Desk move - had own office now sharing cannot concentrate

[Topteenmum1]

I have had to move offices . I have had my own lovely office since starting at my work place . However our team has just taken on a new member and I have had to move from my office , so a more senior part time member uses it . I am now in the more senior persons room with the new team member . We are sitting opposite each other in the room .

i just cannot concentrate, I have already made mistakes , my routine is disrupted and I generally feel out of sorts. My productivity has stopped and I cannot get organised. I used to love going to work and now I hate it .

I do know lots of people work in open plan offices , but I am not used to this and one of the reasons i took this position was because I was told I would have my own office .

What can I do ? I can’t use earphones as I don’t like them as I can’t concentrate. I did mention to my boss yesterday that I feel out of sorts and she said I would get used to it . I don’t think I will .

any advice .

Can you work from home, even part of the week?

So what is the problem? Why is it affecting you so much? Is your colleague chatting, listening to music or is it just them being there?
If they are noisier than you are used to, have a chat with them.
If the latter... then this is entirely your problem and you need to get used to it. By the way, you will! Just give it a few days.

I'm the same OP. Get some good headphones and make a few playlists of music that you can work to.

You have to get used to it. If you got a new job elsewhere there's no guarantee you'd get an office.

You probably felt weird when you first had your own office space.

What is it that the new team member is doing that means you can’t concentrate? Are you face to face with them? Would it help to reconfigure the desks so that you are not looking directly at each other if so?

I understand that another person there could be distracting - obviously in terms of chatting more, etc - but I’m not sure I understand why it means you’re making mistakes and you cannot get organised. Surely you just organise your work space how you want it and crack on with the job?

I agree with your boss that you’ll get used to it - at least you should be able to, surely. Just give yourself time to work out a new routine and settle in to it.

After 4-5 months of being in my current job I repositioned my desk. I had began to find it very distracting with the amount of people coming into our v small office and then getting keys from the cabinet next to me

I now sit side on instead of facing towards the door. It's not distracting me now. I do have other distractions though as my manager plays music too loudly. My colleague is also suffering with the new LED lights that were installed recently, he's planning on moving his desk as they are too bright. Small offices are v challenging places

Hi, first of all I hear you. When we have worked one way for a long time, we get used to it.

The issue for you is to work out what specifically is the issue, and then to work out what can be done.

There are two main things to think about - is it something the other person is doing, or is it something inherent in you?

Your boss is being a bit of a crap manager by dismissing it out of hand, not everyone does get used to it.

How long have you worked there, in your own office, out of interest? Have you shared an office before?

I think there will be lots of things you can do to improve this, but what to do depends on you being brutally honest with yourself about the specifics of what is causing the problem for you.

Can you get used to headphones?

I have worked in my own office for 1.5 years . We are the only other people in my office sharing a space . All other staff have their own rooms , at all levels .

I am taking ear phones into today to try that .

we are literally sitting opposite each other . With our desks up against each other

I would find that challenging. Can you rearrange office so you aren't facing each other?

I had to make this shift years ago, though I'm in a different job now and I have my own office again. I moved from a lovely individual office to a big one with around 10 people in it. I have adhd so am easily distracted.

It is a big change, but bluntly speaking, you just have to get used to it. There is no point in whingeing about it as they cannot simply create extra space for you. Give it a few weeks and see what happens. If you're still struggling to adapt, mention it once more to your line manager. If they say then that there is nothing they can do, then you'll have to make a decision as to whether you want to suck it up or look for another job. Of course, there are no guarantees that you'd get your own office in a new job either...

Unfortunately not because of plugs etc . It did just have one desk in their .

Earphones or headphones? Headphones & white noise or cafe noises is what one of my colleague uses.

Through the pandemic I continued to go in the office, due to difficulties at home, while most people worked from home . I actually liked the quiet environment. I hate it now people are coming back in and it’s busy again.

Could you ask to have a room divider or freestanding partition put in between the desks? Or failing that get a big plant pot for your desk to make a green wall?

I second the desk divider suggestion. I’m in a similar situation and have two monitors and carefully positioned file boxes, plus headphones

Oh I feel your pain. When interviewed for the job, I was shown one of two offices in an open plan space and told it was mine (based on seniority/ nature of work). Then a new (less senior but confidential type of role( was hired and I came in to find him sitting at my desk. The office has now been promised to yet another new starter. I am now open plan for first time in 20odd years and have the two chattiest people with apparently sod all work to do on either side, plus a competing radio and stereo. It’s intolerably loud and there are no secure spaces for confidential calls / zooms. Added to the fact I turn up to have all meetings on n zoom, I have solved the problem by turning up 🆙 only once a week. I’ve raised it in my review but it is what it is. They won’t magic up an office so either they accept that if the job needs doing it’s done from home or they find a new staff member. I appreciate that’s a luxury approach to take.

Why were you singled out to share?

Unfortunately not because of plugs etc . It did just have one desk in their

Surely they can afford power boards/extension cords so you can move your desks around?

Strategies used at my workplace.
Desk dividers - if you can't see each other it helps focus.
Headphones - to reduce background noise.
Staggering WAH so although 4 people share the office, they are never all in on the same day.
Making use of quiet times - person A in office when they know person B is elsewhere in clinic or at meetings.
Acknowledging different people's characters so not putting the most noise sensitive person to share with the loudest person.

Well you're allowed to make suggestions to get the space working for you both - having the desks facing each other because there's only one power socket is madness!

Have a think about what would work better for you and tell your boss this is what you need! Power adaptors would be a start. Also - having pretty much always worked in an open plan office - it's very unusual to not have a desk divider when two people share. Get the office supplies brochure out and make a list.