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Nowadays, a lot of offices employ open-space designs instead of separate rooms for work.

Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?

REPORTED IN NOVEMBER, 2021

Open-space designs, in which a lot of employees can sit and work together, are becoming popular among the modern companies. When compared to separate rooms, these designs might appear to be more advantageous; however, it also has some obvious disadvantages.

From the employer’s perspective, the best part of adopting this design is that it is much economical. To be clearer, if practised, it can accommodate more number of employees at a much smaller area. Secondly, these employees can be collectively monitored and can be given instructions individually or in groups. This can ensure the employer that the work is carried out effectively.

From the employees’ perspective, it allows better transfer of information between the employees, and this allows better co-ordination of work. This eventually creates a favourable atmosphere of teamwork in which they can enjoy their work. In certain cases, it also allows them to solve challenges and share their assignments in between, and this enhances the interpersonal relationship between them.

On the other side, employees get easily distracted, and they might require more time to complete their work. For example, if an employee talks to another, or if a visitor enters, most employees would not be able to concentrate at work at least for a short span of time. This also disrupts the privacy and confidentiality of a staff.

To conclude, being in an open-space set up is more advantageous, specifically in case of co-ordination of work and increased productivity. However, the system is not free from issues like privacy and distractions.

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