Office "Open Space" - the basics and principles of organizing the workspace. Open Space office: what is it? Rules for working in open space

The traditional idea of ​​an office as a room with a series of corridors and cabinets is being replaced by new concepts. So, a few years ago, companies were worried about how many employees can fit in the four walls of one room. Today in many companies is noticeable modern approach: single office space. This approach assumes that most of the company's premises are occupied by an area where employees work together. At the same time, areas for recreation, negotiations and a number of offices are separated.

Open space is

Open Space is: open space technology. Open space technology is successfully applied when an employee can move around during the day, choosing a place where it is possible not only to work at a computer, but also to talk with others, meet visitors, think in silence, etc.

Besides, successful companies, in which people dream of working, create zones with a relaxed atmosphere for employees, where they can switch to some kind of physical activity, be in the fresh air, etc. The open space technology is based on the principles of ergonomics, management philosophy, and corporate culture. “Only complex knowledge can be truly fruitful,” is the motto of leaders choosing open space.

What is an open space office

Transparency, permeability, the possibility of eye contact - these are the main characteristics open space. In the series, we constantly see how this space works. Everything is arranged in it so that employees feel the “pulse of the pulse” of their company, here and now. Even the authorities are there behind a glass wall.

In many modern companies there are not only individual workrooms for ordinary employees, there are not even partitions between them. There are quite a few companies where an individual is not assigned to ordinary employees. workplace. And all this - open space.

To optimize the process, it is recommended to separate the working space of each employee with low (not higher than 150 cm) partitions. Such an ersatz of private space allows us to solve two problems. On the one hand, this is psychological factor comfort, which is important for a person, on the other hand, a measure in which space is saved.

Another feature of the open space office is "flexible" work areas. For example, the central common area is equipped with tables on wheels. This helps to change the organization of the space depending on the work being done - whether it's a group project, a workshop or brainstorming sessions.

Thus, it is an interactive space, well viewed from the inside. Ideally, it promotes company productivity and allows employees to choose between comfortable communication and privacy. When bad decision open space reduces productivity, forcing employees to look for another place to work. Construction company No. 1 knows what mistakes to avoid when organizing this type of office space and will fulfill it in accordance with the needs and wishes of the customer.

Who is open space office for?

This organization of space is best suited for companies where employees interact a lot, and their freedom of movement is encouraged. Open Space implies a certain corporate culture: if the space is convenient for work and contributes to it, and people have learned not to interfere with each other, then such an organization suits everyone. If workers are simply seated in a large hall without asking their opinion and without ensuring silence, then labor productivity decreases. Specialists construction company No. 1 approach this issue professionally and will immediately tell you if it is suitable for your organization open space office.

Another point: open space this place is not intended for a large flow of visitors. After all, we are now talking about the place of work, and not about the space for meetings. This type of space organization is intended for companies where there is a pass regime.

And further: open space suits employees of a company where horizontal ties are strong, where teams are formed with a variable composition and a democratic leadership style is practiced. It is ideal for companies that are mainly engaged in the implementation of specific projects. Indeed, in this case, all employees are in front of each other, solve problems together and outline their boundaries only when necessary.

Separately, it is worth mentioning that they choose fast-growing companies for which this stage saving is a priority. Such an office in itself is an illustration of the dynamics, motivation and spirit of teamwork.

What is important when designing an open space office

Even at the design stage, several tasks must be solved at once: first, the spatial organization must be clearly visible. Secondly, ergonomics must be achievable without compromising the psychological comfort of employees. Thirdly, the office must comply with modern standards for working areas (ventilation, lighting level, sound absorption).

What does an open space office layout include?

· The space should be organized taking into account the trajectory of people's movement. Because in working area there are no walls as such, it is necessary for employees to be as comfortable as possible at their workplaces and not interfere with others when moving around the office.

· The space should be divided into functional zones. Considering that people spend most of the day at work, their efficiency largely depends on the ability to switch to different types activity or recreation. Thus, it is necessary to plan places for private negotiations, meeting spaces, recreation areas, etc. It is very important to foresee where silence is observed, and where you can behave more freely.

· Number of private workplaces and zones. Where will the offices be located, one way or another separated from the common space. How will they be zoned, how will ventilation be carried out there.

What does an open space office design include?

· How desktops will be placed - in rows, or "islands", or different options will be used.

What style of interior will be chosen: the color of the walls, the style of the furniture, the shape of the tables, and even the choice of lamps depend on this.

· What types of partitions will be used. The noise level in the open space office depends on the height of the partitions.

· How to arrange and what ideas to implement for the design of those areas that are intended for recreation and informal communication.

Specialists of the Construction Company No. 1 will apply their many years of successful experience in the development of open space office spaces, give advice and propose a project that best meets the needs of the customer company.

• What are the features of an open space office.
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of such an organization of space.
• How to properly plan open space to be effective.
• What rules of conduct should be observed when working in open space.

