Introduction: The 1950’s was the period that saw the birth of the open office concept in Germany. It was introduced to bust employees out of a resistive cubicle perception so as to improve employee interaction, business satisfaction, efficiency and idea flow (Thompson, 2017 and Konnikova, 2014). Since then majority of office layouts have taken on the open floor concept; however, studies have shown that some offices have been reconverting to cubicle designed spaces. Tompkins, White, Bozer and Tanchoco (2010), defines an open floor plan as an office area free from temporary or permanent partition walls and closed offices or cubicle farms as a structure where floor-to-ceiling temporary or permanent partition walls divide an office facility into …show more content…
First and Second Body Paragraphs: The general intention of an open office is to give a sense of camaraderie as well as working to achieve a shared goal; however, open floor plans can lead to the development of poor health for an employee. According to Konnikova (2014), a survey conducted between two firms found that individuals who could not physically alter their work space impacted harmony and satisfaction. In other words, the lack in sense of controlling one’s surrounding eventually leads to demoralization in work ethics. As a result, this takes a toll on the psychological build-up of what one defines personal space as (Konnikiva, 2014). Therefore, in a business context this can reduce levels of focus and creative thinking as environmental satisfaction is limited. Office spaces that are left open without any form of enclosed partition can leave exposure to contagious microbes. According to Thompson (2017), cases have shown that work spaces that utilize open offices experience an increase in absenteeism of employees by as much as twenty percent. Compared to someone with a cubicle farm, Brikman (2015), mentions that there is a 62 percent …show more content…
One such way is from lack of sound privacy. Study shows that many workers are frustrated with open offices because of its exposure to distractions that imminently resulted in poorer work performance (Kaufman, 2014). The study’s survey showed that more than 50% of the participants had a problem with this form of privacy. Another way in which privacy is argued to reduce productivity is through visual distractions that occur around an employee’s field of vision (Shellenbarger, 2017). This is so whenever sudden movement or gathering takes place within the line of vision as one brainstorms ideas or is productively active in an open office. According to (Shellenbarger 2017), research shows that this can erode concentration and disrupt analytical thinking or creativity. Unlike noise pollution where a set of earphones can reduce disruptive sound it is more difficult to mitigate visual pollution in an open setting. Open offices can monitor work productivity as work environments are left exposed. However, such exposure can lead to a false sense of good work ethic. Employees can utilize monitors for personal usage rather than office work as with such openness it is expected for one to be professionally productive. On the other hand, open offices can cause employees’ productive levels to fall as these offices prevent
Companies have learned to deal with this working around these quirks if the employees work can well together, that makes people happy, increasing work flow. But if one person disrupts this flow, by interrupting people’s norms in the workplace, then they will suffer the loss end. Oroczo says there are other behavior habits that the company may not agree with but in specific situations may be accept as an office norm. “This is the refrigerator. You may put your lunch in it.
Proper ergonomic conditions prevent injuries to workers and allow them to work efficiently. Ergonomics reduces costs. Workers that do not have a good ergonomic workspace can suffer from pain and uncomfortable posture which is dealt with money spent on treatment. In Canada $800 000 000 per year goes to ergonomic related injuries. Appropriate ergonomic workspaces create an anti-injury space for workers. Ergonomics also increases worker’s productivity by designing a work place with good posture, good heights, fewer motions, and less exertion. Thus making the workspace more efficient for the worker. Ergonomics also
Team member work together in an open plan office, it allows quick verbal communication between employees.
The closed style workplace is characterized by high panel cubicles, in which employees are placed based on their rank within the company’s hierarchy. The people higher up get big corner offices with windows, while the others are stuck in the middle with four walls. Closed plan office layout means employees have an increased amount of privacy. With privacy comes a lot of concentration. Whether each employee has a separate office or if a few employees share an office space, this can be very useful for jobs that require a distinct amount of privacy, such as law and...
Full-time employed adults spend at least 40% of their time at work and for many adults it accounts for 100% of their “public” life. Workplace has become a place of social interaction. Vicky Schultz described the importance of the workplace to individual’s growth in her work The Sanitized Workplace as the following:
just having one for personal recreation. Office work in general is full of potential stress, from
Fundamentally, all human being’s capabilities and performances reflect a complex collaboration of biological and social-environmental factors. In fact, unique environments that are “nurtured” in one’s life can greatly influence the “nature” of basic biological processes. Such is the case with personal space. Even though human beings have a “natural” need to interact through human contact, the social-environmental factors in a human being’s culture dictate how much personal space is acceptable. Thus, it isn’t nature alone that determines what exact distance is comfortable between human beings during conversations. Instead, it is the individual’s cultural environment that determines the appropriate personal space necessary to feel comfortable. Indeed, research on personal space is an excellent example of how a supposed biological factor is influenced by social-environmental factors.
Ultimately, our business will be able to allocate resources using the money we’ll save by implementing these workplace flexible policies. We want to continue to compete amongst our competitors and rigid workspace environments cause employees to feel less valued, trusted and comfortable in the workplace. This type of tense environment effects our turnover, attendance and productivity metrics which is why telecommuting and flexible schedules should be incorporated in our business’ workplace flexibility policies. Allowing our employees to have a voice in how they work best will increase employee satisfaction, retention and the long-term success of our
We believed there is still more to learn about the impact of the built-environment on people creativity, productivity and on involvement into physical activities. Regardless of the occupations, new research must look into how groups of related professions could benefit from a suitable and adapted workspace that could enhance their well-being and reduce the level of stress associated with spending considerable time at work. Other research lead could investigate further the use of flextime for workers, which is been known to allow people to work from home. However, it is not always possible given the variance of work settings and professions.
In the year 1949 the term ergonomics was coined from the Greek words “ergo” meaning work and “nomos” meaning law in a meeting attended by distinguished psychologist and physiologist. The same group later formed the ergonomic research society (ERS) which was the first body in the world to study on ergonomics. ERS then evolved to the ergonomics society (ES) and then to the current Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (IEHF) (Omerley, 2103). Office ergonomics is part of this generalized evolution of ergonomics with it being a recognized discipline among the domains of ergonomics. Office ergonomics deals mainly in the office setting or environment and helps in averting injuries and adapting the work to the person rather than the person to the work.
The personal space is not due to a case of bad breath or body odor,
Ulrich, Roger S. Effects of Interior Design on Wellness. 2007. Online. 16 Jan. 2014. .
Individuals behave in a given manner based not on the way their external environment actually is but, rather, on what they see or believe it to be. An organization may spend millions of dollars to create a pleasant work environment for its employees. However, in spite of these expenditures, if an employee believes that his or her job that assigned to them is lousy and feel unsatisfactory, that employee will behave accordingly.
Shannon, B.J. "New Research Reveals 7 Trends Disrupting Today's Workplace." -- SEATTLE, Dec. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ --. PRnewswire, 11 Dec. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. .
This can greatly impact the atmosphere and environment within which employees work. According to Barbara Annisi, a personnel consultant from the US, he argues that the appropriate way to bring about the energetic atmosphere within a workplace is by appreciating and understanding different cultures by employing individuals from different walks of life. This inspires innovation within workplaces as individual’s tackles problems using different approaches. The energetic atmospheres within workplaces also make individuals to become more productive hence increasing the benefit of the whole company in terms of profits. The future of workplaces is therefore rich since most managers in the modern global economy are starting to appreciate different cultures throughout the world. (Fritz,