subject: Is It Better To Have An Open Plan Design Or To Use Office Partitions? [print this page] There are a number of factors that dictate the layout of your office, including whether your employees are required to work in a team environment or whether they are required to conduct a number of private meetings or phone calls. This could call for the use of office partitions or it could mean that you need to leave the workplace in more of an open plan design. There are, of course, pros and cons associated with both of these choices, so it is important to weigh them up and choose wisely:
Open Plan
This design allows you to fit more workstations and employees into the office. You are also afforded the opportunity to change the layout of the space as you see fit, simply by moving the desks around.
This design fosters a very communicative environment, as all employees are located in the same area and can discuss aspects of their work as needed. This lessens the need for phone calls and walking around.
This design can allow employees to work together on projects that may involve a number of different people. The increased size of the office can also benefit this move.
This design can help to improve relationships between employees, managers, supervisors and other executives. Each will be seen as more of an equal and less of a boss.
Office Partitions
This design ensures that your office is much quieter and much less chaotic. Phone conversations being held by other employees will not encroach upon the work of others, nor will they provide a distraction.
This design can vastly improve the personal and business security of your workplace, as the office partitions can block unwanted people from information that should not fall into their hands.
This design ensures that people receive privacy for conducting personal calls and the like. Executives of the business may appreciate a private space for meetings and performance reviews.
This design can actually help to prevent illness from spreading throughout the workplace, as the office partitions form a physical barrier between employees.
Whilst one of the above designs may be perfectly suited to the type of business that you are running, most offices will benefit most from a design that incorporates the best of both worlds. Some departments may work best in an open plan design, as it allows employees to collaborate and work together, whilst executives and meeting spaces can be divided off using office partitions to ensure that privacy is available when it is needed.
