National Cubicle Day

Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day.

Gibbons from the film Office Space

National Cubicle Day presents an opportunity for departmentalized office workers to rise above the conformist standards, customize their cubes and announce their individuality. 

History of National Cubicle Day

Designed by Robert Propst and known for a complete absence of individuality, cubicles were first introduced in 1967 as a way to subdivide open office space and provide workers with a degree of privacy. These modular systems were built to be easily reconfigured in almost as many ways as a bucket of Lego bricks, and today’s cubicle options include pods of workers with shared tasks as well as individual office cubes.

Cubicles have turned out to be an affordable and functional way for companies to create office spaces out of large rooms, allowing for them to be adjusted and modified as the needs of the company demand.

But the downside for many people has been that cubicles do not always make for the most effective workspaces. Depending on configurations, they can host a variety of distractions and can be completely impersonal.

National Cubicle Day is here to give a little nod to the cubicle. Whether done in actual appreciation of the boxed humans they represent or more with some sarcasm and tongue-in-cheek, either way it’s a day that is worth having some fun and celebrating!

How to Celebrate National Cubicle Day

Ways to celebrate National Cubicle Day include a variety of efforts to improve the space and feeling of working in a cubicle. Try out some of these ideas to put a little sparkle into the day as well as the general work life aura:

Improve That Workspace

Try a bit of redecorating by adding some plants or family photos. Hang some fairy twinkle lights to brighten things up a bit. Or some people might even want to practice a bit of cube Feng Shui. The most important thing about celebrating National Cubicle Day is to work hard toward humanizing a completely unoriginal workspace.

Host a Cubicle Decorating Contest

Challenge co-workers to get on board with the festivities of National Cubicle Day by coming up with a cubicle decorating contest. Choose a few judges in advance and plan to award prizes (perhaps baked goods or gag gifts would do well) to the folks who are most creative. The contest might be based around a certain theme or simply let everyone do what they like!

Show Appreciation for Cubicles

The nice part about working in a cube-centric environment is that the walls tend to protect workers from being exposed to looking at the annoying habits of their neighbors. Of course, this may not mean protection from the sounds a neighbor makes, like loud snacking or gum chewing. So it could be that part of ‘owning’ that cubicle space might be to be sure to have a set of earbuds or headphones on hand for just such an occasion.

Watch a Show or Movie with Cubicles

One fun and silly way to celebrate National Cubicle Day might be to watch a movie or show that puts cubicles on display, either in the main theme or simply as a side bar. Check out some of these:

• Office Space (1999). A ridiculous spoof film about the insanity of life in the office.
• The Office (2005-2013). Although sometimes the characters in this television series are in more of an open workspace, the open concept of cubicles applies here.
• Cubicles (2019-2023). This show features the lives of a group of freshly graduated college students working at an IT company in India.
• Being John Malkovich (1999). A surreal comedy about a puppeteer and file clerk who works in a cubicle but finds a strange portal in his office building.

However you choose to celebrate National Cubicle Day, be sure to make your unmistakable claim on your little section of the cube farm!