First introduced by Herman Miller in 1968, the open-concept office design has become increasingly popular in recent decades. Although it may seem counter intuitive at first, having an open office can actually make your employees more productive.
The idea behind an open-concept office where all employees share the same space instead of working in separate rooms has been beneficial for thousands of industries across the world.
It fosters communication and creates an overall sense of camaraderie among your staff members, which can only lead to increased productivity and innovation.
No matter whether you’re an employee or employer, working in an open plan office can benefit you for sure.
This guide will take you through everything you need to know about working in an open-concept so that you get the most out of your workplace environment.
Let’s begin with a basic question.
Why Open Concept Office Is Rising Among Companies ?
There are many reasons due to which an open-concept office is rising among companies. Some of them are mentioned below:
- It is more cost-effective than conventional offices with cubicles or private offices.
- People spend a lot of time with each other, so their relationships may grow better.
- Employees feel less restrained and more engaged to do their best job.
Also, studies have found that an open office concept has 31% higher employee satisfaction and a 34% lower turnover rate. There is 7% greater productivity among employees and 12% more communication between employees and teams.
Also, 21% organizations reported improvement in innovation compared to the traditional office design.
These insights simply show how adopting the open-plan office is bringing positive results for businesses and will continue to do so in the future.
Let’s now have a look at some advantages and disadvantages of an open space office.
Advantages of Open Concept Office Design
1) Increased Collaboration
One defining characteristic of the open office concept is that they are designed to promote collaboration. And, by doing so, they can increase your company’s productivity.
In fact, a lot of research suggests that people who work in an open office feel more connected to their team than those who work in more traditional spaces with closed offices and cubicles. Some researchers even shared that employees working in these spaces are able to handle tasks more efficiently than those who don’t have an open layout.
2) Greater Wellbeing
In open-concept office design, there is less likelihood for employee isolation and more opportunity for socialization. This can lead to increased morale and overall job satisfaction.
In fact, a new study shows that approximately 60% of employees feel less isolated in an open concept environment than in traditional cubicle designs. When people have a sense of community or at least being understood by coworkers, they are more likely to work harder and be better contributors to their team.
3) Improved Productivity
It’s no secret that open office layouts increase employee output. According to a study by global design and architecture firm Gensler, employees in open-plan offices are more than twice as likely to say they feel engaged with their work.
In fact, 86 percent of workers reported that being able to see and talk with coworkers is an important factor in how productive they feel on any given day at work. This sense of community translates into increased collaboration and ultimately higher production for companies across all industries.
Disadvantages of Open Concept Office Design
1. Too Much Noise
Open-plan offices are designed to promote communication, but employees working in noisy offices report lower job satisfaction and increased fatigue, even with noise-canceling headphones. They also experience higher stress levels and lower productivity. This is because background office noise can interfere with communication and make workers feel like they’re being interrupted by colleagues too often.
2. Difficult for New Employees to Get Used to the Space
It can be difficult for new employees to get used to an open concept office if they’re not accustomed to a collaborative work environment. This may make new employees feel uncomfortable asking questions when they need help. This could lead to job dissatisfaction, stress, or reduced productivity.
3. Too Much Distraction
Just because an office is an open concept doesn’t mean it fosters a creative environment. In fact, many design firms and development teams have chosen not to go with an open concept office simply because they fear that their team members will be too distracted by each other. Teammates who spend all day together might end up spending more time talking rather than working.
These were some advantages and disadvantages of working in an open space office.
Let us take this discussion further by understanding some tips that will transform your open-plan office into an extremely productive environment.
4. Flexibility
Give your employees a flexible work schedule and allow them to create their own schedules.This will help both parties in terms of planning ahead and organizing the workday routine.
What’s more, flexible working hours help the employees focus on personal lives as well, which reduces stress in their daily lives, resulting in higher productivity at the workplace and a positive impact on companies’ overall performance.
5. Communicating With Colleagues
The key to an efficient and productive open office is excellent communication. From a manager’s perspective, it’s important that your team members feel free to contact you whenever they have an issue or question.
Managers need to find ways to communicate with their employees quickly and effectively when they need any assistance. Doing so will help them to clear their doubts and allow them to work more efficiently.
6. Be Proactive In Solving Issues That Can Affect The Workflow
If you’re also in a dilemma of improving productivity in an open space, be proactive in solving issues that can affect your team’s productivity.
Ensure each of your workers is aware of their responsibilities. If they have anything they want help with or need more information on, clarify it and solve problems quickly.
The key lies in being transparent and building relationships so everyone understands what needs to get done and how it will be done. This way, things will work out smoothly in everyone’s favor.
7. Create Opportunities For Skill Enhancement
When you know what it takes to make your team more productive, think about how you can bring those skills into your business.
It could be something simple like bringing in a speaker or webinar on time management, running an internal workshop on project management, or sending employees for training with an external partner. The opportunities are endless. All you need is creativity and trust in its effectiveness.
If your goal is employee success, there’s nothing better than helping them develop new skills that will allow them to build their careers at your company while they also increase their value.
8. Identifying The Main Noise Polluters
In an open-office layout, there may be people who disturb others by blabbing on their phones at top volume or blasting music through headphones.
To avoid this, consider getting everyone together for a quick meeting where you can tell them what constitutes proper, productive noise and what doesn’t. If possible, include these guidelines in written format that team members can refer back to.
9. Keep Your Area Clean
You need to pay close attention to keeping your area organized and clean so that it runs smoothly.
A cluttered work environment can make employees feel stressed out, leading them to slack off or lose interest in their jobs. In fact, research has shown that unorganized areas are more likely to suffer from lower morale among workers than clean ones. Even worse, they’re often less efficient than well-maintained spaces.
So if you want your workspace to be productive, take care of it by constantly keeping things tidy and clean.
10. Implement Employee Monitoring Software
Suppose you’re managing people in an open-office environment. In that case, employee monitoring software can help you ensure everyone stays productive and efficient.
By installing employee monitoring software on employees’ systems or phones, managers can ensure people are actually doing their jobs and not wasting their time on non-work sites.
These software tools also deliver a detailed report of your team members’ progress, such as the number of hours worked, milestones accomplished, time spent on work-related websites, and so on.
This way, when the time comes for performance reviews or raises, managers have concrete data about what each employee needs to do more in order to improve their performance.
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Conclusion
The success of an open-office design ultimately relies on how well it’s implemented, as well as the organization’s acceptance of the new environment. It has its own advantages and disadvantages. Whether you are in favor or against it, there is no denying that open space offices are getting adopted by countless numbers of firms today, and if you manage an open-space office, these top practical solutions will definitely increase your employee’s efficiency.
There are many more ways that can assist you in making your open space office highly productive. Let us know in the comment section which one works best for you.
Thanks for reading.
