Articles From the Team

Moving desks in the office!

Here in the Birmingham office at BCL Legal we’ve recently had a bit of a reshuffle. Desk moves in my opinion are a straightforward thing. Pick up your stuff and put it at your new desk. A bit of reorganising to make sure your new desk is how you want it and you’re good to go. Simple! It seems however that the reality of the situation is some what more complicated.

Firstly it has to be decided how things are going to be organised. Do you divide staff into relevant departments? This clearly has its advantages! Having people around you that work in the same market can certainly help you to learn and develop, particularly for the newest members of the team. Sitting next to an old head can give valuable exposure to all that experience. Further things to consider in this situation are how you go about the human dynamics of moving desks. Like it or not, not all employee’s get on and placing people together who don’t exactly see eye to eye may lead to reduced productivity. Now lucky for us at BCL Legal this is not an issue but our advice would be to make sure everyone is involved in the decision regardless of the level. All employees should be consulted and opinions heard. Getting this dynamic right can be difficult but it is important, given that you probably spend more time at work with your colleagues than you do with your loved ones.

Once the above has been decided the next question to answer is who sits where? In every office there will be the preferential seats. Now I am quite relaxed about where I sit, for me not much changes from seat to seat. I had a window seat before and now I don’t. This hasn’t hindered me in any shape, way or form. So it came as bit of surprise that the window seats are in demand. Now the ‘best sit in the house’ differs from office to office, whether it’s a window seat in a high rise building for the views or natural light. Or the one next to kitchen or vending machine for easy access to food (because who doesn’t enjoy food). Whatever it is, it seems people have a preferred option and satisfying everyone’s desire is something that for the most part cannot be done. With that being said no-one wants to sit under the cold air conditioning unit that blows cold air on you for 8 hours a day every day, (interesting side note to air conditioning read my colleagues blog here). I bet you’re sitting there now looking round the office debating whether you’ve got the best desk position or not?

A pleasant working environment can go a long way. When you’re having a bad day sitting next to/opposite someone that can make you giggle and take your mind off things is hugely important and can really make a difference to how you feel at work. I think the way in which firms approach the subject of a desk move is vitally important and I think it comes down to the culture of the firm. Some firms would simply move your desk and that’s it. Others would approach you with options and see what you feel is the best course of action. Whatever approach your firm takes restructuring your seating plan is a political sensitive subject and can have an adverse effect.

Here at BCL we can help you if you are thinking about moving jobs or relocating. Whilst I’m not suggesting that you give me a call to say that the reason you want to leave is because you don’t like your seat (and don’t blame me for making this thought pop into your head!), if you want to chat about moving firms because the culture fit isn’t quite you, then I’d love to hear from you.

For more information contact BCL Legal or email us at info@bcllegal.com.