Businesses across the world are constantly exploring modern, creative approaches to help improve their company. The goal is to create an environment that maximizes employees’ efficiency. That’s why many businesses are opting for an open floor plan, which is a welcome departure from the old-school cubicles of yesteryear.
How does an Open Floor Plan Work?
The open floor plan was introduced to America in the headquarters of many popular Silicon Valley tech companies like Facebook, for example. They embraced this contemporary design as a way to stimulate the creative and collaborative efforts of their team with a more open, free-flowing office layout.
At its core, this practice is in response to the cramped, creativity-stifling cubicles that had gradually become the norm across the American workforce. In an open office, walls are torn down in favor of large desks and tables that everyone sits around.
The Pros and Cons of an Open Floor Plan
The Pros
Collaborative Work Environment
Say goodbye to the days of endless email exchanges and tracking down coworkers throughout the office. One of the best parts of having an open office is that it’s so much easier for your team to communicate and collaborate with one another.
Instead of cramming everyone into separate cubicles, this free-flowing environment is usually more conducive to creativity and efficient brainstorming. Also, by opening the office up, you create a greater sense of community to better establish a culture of teamwork.
The Bottom Line
It isn’t hard to see how this type of office design can help your company save some money in the long run. First of all, individual cubicles can be quite expensive and getting rid of them alone should have some financial benefits.
Besides that, when everyone is sharing the same desk or table, you will not have to spend as much on equipment. Also, by minimizing the space you actually use in the office, you can take advantage of the space you’re saving for other pieces of equipment that are essential to your functioning as a company.
The Cons
Decreased Productivity
With the uptick in collaboration between your employees, there’s bound to be some commotion and distraction going on every once in a while. They aren’t always going to be communicating about work topics.
You have to accept that sometimes conversations will be about their personal lives, which may lead to a dip in your workplace’s productivity. Furthermore, when there’s more noise, people can get stressed easily, which could lead to a lack in production.
Privacy
It might not seem so essential, but it’s very important for your employees to have some privacy every once in a while.
The lack of privacy itself can often seem intrusive and stress-inducing for certain employees, especially those that do better work alone. This will usually reflect poorly in their work, hindering your business’ ability to function.
If you are thinking about an open floor plan for your office, make sure you think carefully about these advantages and disadvantages.
