Most people don’t really like other people

We have collaboration pods here at the KIRO Radio office. Before that, some people had desks, and some people had cubicles. For the most part, people who have offices with doors decide what the rest of our work environments will be. If you work inside, I’m sure it’s pretty much the same for you.

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Turns out, it seems like the open office concept has failed. At least that’s what the experts are saying. Nearly everyone at my radio station uses some kind of shielding mechanism that screams, “Don’t collaborate with me!” Headphones, decorations that stick up past the mini-collaboration glass in an effort to recreate the cubicle, or just the old fashion stink eye when you try to talk while a co-worker is busy.

I bring this up because there’s a new school of thought that will be invading your office soon. In a recent Seattle Times article, office designers are introducing the “palette of places.” I’ll pause here to allow you to eye roll for just a second.

Get ready for team spaces, moveable walls, and isolation rooms. It should be more like isolation phone booths. At least that’s what the photo looks like.

Here’s the thing that office designers and managers forget. The vast majority of people don’t really like the vast majority of people. Just because we work in the same industry doesn’t mean we all want to be pals. It’s human nature.

Think about it for a second. How many people do you come in contact with over the course of a week at work? A few dozen? A hundred? Maybe a thousand? Now how many of those do you actually want on your team? How many people do you really want to collaborate with? Five? Maybe 10, max.

At the station, we now have a Jock Lounge. It’s a room lined with computers, and a few white boards on one wall. I actually like it. But not because it necessarily facilitates collaboration, but because it’s semi-private, and I can get some work done in there.

The other day, I arrived at work and went into the Jock Lounge. Candy, Don, and producer Jacob were already in there on work stations. They were all working. I did my thing, printed some stuff out and had to go to a meeting. We never said a word to each other. It was great. And I like all three of them.

People aren’t dumb. They will naturally gravitate towards their tribe. They will form their own teams whether or not there’s a designated team space. If office designers really wanted to make happy workers, they would give away free food and build some nap rooms. Seriously. People would love it.

Here’s my prediction: There will be a line of people waiting for the isolation rooms and the team spaces will be a ghost town.