why to swap the office for a coffee shop

Coffee shops are often filled with people sipping on lattes while typing away. There is a hum of conversation, the whirring of coffee machines and the inevitable clicking of keyboards. It is a lively environment and could even be seen as distracting, but recent studies have shown that this level of noise can actually help you work. Sitting in a café you can find yourself flying through your work while enjoying yourself, when at your office you tend to get sidetracked and irritated. Why is it that the noise in a café can be conducive to work when the noise at your office can stifle you?

Open offices have been a corporate trend for years now because they were meant to allow for greater collaboration and creativity. Yet, more and more we are finding that an open office environment can be distracting and have a negative impact on productivity. This can be attributed to the level of noise that typically occurs in these settings.

The Harvard Business Review published an article on the topic that discussed why it is we dislike our office environments but thrive in coffee shops. “The quiet chatter of colleagues and the gentle thrum of the HVAC should help us focus. The problem may be that, in our offices, we can’t stop ourselves from getting drawn into others’ conversations or from being interrupted while we’re trying to focus.” At a coworking space or a coffee shop, you don’t know the people around you and are less likely to get invested in their conversations or feel the need to engage with them. The ambient distractions help to keep you focused rather than interrupting your train of thought.

For those who struggle in their open office, try visiting a coworking space or local coffee shop instead to see how it effects your productivity. The BBC posted an article earlier this year detailing the issues of an open floor concept, stating that, “research that we’re 15% less productive, we have immense trouble concentrating and we’re twice as likely to get sick in open working spaces, has contributed to a growing backlash against open offices.”

Interestingly enough, the open office concept is still very popular among companies, but recent moves towards remote working have started to take over. Companies are finding that giving employees the freedom to work from wherever results in higher productivity and much happier employees. If you find yourself struggling with getting things done in the office, give a café, coworking space or home office a try. It’s all about finding the optimal noise level for yourself.