Much touted Open Office fad is working for you or turning to be detrimental?
For the last few decades, the open office concept has been touted as the be-all and end-all of workplace design to promote collaboration, increase productivity, and retain top talent prompting many companies (many Fortune 500 companies as well) to tear down cubicle walls & moving people out of individual offices with great expectations that as this office format brings people together, business will run more efficiently and cohesively.
Nearly everyone, from global enterprises to tiny startups, has bought into the hype. It is estimated that today almost 80% of U.S. offices are open plan.
What is an open office layout?
An open office layout emphasizes a communal work environment, favoring shared workspaces rather than segregated offices. It’s an egalitarian concept that’s meant to foster better communication, culture, and trust. Open offices are usually comprised of desk clumps, workstations, or desk neighborhoods—all congregated in a central area to brings all business operations together.
A little Peek in to the History of Open Office
Despite their significance in the modern office environment, actually it is a comeback of sorts, because in the periods 1950s and earlier, open-concept floor plans were in vogue and was the choice layout for large groups of typists and technicians charged with performing repetitive tasks and the then management found open office floor plan to be efficient, easy to manage, and socially democratic for workers.
As workforces became more specialized and segmented over time, the need for departments and offices became more pronounced. Walls started going up to separate different facets of business. And, by the early 1990s, business was siloed to make it easier to manage on a day-to-day basis and that lead to the narrowing down of Open offices.
Touted Advantages of Open Office
Stimulating Communication- Anyone you may need to talk or collaborate with is just a short walk away. Employees can see one another, which often prompts them to think about working as a team or reminds them to engage their coworkers on matters that affect the company while minimizing misunderstandings and aid in creating bonds between workers, improving cohesion and building trust.
Leveling the Playing Field- Open offices have the added benefit of putting all workers on a level playing field, regardless of job type or position which demonstrates that no single part of the company’s operations is any more important than the other and subtly bolsters company culture through inclusion. Open offices take managers out of their secluded areas and integrates them with the workers they oversee.
Better Using available Space- In a more practical and cost-oriented sense, open concept offices offer a great opportunity to do more with less which was one of the principal reasons for start-ups to adopt open office to maximize occupancy of that space by tearing down walls to reduce the lease cost-per-head of your workforce.
Agile Workspace- Open office floor plans is considered to be a great enabler of agility and can be hugely beneficial to companies that demand dexterity, be it mobilizing on a major project or coming together to collaborate quickly, open workplaces literally knock down barriers to action.
At Fillip we have innovative solutions for Video Conferencing suited to open offices with audio fencing, Acoustic Masking, Unique seating formats etc
Disadvantages of Open Office
Instead of promoting more face-to-face interactions as expected, Harvard University found open offices promote 70% fewer. IT was observed that even in open spaces with colleagues in close proximity, people who want to eschew interactions have an amazing capacity to do so. They avoid eye contact, discover an immediate need to use the bathroom or take a walk, or become so engrossed in their tasks that they are selectively deaf (perhaps with the help of headphones). Ironically, the proliferation of ways to interact makes it easier not to respond: For example, workers can simply ignore a digital message.
Instead of increasing productivity, Exeter University found productivity in open offices drops by 15%.
Instead of brimming with joy when they work in them, a survey found 76% of workers hate open office plans because of factors such as noise and a lack of privacy.
The biggest criticism of open office spaces is the never-ending assortment of stimuli workers must contend with. It’s hard to concentrate when phones are ringing, people are talking, computers are whirring, and people are moving. The inability to close oneself off from these many stimuli can result in wandering attention, poor work quality and lack of motivation, among other problems.
Open Office concept most often fail to create physical workspaces that contribute to an exceptional employee experience.
Workers need some degree of privacy to feel welcome and at home in the workplace. Unfortunately, open offices eliminate a majority of privacy often leading many workers to feel like they’re always exposed and under a microscope, and that creates tension and anxiety.
Dissenters, for example, may freely voice their displeasure about projects or expectations, without regard for other workers’ feelings. This can cause rifts between employees who may see this as boisterous or brash.
Conclusion:
Thus Open office spaces are a hotly debated topic in the realm of workplace modernization.
Whether traditional office or Open Office, we at Fillip can help co-create the right space format and fit in right Collaboration technologies across the various work spaces to foster heightened collaboration and Productivity.
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