Open Office Design is Great…But Have We Gone a Bit Too Far?

I have talked about in many a blog, the pros and cons of an open plan office and trends in design that show the increase in popularity. One thing that is worth noting however, is that with this increase in the open and more collaborative work place design, the focus on areas to help employees to concentrate has been neglected. Neglected to a point that some would say is having a negative effect on productivity.

We don’t need to go over the points for open plan office design, nor do we need to explain why it has become so popular. It is obvious that working in a team and swapping ideas, can lead to some great discoveries, but what about when you just need to concentrate on your own work? Has this now been compromised?

Studies suggest in recent years the answer to that question is yes. According to Gensler, a company that focuses on design and architecture conducted a survey regarding this issue and commented:

”Results show that a lack of effective focus space drags down the effectiveness of all other work modes: collaboration, learning and socializing, as well as the effectiveness of the workplace as a whole.”

What this basically means is that those who have the capacity to concentrate and focus are more able to work well with other people and learn. The lack of areas where individuals can sit down and concentrate brings this down somewhat and people

If you are like me and sometimes find it hard to concentrate, then having a space that you can focus can really help and will also increase your ability to concentrate in areas where distractions are unavoidable.

What we can take away from this is that even though designing your office so that it can accommodate open plan office furniture maybe a great way to increase productivity, remember to make sure that you have thought about where your employees can work in peace.