The ups and downs of an open concept office space
We have had many customers ask us about the new wall-less open office concept. Is it a good or bad idea to remove cubicle walls and fixed walls?
An open office plan is one that eschews walls and cubicles in favor of large open rooms where workers are constantly within sight of one another. Where this sounds like a good idea for collaboration and camaraderie, research is showing the opposite is true. People actually become more hostile toward co-workers when they’re never relieved of being “on display”.
Other negatives in the “new” open office concept:
- People tend to take more days off because of illness; germs spread more easily
- Wall-less offices kill concentration and creativity
- Acoustics are not very good
- Productivity goes down
- Stress levels go up
- Privacy is non-existent. Many office conversations are not necessarily meant to be broadcast, whether they’re in-person or phone calls
Proponents of the “new” open office plan claim that the arrangement is less in cost than cubicles. However, sick days, lower productivity and compromised efficiency are costly in themselves.
An acceptable alternative to a fully open concept office is simply offering collaboration spaces throughout your office. This allows employees to take a break from the confines of their cubicle and work side-by-side with coworkers. This concept has become almost a standard practice in modern-day start-ups where flowing creativity and productivity are of huge importance.
Office Furniture Warehouse has a huge variety of innovative and appealing office design solutions. You can see some of our concepts at our facilities in Muskego, Waukesha, and Kenosha. We can assist with the interior design process of new or existing buildings. We have interior designers on staff with services starting at just $69.00 per hour.
We’ve been selling new and used office furniture, desks, chairs, files, open office systems (cubicles), flooring, window treatments and artwork since 1993. Our used cubicles start at just $495.00 per station. This is an excellent solution for companies that don’t want the disadvantages of the wall-less open office concept. Let Office Furniture Warehouse show you how to harness your office productivity.
Give us a call to get ideas for office designs that help your staff be more efficient and productive – as well as less stressed.