# Workplace Surgery: open office headphones dilemma

- **Episode:** [128](https://agents.truthliesandwork.com/episodes/128.md) (2024-09-17)
- **Type:** workplace-surgery
- **Tags:** headphones, open-office, productivity
- **Time:** 29:43–33:29 (start 1783s)
- **Listen:** [https://truthliesandwork.com/128?t=1783](https://truthliesandwork.com/128?t=1783)

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[29:43] Leanne Elliott: I wouldn't ban headphones. I think that'd be, that would be the best, most positive note to get off on. Um, do you know what this is? And we've actually, we've actually talked around this quite a bit the last few episodes, I think. So it's probably worth going back if you haven't listened to recent episodes. If we look at the research, then there's a lot of research around design. check out Dr. Craig Knight. Go back to our episodes from Clark Wilde Design Week. He talks a lot about, um, how, um, lean as a concept isn't particularly good for us. All the research shows it sucks creativity, um, productivity, performance, that we do want more collaborative workspaces. So it's— it sounds like you're on the right track creating a more collaborative workplace. But as we heard from Ed Williams last Thursday, who's the CEO and founder of Candy Kittens, who's just opened a very co—
[30:37] Al Elliott: um, co-working, cohesive, cooperative—
[30:43] Leanne Elliott: he's just opened a very collaborative workplace called the Sweet Factory. Um, it's, it's not just about the environment. It, it is of course about creating zones where people need to do the work they need to do, whether that be sitting at a desk, whether it be having conversation, but it's also the psychosocial environment that you're creating to facilitate those interactions. It is about psychological safety, it is about trust, it's about building relationships, it's about that intentionality. People aren't just going to come to a place and go, oh, I know exactly how to use this, if they've never had it before. And I think as well, there's that— what concerns me in your question, and maybe this is just the way you wrote it, that you said I made the decision too. It's a collaborative effort because it's a collaborative workspace. Again, Ed Williams said last week, you know, he talked to the team about how they're currently working, how they currently like to work. So he created zones that were like a coffee shop, like a kitchen, like a sofa, like a desk. Um, so I think that sounds like there's a— maybe you've skipped the step of consultation with your people. Get curious, find out, ask them how they're finding the space, Ask them what they don't like about it. Ask them, is there a reason that you're wearing headphones? Is it because it's too noisy? Do we need to create a quiet space? It could be that this individual is neurodiverse and they need to block out some of the surroundings to get into that state of flow for that high-focus work. There's lots of assumptions that you're making in, I think, how your people work and getting the most out of them. The other thing as well, in terms of the ideation, that does require intention. Yes, you get spontaneous things, but actually, some of the research again shows that if you give people a lead-up, a warning that this ideation is coming, give them a brief, and then actually set a date and time for this, people will come with more unique ideas than they would in a spontaneous brainstorming session. So, it's not that easy, I'm afraid, a ping-pong table in the break room and a couple of beanbags. We need some intention and we need to match that physical environment with the psychosocial environment that we want to create, and that's what workplace culture is
[32:47] Al Elliott: Do you know what? It's a really good point. I hadn't really picked up on the fact that, um, Alex had defined what the workplace was going to be. I also really enjoyed your idea of planned spontaneity. I think that's really quite funny. Um, but, um, yeah, I think it's a bit like saying, um, doing an exercise plan for someone and going, right, well, I've made you an exercise plan without even meeting you or without asking you what your goals are. Uh, you know, it could be like some people want to get what— want dramatic weight loss, some people want to build muscle. Ask them what they want and build that for them. Um, I think also there's, there's other things like if you're not careful, you just hear the stories of someone like Uber who put a slide— actually wasn't Uber, I think it was the, um, who's the guys who went bust? Um, who did, um—
[33:24] Leanne Elliott: Good sign
[33:25] Al Elliott: Well, they did, um, shared workspace, um, WeWork
[33:29] Leanne Elliott: Oh yeah
[33:29] Al Elliott: And they put a slide, I'm sure they put a slide in the, in the office or something thinking that'll be a lot of fun. And of course it, it didn't save them from going bankrupt. So don't listen necessarily to what other people are doing. As Leanne said, it's a really smart idea to go and ask people what they want, how they want to work. And it could be that, you know, that you have got the right environment. It's just people don't feel comfortable to use it because it's totally different to how it was before. We don't know how you had it before, Alex, but I hope that's useful. I think what Leanne said was the key message there is that you have defined how the the environment's going to be. And with respect, you might pay the rent, but it's not down to you how it's, how it's defined. Question number 2, Lee. This is from the owner of a law firm. Now, this is quite interesting as well. For 30 years, our law firm has operated on a traditional schedule with solicitors and staff expected to be in the office from 9 till 6, sometimes later. However, we're facing mounting pressures, particularly from our junior associates