icon-search

Enter a serch term to see suggested pages.

Close
popup-close

Enquire

    What we do
    Workplace Consultancy
    icon-consultancy
    Design & Build
    icon-design
    Workplace Furniture
    icon-furniture
    Workplace Technology
    icon-technology
    Our Story
    Our People
    Careers
    Academy
    Sustainability
    Responsibility
    World of Work
    icon-case-study-red
    icon-view_1
    icon-blog
    icon-whitepaper
    icon-video
    icon-360
    Claremont Claremont
    Chat
    Search
    • What we do
    • Our work
    • Our thinking
    • Our story
    • Contact us
    • Enquire
    • What we do
      Sub Menu
      • Overview
      • Workplace Consultancy
      • Design & Build
      • Workplace Furniture
      • Workplace Technology
    • Our work
    • Our thinking
    • Our story
      Sub Menu
      • Overview
      • Our People
      • Careers
      • Academy
      • Sustainability
      • Responsibility
      • World of Work
    • Contact us
    • Enquire

    Blog

    Achieving concentration in the office.

    2 November 2020 | by Ann Clarke

    3
    MIN

    read-circle
    Achieving concentration in the office.

    Home → Our Thinking → Achieving concentration in the office.

    In 46% of our Annual Insight Workplace Trend Report surveys, focussed working comes out as the most poorly supported activity in the workplace.

    post-line-1

    Here we identify some of the main reasons why and suggest ways to mitigate distraction and create optimal environments for the production of meaningful work:

    Noise

    The background buzz of an office environment is generally seen as beneficial,  even simulating. However, disruptive loud speech or office equipment noise is a significant detriment to focussed working.

    Being located on a thoroughfare, near a tea point or shared social workplace facility causes erratic peaks in noise generation that can be disruptive to those sensitive to noise distraction. It has been found that an individual takes up to 20 minutes to regain focus after a distraction has occurred.

    At desk distraction

    People often use VC and other digital sharing technologies at their desks due to the lack of more appropriate alternative settings, which can cause distraction to others. Similarly, collaboration with colleagues at desk can also be highly disruptive to those working close by. The answer is to provide more appropriate settings for collaboration away from the desk along with the appropriate workplace protocols to encourage respectful behaviour and concern for others.

    Lack of alternative spaces

    The open plan workplace is generally regarded as a benefit to teamwork and team cohesion. However, when concentration is required open plan is not always suitable. Many individuals have indicated that they find concentrating in a noisy or busy setting difficult. This may result in sub-standard work, work that takes longer to accomplish or increased levels of stress.

    Many, we have noted, take concentration tasks away from the workplace and choose to perform them at home.   Workplaces can make better provision for concentration-led tasks by including dedicated quiet zones, rooms or pods.

    Mobile technology

     To enable people to choose the right setting for the task in hand, mobile technology is a must yet it can add considerably to an already noisy workplace. Interestingly, those tethered by technology to a fixed desk location are far less likely to be able to perform optimally on a variety of tasks. An observation we have made post occupation in some activity-based workplaces is that individuals with an allocated fixed desk, and often fixed technology, felt that they were missing out on the benefits of agile working. This was effectively creating a disenfranchised group within an organisation.

    Focus on collaboration 

    For a while, the focus of office design has been on deconstructing departmental siloes and encouraging meaningful team collaboration. The pendulum may now have swung too far to the detriment of focussed working. Ill-sited or inappropriate collaboration settings in the workplace can result in both noise and visual distraction. Instead, these spaces should be sited in more ‘tucked away’ locations where regular collaboration and the inevitable noise this creates, do not detract from the concentration of others.

    In the face of Covid-19, our collective experience of knowledge-based work is changing. While the role of the workplace must change in response, we can be certain that concentration will always be a requisite.  The greatest challenge for employers is to put more focus on the importance of concentration and to cater for it by creating workplaces that are rich in choice and flexibility.  With the right approach to office interior design and activity based working – concentration and collaboration can work in harmony.

    To find out more about the findings from our annual insight survey of more than 43,000 UK employees and the changes affecting the workplace, download a copy of our Annual Insight Workplace Trend Report here…

    Author

    Ann Clarke
    Director of Future Workplace

    Related thinking

    cs-line-9

    Whitepaper

    Insight Report – Meaningful Workplaces

    Blog

    9 Ways to Embed Culture in Your Workplace

    Video

    Taylor Wimpey – A video case study

    Whitepaper

    Whitepaper: The Strategic Value Of The Workplace.

    home-line-4

    Your trusted guide

    From workplace consultancy through design, to the build and beyond. Whether you use all or part of our capabilities, you’ll find we’re a safe pair of hands.

    home-line-5
    icon-plus

    Workplace Consultancy

    Helping you achieve the optimal combination of people, space and technology, enabling your organisation to realise its maximum potential in a FutureFlexible way.

    icon-plus

    Design & Build

    Claremont’s comprehensive in-house capability takes care of it all, it’s an end-to-end solution that mitigates risk, accelerates timescales and controls costs.

    icon-plus

    Workplace Furniture

    We believe furniture has a huge impact on the people using it. We aren't limited to a specific range of suppliers, so finding exactly the right products for you or even designing you something unique is at the heart of our approach.

    icon-plus

    Workplace Technology

    Just the right tech fully integrated with your space gives you that all-important agile and collaborative environment.

    What we do

    Get in touch

    home-line-10
    logo-ig
    logo-twitter
    logo-linkedin
    logo-pinterest

      Warrington (Head Office)
      • T: +44 (01925) 284 000
      • E: hello@claremontgi.com

      Claremont House
      The Breeze
      2 Kelvin Close
      Birchwood
      Warrington
      WA3 7PB

      Bristol
      • T: +44 (01275) 372 342
      • E: hello@claremontgi.com

      Origin Workspace
      40 Berkeley Square
      Bristol
      BS8 1HP

      © Claremont 2020

      Design and build by

      Future
      • Privacy Policy
      • Anti-Slavery Policy
      • Terms and Conditions
      This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this.
      Dismiss
      Privacy & Cookies Policy

      Privacy Overview

      This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
      Necessary
      Always Enabled

      Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

      Non-necessary

      Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

      SAVE & ACCEPT