Adapting Your Workspace
How to make your desk and environment work for you without making it a big deal.
Sensory challenges
Sound
Open offices, colleagues on the phone, clicking keyboards
Noise-cancelling headphones — the best investment you can make
Filtered earplugs (e.g., Loop) for subtler dampening
Ask for a quiet workspace or concentration area
White noise or music without lyrics to mask background sounds
Light
Fluorescent lighting, flickering lights, too much screen brightness
Ask if the fluorescent above your desk can be turned off or dimmed
Blue-light glasses or screen filter for your monitor
Smell
Perfume, food, cleaning products
Ask colleagues in your immediate area to be restrained with perfume
Keep a scent you like nearby as a counterbalance
Eat somewhere else if the office lunch is too overwhelming
Space
People walking behind you, no personal space, clutter
Sit with your back to the wall if possible
Keep your desk tidy — visual calm is also calm
A plant or small screen as a subtle divider
Talking to your manager
- You don't have to ask for everything at once
- Frame it as productivity: 'I work better when...'
- Be specific: not 'I need accommodations' but 'can I wear headphones?'
- You have a right to reasonable accommodations — that's not a favor, that's legislation