Can I hear your "watercooler"?

Designing the customer-accessible areas of your business space is a tricky task - there are considerations of logistics, convenience, decor, functionality, etc.. No matter the type of business you operate - retail, professional service, hospitality, trades - there will likely be a "watercooler" space that your employees will naturally assemble at, mingle and chat with one another. Its kind of like the kitchen at a house party - some place where people will naturally congregate and talk. And, it might not be a place you would have expected in designing the space. But, effective managers or owners will watch their staff's behaviour to learn where the watercooler is, and determine if it is having any negative impact on the business.

I was in a restaurant the other day where the order entry/cash register terminal seemed to be the natural gathering point. When the space was designed, the location of this was obviously chosen for convenience - it was exactly between the two dining rooms, just beside a group of tables, and near the entrance to the kitchen - likely the seemingly "perfect" place for ease of use by the staff.

But, by also becoming the "watercooler", it might have some repercussions the owners didn't think about. As 3 or 4 staff habitually gathered there between trips to the tables and kitchens, they engaged in the kind of friendly conversation that you would hope for between staff. But, in this instance, it included one staff member telling the others about having to wait for a medical diagnosis for one of his family members, and how he really didn't want to be at work because as soon as his cell phone went off with the news, he was likely leaving.

He wasn't my server so I can't tell if his level of service was impaired (understandably so, if that was the case), but because I was within earshot of the "watercooler", I heard it all, and was left to feel uncomfortable, as if I was intruding on a very personal conversation. Imagine if the watercooler conversation was something even more uncomfortable, perhaps even offensive? How would that make those patrons within earshot feel?

If I were to come into your business, could I hear your watercooler?