The Last Laugh

There’s something to be said for the trendy open floor workplace model over individual offices - and it isn’t collaboration, as touted by company executives just looking to pack in more people in a smaller space.

No, it’s something better. Chit-chat. Talking with co-workers in an open floor workspace doesn’t just reduce the stressors from work, it helps with finding joy in the everyday. 

Some colleagues might grumble a bit when told they will be in a cubicle or share space with another. For some positions, this can certainly be a challenge, especially if your job entails being on the phone or if the work you do requires deep concentration. There are positives though.

I worked in a department once with a bullpen-style cubicle - four desks and a copier crammed within a perimeter of four-foot walls. Kind of like an adult playpen. The four of us were our own group separated by another group of four in a similar set up. Collaboration wasn’t the reason we were put together in this space, since some of us had separate functions. 

But we did collaborate - on movie reviews, stories about our kids, frustrations with neighbors or husbands on occasion, and funny news headlines. We chatted about the Tiger King and the latest true crime documentary. 

But most importantly, we laughed - every day and often. 

Sharing stories and laughing together created great camaraderie. It was the chit-chat and laughter that made going to work something I looked forward to. Sure, there were times when it was difficult to concentrate or when conversations could have distracted from meeting deadlines, but we all adapted. Moving to a quiet space or putting in earbuds helped. 

Now that I no longer share a cubicle with three others, I look back fondly on those days and miss the ladies with whom it was shared. I miss the daily stories about their lives and children, and I miss the laughter.

For some, working in a cubicle or open floor workplace model may not be an ideal work environment. But for the four of us back then, it looks like we had the last laugh.