According to legend, open workplaces were invented by Potemkin. The statesman was dissatisfied with the laziness of the serfs, and therefore gave a decree on the special placement of outbuildings. They were erected in such a way that the manager could observe the work of each serf. However, open space gained widespread popularity only in the mid-20th century in America. In the 21st century, 90% of American workers work in this type of office. At the moment, open space is becoming more and more common in Russia. Despite their popularity, debates about their feasibility do not subside. Some believe that open workspaces promote corporate spirit, while others believe that they reduce employee productivity.
In some companies, employees are in principle not prohibited from having lunch directly at the office table, although this is questionable from a hygiene point of view and causes displeasure among colleagues who have lunch in the canteen, as well as among visitors (clients). How does this relate to the situation when organizing an open-space office ?
What is the result
When we open space for people to do the work that matters most to them, we never know exactly what will happen, but we can guarantee that the group will get the results they want when they enter Open Space:
1. All the most important questions for the participants will be raised.
2. All issues that will be raised by the participants will be put forward by the most qualified and capable of solving them participants, who themselves will be able to take the necessary steps in this direction.
3. In as short a time as one or two days, all the most important details, discussions, data, recommendations, conclusions, questions for future research and plans for immediate action will be documented in a comprehensive report completed, printed, and distributed to participants on time completion of their work.
4. If necessary, and if time permits, the overall content of the report materials can be reviewed and priorities can be set in a few hours even in the largest groups (hundreds of people).
5. After the event, all the results can be made available to the entire organization or community within a few days of the event, and thus all stakeholders can be involved in the process of discussion and implementation right away.
6. And such results can be planned and implemented faster than is possible with so-called large group interventions. It is literally possible to obtain them in a few days and weeks, where other approaches require months or many years.
The Open Space method works and allows people and work to move forward, but the bad news is that it may mean that things are done very differently than before. Desired things may appear, and those that are not desired may disappear, and sometimes vice versa. Overall, Open Space brings life back into the organization, and life into the organization.
The benefits of working in an open office
If you want to get from work not only a salary, but also some new experience and knowledge, then Open Space will definitely help with this. There are many colleagues around you who have been working much longer and have some valuable experience that is different from him. As for me, this is a great opportunity to learn from their experience and learn for free.
I adore my colleagues because... they are always ready to meet halfway and teach new things completely free of charge. By the way, I learned how to do various things quite well in PHP, and even worked as a freelancer a couple of times, using my new knowledge. With this example, I want to prove to you that an open office is the best platform for learning and gaining experience.
If you work closely in a team, an open office will make this much easier. For example, you can instantly discuss the most urgent issues on the go so that you can immediately begin completing important tasks. This will help you save half an hour to an hour of working time every day.
For new employees, such an office is especially beneficial, because it allows you to quickly remember all the employees, understand the role of each employee and his position in the team.
An open office motivates people to leave the office for lunch, which will certainly have a positive effect on the overall productivity of the employee, because... a change of environment during the day is necessary.
If you are a business owner, then the most important advantage of such an office for you will be the cost of renting workspace and maintenance. You can imagine that you have 10 employees who are united in work groups of 5 people. If you organized separate workspace for each group, you would have to rent two smaller rooms, but in terms of rental and maintenance costs it would be significantly more expensive.
Why open space is better than separate offices
Introverts may find it easier to approach a colleague sitting at the next table than to force themselves to knock on someone else's office door.
Reaching out to someone you work in the same office with and see every day can be much easier than reaching out to someone who has their own office.
This, according to the author of Fast Company, even works with bosses - if a manager works in the same space with his subordinates every day, they cease to be wary of him, and become more inclined to ask questions that interest them.
An open office can facilitate fruitful dialogue between employees - if it is organized correctly
This point somewhat repeats the first. According to the editor of Fast Company, employees find it easier to communicate with people with whom they work in the same room. They become more psychologically comfortable speaking in front of colleagues, they are more willing to speak up at meetings and brainstorming sessions, and the productivity of the team as a whole increases.
Open space reduces the company's office maintenance costs
As The Daily MBA notes, maintaining an open space for companies is cheaper than many private offices. An open office can accommodate employees more closely and reduces building rental costs.
How to create an open space
Recommendations for arranging an office in open space style:
- Provide each employee with comfortable working conditions: equip his workplace with modern technology, as well as provide the opportunity to work in comfortable humidity and temperature. Of course, it is impossible to provide each specialist with a separate air conditioner, so you will have to look for average options, not ideal, but suitable for the entire team.
- Equip each workplace with point light sources, in addition to general lighting. There should be curtains or blinds on the windows; An anti-reflective coating, which preserves the vision of employees, would not hurt either.
- Reduce noise level. To do this, you can upgrade the equipment, use soundproofing materials and other available means. The lower the sound load on an employee, the easier it is for him to perform his official duties - and therefore, generate income for his company.
Advantages and disadvantages
The systematic increase in the number of Open space offices is primarily associated with a large number of advantages.
Among the main advantages are:
- Saving on rent . Most organizations rent premises to conduct their activities. Open Space helps to accommodate employees much more compactly than is achieved with an office-corridor type. Accordingly, smaller area means lower costs.
- Convenient interaction between employees . The proximity of employees to each other helps to quickly solve problems that arise. There is no need to run around different offices wasting a lot of time.
- Improved control . An open space does not allow an employee to engage in extraneous activities, since at any moment he can be caught doing so by his boss.
