Improve Your Cube Life (Mid-Career feature)

For many otherwise happy workers, the cubicle has become the bane of modern work life. Although they give the illusion of privacy, those little walls are easily penetrated by your cube mates' incessant sounds and conversations. Not only is a lack of cube etiquette often a problem, but spending most of your workday sitting stationary can make you feel like all your muscle mass has seeped into your ergonomic chair. With cube colonies multiplying in today's office landscape, how is a cubist to cope?

Cube Etiquette

Anyone who has resided in Cubeland for any length of time knows how difficult it is to work while trying to block out coworkers' conversations. Mary Risher, a photo editor and cube dweller for the last 10 years, says, "There is always someone around me who doesn't quite get that if they can hear me, I can hear them. I am forever overhearing domestic tiffs, weird bodily functions, etc. I've been reduced to wearing earplugs so I can concentrate. Even then, someone's voice manages to cut through the foam and fill my brain with the latest diet trends, updates on various illnesses and infections, and very private personal information I have no business hearing."

These types of complaints are common, according to Hilka Klinkenberg, founder of Etiquette International, a firm specializing in business etiquette. In a cube environment, professional etiquette must be elevated to a higher standard than in a traditional office because of the close proximity of workers. Klinkenberg gives these guidelines to making your office cube-friendly:

Give your cube mates a sense of control over their space.
Knock on cube walls (even if this is only symbolic on a foam wall) before speaking. Ask permission to enter someone's cube, instead of assuming you can barge in.

Don't loiter among the cubes.
Your conversations free-float among people trying to make phone calls, read or write important documents and generally concentrate on their work.

Realize that odors know no boundaries.
Your lunch, although appetizing to you, may make someone else's stomach turn. If you eat at your desk, take your trash out promptly.

In general, be more aware of what you are saying and how loudly you are saying it.
Assume everyone within a four-cube radius is going to hear you. If you need to discuss a sensitive professional or personal matter discreetly, try to find an empty office or private area.

Cube Atrophy

Another common complaint among cube dwellers is the feeling they are getting "cube body" as they become one with their chairs. What kind of effect does long-term sitting have on your body? Mary Ann Pavlides, a registered nurse and massage therapist, says her clients who sit for an extended period of time often have these physical repercussions:

Lower-back strain due to poor posture from being seated too long.
Upper-back strain from scrunching your neck and shoulder together while talking on the phone.
Shortened pectoral muscles from leaning into a desk to type on a computer.
Sluggish circulation in legs from prolonged inactivity.

Sound like you? Fortunately, combating these problems is easy. Pavlides recommends the following exercises for relief:

Get up and walk every half-hour. Taking a brief stroll keeps your circulation going, gives your eyes a break from your monitor and provides a chance for your whole body to move.
Stretch your arms back over your head and arch your body into a "C." This helps reverse the hunched-over posture you may have at your desk.
Stand up and roll back and forth on your heels and toes. This exercise helps stretch leg muscles that cramp from too much sitting.
Find a doorway and place your forearms against the sides of the door. Lean into the doorway to stretch out your pec muscles. Don't hold this position too long, though, or you might strain yourself.

Also, make sure you have an ergonomic chair with armrests you can raise and lower to get the right fit. Your desk or table should also be adjusted to a comfortable level. Having the proper physical alignment of your body, chair and workspace goes a long way in easing muscle strain.

Cube Bliss

Even if your cube mates are a bunch of loud, annoying etiquette Neanderthals and your boss thinks ergonomic chairs are for wimps, achieving cube nirvana is still possible. Angela Holton, a communications administrator and resident of Cubeland for 11 years, says happiness requires a "bloom where you're planted" philosophy.

"I keep lots of framed photographs on my desk of friends and favorite places I've visited," she says. "I also am referred to as the 'Plant Lady' because of all the greenery at my desk. I'm even considering a small Persian-type rug to place at the entrance of my cube to cozy things up a bit. I might even get a fish! I receive many compliments that my cube is so comfortable and homey that it has inspired others to make changes in their cubes, too. The way I see it is, if you have to live in a cube, you might as well make it comfortable."