Office design in the open space format has become fashionable due to Western influence. This system organization is convenient in terms of management access to subordinates, and also saves usable building space.

Open space office: advantages and disadvantages

Open space offices have become widespread due to the benefits.

1. Useful space is saved. Even in a small room, you can equip jobs for a large staff. Benefit in financial plan unambiguous.
2. It is easier for employees to interact with each other, which contributes to the rapid resolution of issues. If the work requires efficiency, the open space office will provide it.
3. The activity of the staff is easy to control. People working in separate offices are often distracted by extraneous matters, and it is impossible to track this. Open space office - open, so this problem does not arise.
4. The principle of democracy is respected. All employees feel equal. Closed groups within the team are formed much less often or not formed at all.
5. The corporate spirit is preserved. People working in a single space feel like part of a whole, which has a positive effect on motivation.
6. In an open space office, new employees quickly join the team, as a person gets to know colleagues on the first day. A novice who is having difficulty does not need to wander around the office looking for advice from more experienced employees.
7. It simplifies the work with documents, since all the necessary papers can be found in one room.

The organization of an office according to the open space system is primarily beneficial for the owner of the company. No need to puzzle over how to find a separate workplace for each team member. You can simply rent one large room and install in it a certain amount of partitions, especially since such re-equipment is not expensive.

However, open space offices also have disadvantages.

1. The noise level in them is higher than in traditional offices. When several dozen people work in the same room, it is impossible to adequately solve this problem. Constant conversations, phone calls, the sound of operating equipment do not allow employees to concentrate properly.
2. People experience constant stress and become irritable. Even if we forget about the surrounding noise, then the constraint and lack of personal space do not add Have a good mood. This state of affairs cannot but affect productivity in the most negative way.
3. There is a risk of theft in an open space office. Personal belongings of employees are constantly in sight, so many may worry about the safety of property.
4. All sorts of conflicts are possible - even because of trifles. Someone is stuffy, and he opens the window. Another is afraid of catching a cold. All this does not contribute to a favorable atmosphere.
5. Infectious diseases are spreading with great speed. It is worth one employee to get sick (for example, with the flu), and the next day several people feel unwell. Special Studies confirmed that in an open space office people are more prone to illness.

Summing up the above, we can conclude that such a system of organizing jobs allows you to save on rent, but it can have a bad effect on staff productivity.

How to increase productivity in open space

The editors of the magazine " CEO” gave recommendations that will help to properly organize open space, so that employees quickly resolve current issues, but at the same time feel comfortable and maintain high performance.

What should be the layout of an open space office

When designing an open space office and selecting furniture for it, you should pay attention to the following:

• how the company positions itself in the market and what status it has;
• features of its activities (here the specifics of work, relations between employees and clients, superiors and subordinates are considered);
• the route along which visitors will move;
• working hours of open space office employees;
• the possibility of rational use of the premises;
• its color scheme;
• Ease of employee access to common areas.

When arranging an office in an open space format, it is best to adhere to the modular principle. This will allow you to arrange jobs very compactly and save the available space.

The working space for employees is made out with the help of add-ons and pedestals. Often several workplaces are combined in order to obtain an area for team activity. In an open space office, such zones are usually designed for three to four people. Also similar offices in without fail equipped with offices for negotiations and presentations. When purchasing furniture for arranging workplaces and individual premises, it is best to cooperate with a company that can not only select or produce desired goods, but also to carry out the design itself.

All work on the design of an open space office is divided into several stages.

Design. If it is planned to make an open space office compact, for up to 10 employees, then the ring method of placing jobs is best suited here. Tables are placed around the perimeter, forming a ring. Rectangular rooms are much more common than square ones, so with such a system of arrangement in the center of the room there is enough space for the comfortable movement of employees.

When you need an average open space office (up to 30 people), there are more layout options. If there is a lot of space, and the specifics of the work involve a lot of noise, then the so-called island placement of workers is recommended. The density of people with such a layout is reduced. In situations where the cooperation of employees is required, and there is little noise in the room, a linear distribution of jobs is well suited. Tables in this case line up in rows.

If the open space office is large, the system of modules is most often used. And here it is best to seek the help of a professional designer. Each module is a department. Between themselves, they are separated by partitions, racks or seating areas.

Furniture for such offices is usually made in high-tech style. It has a lot of different kinds of cabinets and partitions. In this case, the cabinets themselves often act as the latter. An open space office must not only look modern, but also be ergonomic. Most tables have streamlined cutouts for comfortable hand placement, as well as a special polyurethane edge, which ensures comfort and safety of use. There are often central locks on the pedestals.

Workplace equipment. A classic set of furniture for an employee is a table, an office chair and a cabinet. As an addition, a rack or cabinet acts.

Furniture must initially be provided with holes for wires, sections for laying cables, vertical or horizontal cable ducts.

