Open office spaces have been hugely popular in India because, by design, they facilitate better communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and idea generation among employees. Recent studies, on the other hand, have shown that this type of work environment causes workplace disruption and distraction. Matthew Davis, an organizational psychologist, suggests that open-plan offices may in fact have a detrimental impact on attention spans, productivity, creative thinking, and possibly overall employee satisfaction. With undeniable benefits as well as drawbacks, organizations across the globe that are adopting this format must proactively address the pitfalls as well.
How can organizations harness the benefits of open-plan offices, without falling prey to its traps?
Different types of roles at work necessitate different spaces. Areas for focus, collaboration, comfort, and the physical and mental well-being of the employees must be taken into account right at the designing stage. To that end, we at Godrej Interio attempted to understand the special challenges of modern offices and how open offices offer an attractive solution to address those challenges, drive productivity, and ensure employee satisfaction. We conducted a survey at over 100 organizations which showed that employees need more privacy to concentrate on tasks at hand, as well as deal with the intense pressures of modern workplaces.
Insights from our study reveal that:
● 61% of Indian employees need a place to concentrate without distractions
● 56% said their office lacked such spaces
● About 29% felt the need to have a designated collaborative space
● 15% preferred a zone that would help them relax and rejuvenate within the office
THE SOCIAL OFFICE - How balancing individuality and collaboration can address these workplace challenges:
An office space that allows flexibility and provides various zones to Immerse, Interact, and Unwind is, what we call, a SOCIAL OFFICE.
Designing spaces with an adequate balance of the user's cognitive requirements is the need of the hour. A good balance can be achieved through activity zones - Primary, Interactive, and Rejuvenation. These zones help the users to:
● Immerse: completion of tasks that require undivided focus while eliminating any distractions
● Interact: reserved for meaningful conversations, planned team meetings, and ad-hoc brainstorming sessions
● Unwind: To sit back and relax when overworked. As a result, when they return to work, better concentration, productivity, and motivation are achieved
Benefits of the Social Office:
Among other benefits, home-like environments that are soft, bright, and colorful help employees socialize and foster a collaborative and inspirational relationship with their colleagues. To build an empowered workforce, a balanced mix of 'I' and 'WE' spaces, coupled with the right access to technology, and design that accommodates the health of the employees is the need of the hour.
To know more about the optimum utilization of open-plan offices, download the complete whitepaper.
By Ergonomics and Research Cell - Godrej Interio