Thanks for this post Harold. I had to have a chuckle. I'm one of these types who need my own space and silence to make me think. That's why working in such an open, flexible environment has its disadvantages - but some advantages as well.

Personally, I enjoy the informality of some of the spaces - to go and find a colleague (when you can) for a bit of a chit chat. We also have some nice cushions and pods to sit in, good tea and coffee making facilities. Yes, some biscuits too....

But on the whole, walking into a noisy, open plan office where you can see every computer screen and have no personalised work spaces tends to make me 'scattered' and unproductive.

For example, we are encouraged to move around and not use a desk if we are at meetings most of the day. Instead, we have long benches where we drop our laptop and set up work.

This is akin to me settling to read a classic novel in a play ground full of noisy children. Impossible to concentrate. Totally unproductive.

There are days when I simply can't even get an email response out because of the noise and disruption.

As a result, I've had to change my routine and block out days where I need to focus, reflect and do actual productive work so that I can work from home - or go in early, to seek out a meeting room so that I can work with my thoughts. Luckily, our employer is open to flexible arrangements so they're happy for staff to do this - and there are plenty of meeting rooms where you can go and seek solace.

So my flip is to just work from home as much as I can as I can pump out more productive, meaningful, relevant work that helps my clients 2 hours at home than I can 8 hours in the office.

Here's what it looks like http://lnkd.in/bsu7Xk8