Cubicle farms with no doors have employees facing constant interruptions and employers bemoaning lost productivity. This is especially true in the dangerous “afternoon slump” period when workers are looking for some stimulation from caffeine, sugary snacks, and office gossip.
Various studies show that even a 2-minute interruption can result in 20 minutes of lost productivity while employees get back to speed on what they were doing.
Wearing earphones or earbuds while working, even when not listening to music, may be a subtle signal, but it is banned in some companies. And using an empty chair to block entrance to a cubicle can just result in the rogue interrupter just sitting down for a chat.
Now an enterprising company has developed a customizable remedy to the problem—the CubeGuard®—a retractable message barrier that extends across cubicle openings or office doors using magnets or hook-and-loop strips to repel coworkers and excel productivity.
The company website says the CubeGuard is also a communication “signaling tool” because there are a variety of messages that can be conveyed on the device.
Messages available range from “Do Not Disturb” to “Working from Home” to “Out to Lunch” in plain graphics or tasteful designs. The product is also customizable, so your companies or workers can “build your own” message.
The company also takes suggestions, which have ranged from the polite “Quiet Please, I Need to Focus,” to “Dedicated Work Time—Please E-mail,” to a pirate emoticon stating “Keep Out” or even “Enter at Your Own Risk”!
The company website features a quote, “This is a product that understands the root cause of all workplace problems—other people.” The quote is from Scott Adams, creator of the comic strip “Dilbert,” which is, fittingly, a design available on the product.