Do you have an open plan office?

If so, do you find that you’re often distracted or a little stressed when you’re trying to focus and concentrate?

It’s a common picture up and down the country, and probably the world over!

When you have several people in the space of one office, there are bound to be distractions and excessive amounts of noise occasionally. Whilst everyone is doing their best to keep the noise down, this can happy all the time.

As a result, do you find yourself being a little less productive?

Check out this video which explores whether or not open plan offices are actually working against productivity.

What do you think?

In many ways, your experience is personal and it depends upon the office you’re in and how many people you’re sharing space with. Difficulties in finding privacy in an open plan office can also be overcome by using space dividers, office screens, booths and even acoustic panels here and there. 

Considering The Agile Workplace

The agile workplace has gone some way to overcoming these issues too. Within this model, you have separate zones for different types of work and that ensures that those who are collaborating or brainstorming don’t have to worry about disturbing anyone who is trying to concentrate on close-up work. 

In this model, the focus is firmly on the task also. Employees don’t necessarily have their own office desk or chair, they would simply sit wherever would allow them to complete the task to the best of their ability. This ensures a higher quality of the end result, but it also increases productivity. 

So in many ways, open plan offices aren’t super-unproductive, it just all comes down to how they’re designed. 

Lowering distraction levels in open plan offices can also be about those who are working in the space too. Having respect for office neighbours and understanding that people are trying to focus and concentrate are vital parts of the puzzle. Of course, everyone working within your office is an adult, so this should be second nature, however, it’s important to be mindful of what you’re doing and your volume levels, just in case you’re accidentally caught up in the creativity of brainstorming. For this reason, separate areas for collaborative work are a great idea. You could easily use your meeting rooms and have modern boardroom tables and perhaps whiteboards on the walls to help the flow of creative ideas. 

So, are open plan offices always distracting? Not always, but it’s important to think about ways to minimise distractions and noise as much as possible. This ensures that everyone can get on with what they need to do, nobody is stressed out because they can’t focus, deadlines aren’t missed and mistakes aren’t made. The way you design your open plan office can go a long way to making life easier, but it’s also about those working within the office being respectful of each other.

Office desks can be placed around the office so that employees aren’t sat too close to one another, and the availability of breakout spaces or areas where staff can go for a quick time out are vital too. This ensures that stress remains low, and the focus is high on the list.

Now, think about your open plan office and its current design? Do you think any changes need to be made? Is there anything which you would like to change? Do you consider it to be a productive place, or do you find yourself feeling stressed out because you can’t concentrate because of the noise?

Not every open plan office is an unproductive place to be, but it’s important to think carefully about any useful changes you could make, to avoid issues coming to the fore.