us to create a space that ensured everyone’s needs were met which ultimately improved our outcomes’.

Anna can I suggest you show this letter to your employer and book some MBTI sessions.