The Most Annoying Co-workers

Annoying Co-Workers

Many companies and many independent professionals are changing their private offices to open spaces, co-working or shared offices. Some of the benefits are lowering your costs, being able to network and for companies, collaboration between their team increases significantly. 

Sharing space with a large group of people has proven to bring benefits, people tend to be more efficient, they work happier and it boosts their creativity. But being so close to other people can challenge our nerves and our patience; especially when the person right beside you makes weird noises the whole day, or likes to talk to loud on the phone and they end up distracting you. 

Here’s a list of the most annoying things in the office: 

• Noisy neighbor: When little things start happening every minute, it becomes a challenge to ignore them, even if you’re trying to isolate with your headphones. If you’ve ever had a person beside who clears their throat, sniffs or coughs every minute you’ll probably be identified. 

• I DON’T YELL! Sometimes people have listening problems or they get too excited during their calls and don’t realize their voice volume is starting to irritate and affect others. Especially when you’re on the phone and the other part can’t hear you but they hear your neighbor. 

• The artist: ah yes, the frustrated singer who think they can sing, but not really. This category includes those finger drummers who can’t stay still. The first songs are fun, but after 10 concerts you’ll be looking for a place to hide. 

• Anger management: Those who can’t control their temper can ruin your day. You might be in danger if that person has a bad day, if they lose their pen, if the sun isn’t shinning or if the internet is too slow. The best way to deal with “grumpy” is to fight back with a smile!

• Forgot something? There’s always that absent-minded person that leaves something everywhere they go. You’ll find their cell in the bathroom, their glasses in the kitchen and their coffee mug in the microwave. Remember that sandwich that has been in the fridge for 2 months? Guess who it belongs to! 

Every office is a world of its own. We’d like to hear from you, share with us the most annoying things in your office.

If you have not been able to deal with your neighbors annoying habits, give us a call at (866) 354-5478, we’ll help you find a private office rental or we’ll do our best to find a really fun office neighbor.

Top 5 Apps For Busy Professionals

Top 5 apps for professionals

According to a study by eMarketers, in 2012 there were 115 million smartphone users in the US, and with hundreds of apps available we know it can be overwhelming and even confusing to know which are the best ones for you.

Stop playing Angry Birds! Here’s a list of the best 5 apps that will help busy professionals get the most out of their smartphone. 

• Reading business cards: Cardmunch is a free tool that will not only read a business card but will also convert it to a Linkedin contact automatically, showing all the profile information and contacts you have in common with that person. Very useful in conferences. 

• Organize ideas: Great ideas come when you least expect them, that’s what Evernote is for. A free app that will help you organize all those crazy ideas you might have. Save comments about an article you saw online, remind yourself to buy that book your friend had, take pictures and include them to that new project you’re doing and you can include tags to find them easily. 

• Be productive: A free app that will help you organize all your tasks is Toodledo. On a busy day you have a meeting, need to buy a birthday gift, pay your credit card, buy some groceries, finish the sales report and book a hotel for your next business trip. This tool will help you arrange your to-do list, add importance levels, share them with other people and activate alarms. 

• Storage: Google Drive or Dropbox allow you to share and access files from any device in the world. Whether its videos, pictures, presentations or any type of file, you can store them safely in the cloud. Basic accounts are free.

• Save passwords: The average person uses 10 passwords a day, and if you handle any company accounts that number might grow to 15. Having one password for everything is extremely risky, but having 10 different passwords is extremely confusing. LastPass is free on desktops or if you want to have it in your phone there’s a premium subscription. 

And one last suggestion that will also make your life much easier, when looking for an office for rent, call us at (866) 354-5478 or visit OfficeList!

Did we miss any useful app? Send us your comments and share with us any apps that make your life easier. 

Take a Look at Dropbox Offices

Courtesy of Geremia Design

Haven’t you ever wanted to take a peek at your neighbor's office to see how they arranged the space and how their decoration looks? Well, we also enjoy taking a look at the offices from the biggest companies in America.

