askST Jobs: Meetings and chats at the breakout area next to my desk can get quite ‘lively’. What can I do?

Unlike shared public spaces, shared spaces in the office work best when colleagues are considerate of those around them, and workplaces should cultivate such norms collectively rather than impose rules.

ST ILLUSTRATION: MANNY FRANCISCO

Published Sep 07, 2026, 05:00 AM

Updated Sep 07, 2026, 06:17 AM

In this series, business correspondent Timothy Goh offers practical answers to candid questions on navigating workplace challenges and getting ahead in your career. Get more tips by signing up to The Straits Times’ Headstart newsletter .

How can I address disruptive behaviour in a shared space without creating workplace tension?

Shared spaces work best when employees are considerate of those around them, and workplaces should cultivate such norms collectively rather than impose rules.

“Colleagues should feel able to raise it directly and in the moment. If a gathering has become disruptive to those working nearby, a simple, good-natured reminder that this is a shared space is usually all that is needed,” said Li Fengling, a certified senior professional at the Institute of Human Resource Professionals.

“It is also far more effective coming from a peer than from the HR department.”

Li said most employees may not realise how far their conversations carry in an open-concept office, and escalating such issues directly to HR could turn an ordinary moment of friction into a formal matter.

“HR’s role is to set the conditions, not to police the pantry. Where every small matter is routed through HR, colleagues stop taking ownership of their own environment,” she said.

She added that common areas are meant for everyone, and the informal conversations that take place there can be valuable, particularly for newer colleagues finding their footing.

“What it is not is a space where anything goes. In an open-concept office, there are no walls to contain a conversation. What is a relaxed chat for one group can potentially become background noise for the colleagues seated a few metres away,” said Li.

So, the answer is not to restrict the space, but to be clear about how it is used.

Guidelines should be practical, agreed and communicated to everyone – how long a group discussion should run before it moves to a bookable room, what volume is reasonable during core working hours, leaving the space as you would want to find it.

“Once that has been done – set out plainly, communicated to all, and displayed where everyone can see them – then the expectation is clear, and it is on each of us to meet it,” said Li.

Tan Weixi, managing partner at Workplace Asia, said that rather than confronting colleagues about their behaviour, it may be better to have a conversation about how the shared space should be used.

“A common area belongs to everyone. So the question is not who has the right to use it, but how we can make sure everyone gets to use it comfortably,” he said.

Some simple ground rules could help, Tan added. For instance, informal gatherings could continue taking place in the common area, while larger or noisier groups could be encouraged to use it only at certain times or move to designated areas.

“The aim is not to create a long list of rules. It is to remove the ambiguity and give people a basis for using their common sense,” he said.

“Ultimately, shared spaces come with shared responsibility. Having access to a space does not mean having unlimited use of it,” Tan added.

Timothy Goh is a business correspondent at The Straits Times. He covers commodities and currencies, with occasional forays into listed companies.

与公共共享空间不同，办公室共享空间只有在同事们能够体谅周围的人时才能发挥最佳效果，工作场所应该共同培养这种规范，而不是强加规则。

插图：曼尼·弗朗西斯科

发布于 2026 年 9 月 7 日上午 5:00

更新于2026年9月7日 上午6:17

在本系列文章中，商业记者Timothy Goh将就如何应对职场挑战和如何在职业生涯中取得成功等坦诚问题，提供切实可行的解答。订阅《海峡时报》的“Headstart”新闻简报，获取更多实用技巧。

如何在不造成工作场所紧张气氛的情况下处理共享空间中的扰乱行为？

共享空间在员工能够体谅周围人的情况下才能发挥最佳效果，工作场所应该共同培养这种规范，而不是强加规则。

“同事们应该能够直接、及时地提出问题。如果聚会干扰了附近工作人员的工作，通常只需要简单、善意地提醒一下，这是公共空间就足够了，”人力资源专业人士协会认证高级专业人士李凤玲说道。

“而且，来自同事的建议远比来自人力资源部门的建议有效得多。”

李表示，大多数员工可能没有意识到在开放式办公室里他们的谈话会传播到多远，而将此类问题直接上报人力资源部可能会将普通的摩擦时刻变成正式事件。

“人力资源部门的职责是设定条件，而不是管束茶水间。如果所有小事都要通过人力资源部门处理，同事们就会停止对自己的工作环境负责，”她说。

她补充说，公共区域是为所有人准备的，在那里进行的非正式谈话可能很有价值，特别是对于正在适应新环境的新同事而言。

李说：“但开放式办公室并非一个可以随意交谈的空间。没有墙壁可以限制谈话内容。对一组人来说轻松的聊天，对几米外的同事来说可能就变成了背景噪音。”

所以，解决办法不是限制空间，而是明确空间的用途。

指导原则应该切实可行，并得到大家的同意和传达——例如，小组讨论应该持续多长时间才移至可预订的房间，核心工作时间内合理的音量是多少，以及离开时保持空间整洁。

李说：“一旦这些事情做完了——明确列出，传达给所有人，并展示在每个人都能看到的地方——那么期望就很明确了，我们每个人都有责任去满足它。”

Workplace Asia 的管理合伙人谭维熙表示，与其与同事就他们的​​行为发生冲突，不如就如何使用共享空间进行一番对话。

“公共区域属于所有人。所以问题不在于谁有权使用它，而在于我们如何确保每个人都能舒适地使用它，”他说。

谭补充说，制定一些简单的规则会有所帮助。例如，非正式聚会可以继续在公共区域举行，而人数较多或比较吵闹的团体则可以被鼓励只在特定时间使用该区域，或者移至指定区域。

他说：“我们的目标不是制定一长串规则，而是消除歧义，为人们运用常识提供依据。”

“归根结底，共享空间意味着共同责任。拥有空间的使用权并不意味着可以无限制地使用它，”谭补充道。

Timothy Goh是《海峡时报》的商业记者，主要报道大宗商品和货币，偶尔也关注上市公司。