I've been working in an open office for over two years but it was a rather quiet place thanks to my mostly introverted colleagues and a minimum of people walking by. But now we've moved to a different floor and it's a walkthrough to another part of the building, so people are constantly walking by. I have a desk right next to the door too and it's making me very distracted. Fortunately I can listen to music at work but I don't want to do that whole day + the door closing and people stomping is too loud to completely block out.
Another problem I have is the AC/heating system, which I can't stand. It gives me stomach cramps and extremely dry eyes (I wear lenses), which leads to headaches. It's the same as we had on the different floor but this time I'm sitting right next to it, so I feel it much more and that also gives me anxiety. We can change the settings but it always starts cooling when it reaches the desired temperature, even in winter.
Does anyone have good coping mechanisms for working in a busy open space office without much control over the environment? In a couple of months we'll be moving to a new building altogether and it's supposed to be an even bigger open space for our whole department + one more, so about 80 people and that really scares me. I do have an option to work from home and I do so once a week but I really like my colleagues and want to spend time with them + being at home all the time makes me anxious too. /sighs/
Another problem I have is the AC/heating system, which I can't stand. It gives me stomach cramps and extremely dry eyes (I wear lenses), which leads to headaches. It's the same as we had on the different floor but this time I'm sitting right next to it, so I feel it much more and that also gives me anxiety. We can change the settings but it always starts cooling when it reaches the desired temperature, even in winter.
Does anyone have good coping mechanisms for working in a busy open space office without much control over the environment? In a couple of months we'll be moving to a new building altogether and it's supposed to be an even bigger open space for our whole department + one more, so about 80 people and that really scares me. I do have an option to work from home and I do so once a week but I really like my colleagues and want to spend time with them + being at home all the time makes me anxious too. /sighs/
I do take breaks, little stretching at the toilet always helps with the cold at least for a while.