Courtesy of Geremia Design

And today we’ll show you the offices of a company that has grown in the last 6 years. Dropbox was born in 2007, when two MIT friends got tired of sending files via email, to work from different computers. Since then, they’ve been offering people a virtual space to store up to 2 gigabytes on their free accounts. A wonderful tool for companies who have remote workers and base their work on collaboration, as people can store, share and synchronize files on multiple devices.

Courtesy of Geremia Design

Last year, the company moved to their San Francisco offices located in China Basin, a space that occupies 87,000 square feet and holds its entire team of nearly 280 members.

As many other Internet startups who try to keep a flat hierarchy, this is an open space with no offices, it not only allows more space to grow but also helps towards design inspiration.

Courtesy of Geremia Design

The conference room is full of Lego bricks, and meeting rooms are named creatively (romance chamber, the break up room). The office has also a gym, a cafeteria and a music room full of guitars, a piano and other instruments. Push scooters are also available to go from one place to another, there’s no time to waste but they certainly know how to do it in a fun way!

Courtesy of Geremia Design

Other startups have also chosen to be located nearby, as Airbnb is located in Design District and Zynga, the creator of Farmville and other popular Facebook games have their offices South of Market (SOMA).

If you want to be located near all these startups, give us a call at (866) 354-5478 and we’ll help you find an office to rent in San Francisco’s financial district.

Photo: Paul Chinn

How To Beat Procrastination

Beating procrastination at the office

Monday 8 a.m, you arrive at your office, go to the kitchen for a coffee, and then talk with your work buddies about the weekend, you know you have thousands of emails to read but first you need to check Facebook, almost ready…but wait, you need some music to start the day, yikes It’s 9 a.m already! A few hours later you’re preparing yourself a snack and on your way back to your office you joined the conversation about your favorite hobby.

You’re not the only one! According to an article from Psychology Today, 20% of people chronically look for distractions, avoiding their daily tasks and end up procrastinating. Here are the main reasons why people don’t face their daily responsibilities and some tips on how to overcome them. 

1. You don’t know where to start

Stop looking at the big picture, start from a single idea. It’s like unraveling a knot; you need to find one of the extremes to do some progress. 

2. It seems too difficult

Haven’t you succeeded before? Of course you have! Complexity tends to be increased in our minds, but breaking down our tasks into steps or stages is the best way to simplify them and remove those blocks from our minds.

3. Rebellion

Nobody likes to be imposed things, but nobody wants to fight with the boss. So find yourself a motivation. Give yourself a treat once you finish, that will help you finish sooner. 

4. Work overload

Take the bull by the horns! Start by the most difficult task. It will take most of your time and require extra dedication, but once you’re finished, the rest will be easy and your mind will not be blocked. Relieving extra pressures helps you be more proactive. 

5. It’s not perfect

You’ve got a great idea but are unable to execute it or can’t find the right words to capture it? Talk to someone else, brainstorming helps to have different views you might have omitted before. After all, two heads are better than one.

If you’re the CEO and have trouble dealing with your employee’s distractions at the office, the best approach is to schedule breaks. Studies from Florida State University show that every 90 minutes our bodies go from a state of alertness to fatigue; that means that a quick 5-10 minute break every 90 minutes will make your team more efficient. 

If working from home is giving you too many distractions, give us a call at (866) 354-5478 and we’ll help you find an office in the US or Canada.

Facebook Finds New Office in New York

Facebook offices in New York

Just last month, Yahoo announced they would be unifying all their New York offices into one large office in Times Square, and now this week Facebook has announced they signed a 10 year lease at 770 Broadway taking 100,000 square feet. Some of their neighbors will be companies like AOL and Huffington Post, which are based in the same building. 

This new space is almost twice as big as the one their current 200 employees occupy at 335 Madison Avenue.

Just as financial companies were the big players of New York’s real estate industry a few years ago, today tech companies are taking over. 

The city knows that, and it has contributed with $100 million and 11 acres of public land toward an applied sciences campus on Roosevelt Island, a joint venture between Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology slated to open in 2017.

New York has also promoted the creation of a regulation that attracts startups as well as tech professionals to consider New York their home. 