- Team spirit and unity . A space without walls makes employees feel equal. An open office greatly reduces the possibility of forming small closed groups and helps team members feel like a single whole. The overall focus on achieving the goals is increasing. Employees gain a sense of shared responsibility.
- Adaptation of newcomers is improved . An integral part of the work process is the emergence of new links in it. Employees who have just begun their duties can easily turn to any experienced person for help. The newcomer also gets to know the entire team in a short time.
- Documentation timeframes are reduced . All papers are in one place, so there is no need to collect them in offices.
- Reducing equipment costs . The compact arrangement of workstations allows you to save at least on connecting wires. Savings are also obtained on office equipment.
- Increased customer confidence . According to research, on a subconscious level, clients trust companies with open space office layouts more.
Like any phenomenon, Open space offices have their drawbacks:
- Noisy environment . A noisy environment is created, which does not have the best effect on the performance of employees; noise has a particularly strong effect on people with low stress tolerance.
- Theft . In this case, we do not mean the theft of personal belongings, but the disappearance of work items such as pens, paper, and a stapler.
- Increased conflicts . Each person has his own individual characteristics. It is very difficult to find a compromise on any issue with a large number of interested people.
- Spread of diseases . In places where large numbers of people gather, airborne diseases spread much faster. An open office design directly contributes to the spread of diseases at an accelerated pace.
Disadvantages of working in an open office
If someone didn't know anything about what open offices look like.
When you work in a separate office, you are king and god there. If you are hot, you can open the window or turn on the air conditioner at full power, because no one else will feel cold except you. It became cold? Just turn off the air conditioner. It seems like a childish little thing, but when you work nine hours in an office, it starts to seem like a good bonus.
You can look at conversations differently, but noise always interferes with work. In general, this doesn’t bother me so much, because... I often talk on the phone with clients, which generates noise, but I can’t imagine what it’s like for software developers who work about 4 meters away from me.
Open Space itself encourages conversation, and this often leads to the spread of gossip. It is believed that this is relevant for women’s teams, but it also happens among men. And despite the fact that we previously wrote on our Zen channel, they infuriate me a little and have always infuriated me. I'm so conservative that people prefer to work at work, so gossip makes me a little sad. They waste their working time on the wrong things.
I haven’t worried about this topic for a long time, but at first it was terribly unusual to feel like you were in sight all the time. There are times when you are unwell and feel extremely tired and depressed. If you go to work on this day, then your working day in a separate office would be much easier and more enjoyable.
Life has forced me to love cleanliness, because I am allergic to dust, flowering plants, wool and woolen things, and animals. I am so allergic that when I come into close contact with people, they can feel if their cat is shedding in their house. And not all people like to clean their workplace, and dust tends to accumulate endlessly. Yes, the cleaners wash the floors, but they won’t wipe down the desktop, because... there is equipment and a lot of valuable things. Unfortunately, some colleagues won’t wipe down their desks either. Of course, you can start cleaning up and drag your colleagues into it, but here you need to have charisma and leadership qualities for everything to work out.
How to communicate most effectively at work? How to convey your message to the entire audience so that it is properly understood? About effective communication at work.
Recommendations for employees
Increasing comfort in a common space is a task not only for the manager, but also for the employees. Employees can use the following guidelines:
- Each person can arrange a comfortable personal space themselves. To do this, you can get headphones, place photographs and favorite decorative trinkets on your table.
- It is not recommended to eat at the workplace, or use perfume with a strong odor. The mixture of aromas may cause discomfort to neighbors in the room.
- Even if the manager has not given special instructions, you must follow the general rules of politeness: speak more quietly, turn down the volume on the phone.
The joint efforts of the owner of the organization and employees will help make even an open space comfortable for work.
A little in defense of open space
— This workspace format became widespread in the mid-20th century in the United States. Today, up to 90% of American workers work in offices of this type.
Dmitry Arkhipov Head of Business Solutions Plantronics
In Russia and the CIS, open plan is also rapidly conquering the market. This can be explained primarily by savings. The fact is that when placing the same number of employees in an open space, without walls and separate offices, much less space is required. This significantly reduces the cost of renting or purchasing premises, as well as utility costs.
Another advantage of this choice is the increase in corporate spirit and strengthening of interpersonal connections among employees, which contributes to team unity and improvement of work processes. For example, a Bank of America study in which 90 employees wore sensors that recorded movements and tone of voice during conversations found that more sociable workers were more productive.
After the experiment, special breaks for communication were introduced, as a result of which the team’s productivity increased by 10%.
In general, the open space looks brighter and more modern, putting you in a working mood.
However, it should be noted that when located in an open space office, it can be much more difficult for employees to concentrate on tasks, because the level of background noise is significant. According to a 2022 study by Plantronics and global consulting firm Oxford Economics, only 1% of employees (down from 20% in 2015) say they are able to block out distractions and focus without taking special action. At the same time, 54% of managers believe that their employees have the necessary tools to minimize noise and bustle in the office, but only 29% of workers agree (compared to 41% in 2015).
75% of those surveyed said they need to go outside to concentrate, and 32% use headphones to block out environmental noise. And employees in the noisiest office environments are the most likely to quit within the next six months.
But even despite employees’ dissatisfaction with working conditions in open space offices, managers do not abandon this format because of its economic benefits. And in order to retain good specialists on staff, management is taking steps to modernize the office and create more flexible working conditions. I’ll tell you about the technologies and techniques used to improve employee comfort
