Reasons to Choose Open Plan Working
There are many reasons why employers may choose to create open-plan offices for their workers. First, open plan office design is advantageous for employees due to the absence of walls, so people are able to interact better with each other, share ideas, and act upon them. For example, according to the article by Waber, Magnolfi, and Lindsay (2014) from the October Issue of Harvard Business Review, Facebook was planning to put several thousand of its staff into one large room, which was a mile long. Frequent interactions among employees not only create a sense of friendship and teamwork but also improve the process of information sharing. Furthermore, interactions that occur in an open plan office environment are usually more frequent, friendly, and informal compared to closed spaces where employees have separate rooms to themselves.
The second reason for creating open-plan offices is the correlation between enhanced teamwork and business advancements. Since employees are prone to communicate in an open plan environment, it is far more likely that new ideas concerning improvement and innovation will come quicker. Third, open plan office spaces require fewer materials, and, subsequently, less time. Even the reduction of heating or cooling costs can improve the company’s budget and let employees focus on more important things. Overall, the concept of open-plan offices can be correlated with activity-based working, which is a process tailored to collaborative working through meetings and constant brainstorming (Ditchburn, 2014).
Reasons not to Choose Open Plan Working
Despite the advantages, open plan office environments may create some concerns, particularly for employers. For example, such a restructuring of a workplace environment has been called “glorified hot desking” rather than a genuine response to the needs of the staff (Koziol, 2014). Another reason for employers to stay away from open-plan offices is the fact that frequent interactions among employees may potentially lead to the creation of noise and distractions that prevent workers from completing their assignments (Tickle & Gorrilla, 2016). As mentioned by Tickle (2016), everything is possible in an open space environment: one employee doing exercises while another is working away at the desk. To some, such a space organisation may seem chaotic and counterproductive, especially when there is a set deadline for task completion. Moreover, the lack of privacy in the workplace may be of concern for employees because someone may see a private email on their computer or overhear a telephone conversation.
The third reason for not opting for open-plan offices is associated with the overall productivity of the business. With distractions comes the decrease in productivity and efficiency that may cost a business a lot. Furthermore, an open-plan office setting is an obvious environment for disease spreading; for example, it is much easier for employees to catch a cold in such a setting where another worker got a cold first. Lastly, the lack of privacy can cause some ethical and legal problems arising from the compromised confidentiality regarding colleagues and clients.
References
Ditchburn, G. (2014). The rise and fall of the hot desk: say hello to activity-based working. Web.
Koziol, M. (2014). Workplaces warned against cookie cutter design. Web.
Tickle, M. (Producer), & Williams, M. (Presenter). (2016). Intelligent design or hot desk mess? The merits of the modern office [Audio podcast]. Web.
Tickle, M., & Gorrilla, B. (2016).Intelligent design or hot desk mess? The merits of the modern office.Web.
Waber, B., Magnolfi, J., & Lindsay, G. (2014).Workplaces that move people. Web.