The last couple of decades have seen a huge rise in the prevalence of open plan offices. This is a beneficial thing in many ways, but just like everything in life, it has its downsides too.
Open plan offices allow an employer to create specific zones – e.g. touchdown spaces, collaborative zones, quiet sections – in order to achieve an agile workspace. This means that with a little clever planning, some cool office seating, and a desire to want to make the office a pleasant place to work, different zones and areas can be created, allowing staff to concentrate on the task at hand, and also decide how to go about it. Of course, open plan offices aren’t all about agile working, and can be about many other office desking systems too.
To break it down, an open plan office is a large space which incorporates several different employees at their desks or workstations. That’s the simplest way to define it.
For a bit more information on what an open plan office looks like, including what other people think about it, check out this useful infographic below.
Source: www.hrreview.co.uk/hr-news/strategy-news/open-offices-pros-and-cons-infographic/54112
As you can see, there is a lot of information to take in with regards to this type of layout, so let’s summarise the main pros and cons here.
Pro's of an Open Plan Office
- Better communication between staff members – Employees can easily discuss projects and collaborate on problems without having to get up and move to another office. You can also incorporate office furniture which makes brainstorming and teamwork easier within a large space, by creating those zones we mentioned earlier.
- Cost effective furnishing – An open plan office is far more cost effective than a series of individual offices, especially in terms of energy efficiency. This means that businesses can put this extra cash to better use.
- A flexible option – An open plan office can be moved around quite easily, especially with modular office furniture choices which are easy to move and store away. This means that any move around isn’t likely to result in a huge renovation, and therefore a costly endeavour. Businesses can also move from one office desking system to another with a greater sense of ease.
- An attractive option – A well designed open plan office looks the part and this is ideal for businesses trying to make a positive impression on visitors and clients entering the space.
Con's of an Open Plan Office
- More distractions – Because an open plan office contains a greater number of people, there are likely to be more distractions than individual office designs. Screens and acoustic panels can help to reduce the effects, as well as ensuring everyone is comfortable their ergonomic chairs to reduce stress.
- Less privacy – Again, the number of people within the space can mean that there is a lack of privacy, and if someone is working on a particularly confidential project, this may be an issue. In that case, moving to another room, and perhaps utilising the conference table or other furniture is a good choice.
- Possible security issues – Again, a large space with more people is harder to control than a small space. This could raise security issues, especially if visitors are heading into and out of the space regularly too.
- Higher chance of the spread of illness – The common cold spreads like wildfire, and in an open plan office this is far more likely. Educating staff on what to do in order to reduce infection control risks is a good starting point, as well as having adequate ventilation.
The open plan office will probably always be a popular choice, and the plus points are certainly advantageous. As you can see from the downsides, most of these effects can be reduced with clever furnishing options and educating staff to work in a certain way. In that case, the open plan office design looks like it’s going to be around for a long time to come!