Studies Show Workers Aren’t Thrilled with Open-Plan Office Designs

open_officeThe open-plan office would seem like the antithesis to the cubicle environment. However, for some it’s little more than the lesser of two evils. According to a Dezeen Magazine article titled “Open-plan office designs unpopular with workers and can damage productivity,” many workers desire more privacy. As reported in the article, “More than half of employees prefer a private work space, while open-plan office workers often experience too many distractions to work effectively, according to new data. Research commissioned by British office equipment company Expert Market found that 54 per cent of workers would prefer to work in separate offices, while 65 per cent said that lack of natural light negatively impacted their mood.” This study illustrates the importance of not simply going with fads when it comes to office design. In order to get the most out of your office design project, you need a team of experts and no one does it better than Office Space Planners.

Another survey conducted by office furniture specialists Steelcase and research company IPSOS collected responses from 10,500 workers in Europe, North America and Asia. According to the survey, 85 percent of employees were dissatisfied with their office environment and were struggling to concentrate. Furthermore, as reported in the article, “Respondents were losing up to 86 minutes per day to distractions, and 31 per cent reported they had to leave their offices to complete their work due to lack of private space. The 11 per cent of workers who had more privacy and were more satisfied with their workplace overall were also the most engaged.”

In an article for Business News Daily, titled “Encouraging Productivity is All About the Environment,” Nicole Fallon writes, “In any office, having a variety of workspaces that are suited to different work styles and tasks is the key to ensuring that every employee can do his or her best work. O’Neil identified five “work modes” that office design should service: focus, collaboration, socialization, learning and rejuvenation. For example, you might want to provide standing desks, couches or bean bag chairs, private conference rooms, rooms with whiteboards, and a kitchen/lounge space to accommodate the various work modes an employee might occupy throughout the day.”

This is a lot to think about, especially for someone who isn’t a professional office designer. Luckily, the experts at Office Space Planners have you covered. Our expert team of designers and project managers have decades of combined experience and education in the areas of interior design, space planning, computer aided design, drafting, corporate office relocation management, project management, ergonomics and systems furniture. We offer a number of services, including analysis, commercial space planning, project management, and move coordination.

Whatever office design needs you may have, you can count on Office Space Planners!

 

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