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Description

Open-Plan Offices: Protecting Focus, Organising Your Day and Working Side by Side

Working with focus in an open-plan office without cutting yourself off from others or living under headphones

  • 1 day — 7 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

In an open-plan office, every nearby conversation, every passer-by and every phone call interrupts deep work. People compensate with headphones, push demanding tasks to the end of the day, and irritation builds up without ever being expressed clearly to those causing it.

One day to regain control of your working environment: measuring what genuinely disrupts you, allocating tasks between your open desk and quiet areas, using availability signals that everyone understands, and asking for quiet without creating tension. The shared ground rules are drafted by the participants themselves.

Learning objectives

  • Identify the disruptions you experience and those you create yourself
  • Allocate your tasks between open desk, quiet area and closed meeting room
  • Use availability signals understood by the whole team
  • Ask a colleague for quiet without creating tension

What makes this programme different

Log of the disruptions actually encountered over half a day of work
Typical day designed around the spaces available in your own premises
Shared ground rules drafted by participants for their own floor

Programme

1Understanding noise and visual distraction

What open-plan working really costs

  • Sources of noise and their effect on attention
  • Interruptions caused by movement and line of sight
  • The difference between noise you endure and noise you create
  • Identifying your own disruptive habits

2Organising your day in an open-plan space

Choosing where and when to do what

  • Allocating tasks according to how much quiet they require
  • Using quiet areas and closed meeting rooms
  • Managing headphones and availability signals
  • Keeping your desk clear and preparing work sequences

3Agreeing ground rules with colleagues

Rules that are negotiated rather than imposed

  • Asking for quiet without sounding critical
  • Handling phone calls and group conversations
  • Shared rules that are useful and genuinely workable
  • The role of the manager and the team in upholding them

Who is it for

Employees and teams based in shared workspaces, as well as the managers of those teams.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.