In 2010 there were 90,273 people working at high-tech companies in the city, a 30% increase from 2005, according to a report last year from the Center for an Urban Future, and there were 486 tech startups formed in the city since 2007 that have received some investment from angel investors, venture capital firms or other private investors. The city’s aggressive strategy is showing fruitful results. 

As for the areas that companies prefer, while Yahoo opted for the busy Times Square area, LinkedIn preferred a landmark and went for the Empire State building, Google chose Chelsea and many others like About.com, Nielsen Communications, 10gen and Sandow Media have decided to take advantage of the low prices and rent an office Downtown New York.

Facebook employees are expected to move to their new office in early 2014. The best news is there are executive suites in 770 Broadway and you can also be one of Facebook neighbors!

Give us a call at (866) 354-5478 and we’ll help you create your own office list of options.

Executive Suites Opening In Chicago Loop

A new business center will be opening in Chicago. Regus has heard those who had been asking for an office space in the South Loop, near the Chicago Board of Trade and the courts in Jackson Blvd. The center at 111 W. Jackson Blvd will open in August 2013. 

Despite being a city with many different offices available throughout the loop, there was a gap in spaces towards the south area of Chicago Loop, but thankfully, the executive suite provider has realized this opportunity and they are now offering a new option for those who want to be close to the Jackson Blue Station.

This new space is between Union Station and Millennium Park and is close to I-290, I-90 and I-94, making it an easy destination regardless what type of transportation you are using. 

The space will be at the 17th floor of this 24 story building, nearly 100 offices will be available, including private individual offices, workstations, mini-suites and team rooms that can hold large groups. 

You will find plenty of options to grab a bite, whether you’re on a rush you can go to Subway which is a block away or if you’re vegan you shouldn’t miss Native Foods Café. 

Occupation at the building is close to 72% and ownership has spent about $25 million to fix up the 51-year-old building, including adding a fitness center and a roof deck.

If you’re interested in one of these offices, give us a call at (866) 354-5478, pre-leasing is already available and you will not only be able to choose your office, but you will have the exclusivity of being the first in that office.

Top Talents May Just Be a Click Away

Hiring new talent

During a recent chat with a colleague, we spoke about the difficulties that some companies face while searching for the right candidate for certain job positions. 

While some sources bring a large amount of unqualified people, they usually are very inexpensive, making it a great benefit for small companies. 

Larger companies prefer to outsource the process to specialized head hunters, and although there will be some costs involved; the quality of the candidates tends to be better. 

With the increased use of technology and social networks, hiring has evolved and candidates may be a click away, but besides traditional sources like career sites, universities or head-hunters, are we actually taking advantage of technology to find new talent?

• Encourage your staff: Start your search by asking your staff to share the job opening with their friends. Not only will you be reaching a trusted group of people, but you will motivate your team. 

• Twitter and Facebook: Social media has proven to be one of the most powerful tools to share information among hundreds or thousands of people. Any big news comes first through social networks rather than newspapers or TV channels. Include hashtags like #hiring or #jobposting to get retweets and reach a broader audience .

• LinkedIn: Niche industries like the executive suites industry are made of a rather small group of people who know each other and have large professional networks. Posting a job in Linkedin will not only be seen by your colleagues and friends, but it will also be targeted at qualified professionals who might be enticed to apply, even if they are not currently looking. The site suggests jobs similar to your current experience, which makes it a very efficient tool for candidates, head-hunters and human resource departments. Posting the job in specific groups like “Advertising professionals” will also bring great results. 

• Facebook Ads: It’s not the most successful tool as it is not as targeted as LinkedIn and will not bring the same quantity as career sites, but if you are targeting generation Y, it will probably be the best place to find them and get their attention. 

Attracting the best talent you can find is only the first part, the biggest challenge your company will face will be to retain that talent. But while you find the new employee that will take your company to an all new level, we’d like to hear which has been the most successful tool for your company. 

And once you find the right person, don’t forget to call OfficeList, as you will probably need to move to a bigger office space.