Storm Troopers in the Office?

Now back in office for fewer disruptions?

“Hey, have you got a minute?”

Can’t help hearing that loud phone conversation in the next cubicle.

Wow! That’s a lot of coughing and sneezing across the hall. Wonder what gives?

“Could you use earphones, so I don’t hear your music?”

Loud group laughter. “Wonder what I’m missing?”

“I forgot how long it takes to commute in rush hour. What a waste!”

“Arrrgggh! He makes me so angry!”

That’s such an obnoxious ringtone.

“Do you HAVE TO click your pen while you think?”

“It’s so cold in here!”

How much of this have you forgotten after working from home these past 20 months? Did you think going back to the central office was going to bring much-desired quiet and peace after hearing kids, pets, partner, lawnmowers and leaf blowers, video game shoot-ups, and washing machine alarms at home?

We’ve heard from clients, and experienced ourselves, the distractions of working from home. We’ve had interruptions from family and friends, noises from outside through poorly insulated windows and inside from people and technology. We fooled ourselves about multitasking while doing laundry, cooking meals, and hiding our cameras on Zoom calls. That craft project, lawn maintenance, or closet clean-out seemed more appealing than the spreadsheet data entry project due Friday.

Oh, to get to a corporate office and away from our distractions. We’re better able to foc…hmmm. Is that fresh coffee I smell from the break room?

As large factions of the corporate workforce now contend with management and owners wanting them in their offices again, consider the pros and cons of being in centralized physical spaces. Of course there continue to be the health and safety concerns brought on by the pandemic being far from “over” (science, not politics). Much has been covered about this.

Yet, how about other aspects of being in a corporate office? Is the grass really greener there than at home? There are a set of distractions from focus that we may have forgotten about as we settled into having our cats crawl across our keyboards and dogs curled among the cables on the floor. A recent Wall Street Journal article (see link at the end of this Leadership Letter) reminded me that while there are collaboration, communication, and career advancement visibility pros to being at the office, there are also focus and productivity challenges you must re-learn to manage. Here are a couple situations most-likely to arise in the office and some tips for managing them.

Boundaries…set some. The have-you-got-a-minutes can turn into hours away from your tasks and projects requiring focus. Consider that a moment of interruption takes approximately 23 Minutes to recover and refocus on what you were doing. (Source: Inc Magazine) One of the pros to being in the office is that instant communication can knock hours from emails, voicemails, and team chat messaging to handle issues that can be solved in a few minutes of in-person conversation. Yet some tasks require your undivided attention.

What can you do to set boundaries? Set up a signaling method to let people know you need to stay focused and not be interrupted for a period of time. Close your door if you have one. Hang a sign on your cubicle that kindly asks that you not be disturbed. As a manager, consider open-door times of day rather than “always available”. Train your colleagues to honor your boundaries. Make sure you also allow time for impromptu connections because that is an advantage to being in-person together.

Be noticed, with intention. Many of you have concerns, rightfully so, that if you are out of sight working remotely, you are also out of mind when it comes to your manager considering whom to promote or give the next great opportunity that comes across her desk. Solid career advice includes making yourself seen and heard. If you are out of the office and out of sight from your colleagues and managers, you practice behaviors, communicate accountability, and inform appropriate stakeholders of your achievements and accomplishments. Just because you are in the office and look busy does not mean you are productive. Productivity demands intentionality.

How do you get noticed, with intention? Focus on completing tasks that meet milestones and demonstrate your initiative. Volunteer for and lead situations that others may not wish to tackle. Keep documentation — a notebook, journal, or project log — that notes not only what you did and how you did it but also the results you achieved and the positive impact to the organization. Note also that which did not go well and what lessons you learned that you will do differently next time. Volunteer to present status reports at department meetings where you can make your contributions public to your colleagues and managers. Avoid bragging and simply state facts and implications. Refer to your notes during performance reviews and use them to advocate for yourself if you learn of an opportunity you want to pursue. By the way, you can do all of this even if you are not in the office five days a week if you are intentional.

These are just two of the ways you can manage distractions and regain focus when you are back in the corporate workspace. Read the referenced Wall Street Journal article. We will write about more strategies for being productive in the changing office environment in future Leadership Letters. I would love to hear from you as to how you manage staying focused with office disruptions and diversions that surround you!

Read Wall Street Journal article HERE.

After-note: For readers who have never seen a “Star Wars” movie, stormtroopers are fictional soldiers in the Star Wars franchise, elite shock troops and space marines of the Galactic Empire of Darth Vader and other nefarious characters. To explain any more is to go far deeper than is warranted here so do a web search for further detail. And watch a Star Wars™ movie! Suffice it to say that storm troopers are disruptive and not quiet.