As for open space office cabinets, it should be possible to assemble them in such a way that they fulfill specific tasks(for example, storage of documentation) and at the same time harmoniously fit into the interior. You can use cabinets made of various materials, dimensions may also vary. But the back cover of such furniture should be aesthetically attractive: matching in color, covered with fabric, laminated chipboard, etc. Often, offices are equipped with double-sided cabinets with a common back wall - this saves both money and space.

Glass partitions and separate cabinets. Even an open space office cannot do without equipment for meeting rooms and separate offices for top managers. Often the walls of such rooms are made of glass, and their only advantage is soundproofing. Such a design decision can be called quite controversial, as people are forced to constantly be in sight. Some are simply not able to work normally in such conditions, so it is better to use glass partitions only when organizing negotiation rooms, intended for the most part for discussions and teamwork.

Meeting rooms are often equipped with special chairs or armchairs that can be quickly folded or moved to free up space. But at the same time, we must not forget about the reliability and convenience of this type of furniture: each person has his own build and manner of sitting, and negotiations sometimes drag on for several hours. Based on this, chairs and armchairs must be chosen very carefully: to test them, as they say, personally, to evaluate all possible characteristics.

The manager's office in an open space office should look comfortable, create a sense of stability for visitors. Appropriate furniture will help with this, with massive countertops and supports, made of expensive materials and equipped with suitable fittings. In addition to desktops, offices should be equipped with high or low shelving (cabinets), conference tables for conferences and business meetings, briefing attachments, freegobars and coffee tables. With the help of all these elements, not only a working space and a place for negotiations, but also a recreation area are equipped in the office.

Kitchen and seating area. On the territory of large business centers there is always a cafe where office staff can have lunch. But anyway open format office space implies organization special place where you can drink tea or coffee, as well as relax and spend a few minutes in silence. Such recreation areas are usually equipped with comfortable armchairs and sofas. If the office is small or medium, then the recreation area is often combined with the kitchen or not at all. Then in the room you need to put at least a small dining table or a bar with several chairs.

The main thing is that a separate room with a door should be allocated for the kitchen. In such a room, people can freely communicate without interfering with the work of other employees.

Tip 1. Make multiple jobs. If a person knows how to adapt, then a huge room with identical tables is quite suitable for him to work. But not everyone has such a gift, and therefore such conditions will adversely affect labor productivity. Most people have their own preferences. Someone is only able to work in silence, and for such a person a semi-isolated space is more suitable. Someone, on the contrary, needs active communication with colleagues, and large partitions in this case will only interfere.

Of course, the format of an open space office does not imply providing for the individual needs of each employee. Moreover, this is unlikely to be done even if desired. But it is quite possible to provide a choice of at least several options. Many companies create a library-like space in addition to the main office space. In this place it is forbidden to talk on the phone, turn on music and conduct loud conversations. An employee who needs silence and needs the opportunity to concentrate can work in such a room on his laptop.

It also makes sense to allocate a separate space and equip it with a large open table, at which it will be convenient for team members to discuss issues regarding a joint project without disturbing their colleagues.

Tip 2.Plan the correct location of individual areas of the office. Keep in mind: open space office employees should not always be in the same room. In addition to the working space, you need to equip a rest room and a meeting room, as well as a place for eating. Some companies also put up a special phone booth where people can make calls without disturbing their colleagues.

All these premises must be located in such a way that employees can quickly and easily reach them. If a person who needs to talk on the phone is forced to go to a specially designated place across the hall, then he simply will not do this and will start calling from his workplace. The same can be said about the dining area. If you do not want employees to drink coffee right at their desks, you need to place the dining room as conveniently as possible.

It is quite difficult to choose the optimal option for the location of zones, and therefore it is better to entrust this matter to a professional designer. After analyzing the size, purpose and number of rooms, he will be able to offer the best option their placement. In addition, before starting work on the arrangement, it is worth consulting with the staff. After all, these people will work in an open space office, and therefore they can suggest the most convenient location for themselves.

Tip 3.Do not give preference to high partitions. Partitions are usually put up to create at least some semblance of privacy for people. But if the walls are too high, then this will be one of the reasons for the increase in the noise level in the office. The fact is that people who do not see the faces of their neighbors tend to believe that these partitions also do a good job of isolating sound, and therefore you can talk quite loudly on the phone. In fact, this is far from the case. Low partitions or their absence make employees behave more restrained - after all, a person can be heard and seen by everyone around.

Tip 4.Set rules of conduct. Each zone in the office is designed for a specific purpose. And in each room you need to behave accordingly. For example, the main workspace is not intended for loud conversations - on the phone or during a collective discussion of any issues. Laptops are not allowed in the dining room. The meeting room is not a place to drink tea or listen to music.

If employees need to communicate in the main open space office, then an internal chat can be used for this. On the one hand, it is convenient for the staff: there is no need to go to the other end of the hall to solve some issue. On the other hand, managers can always expose people who are engaged in idle chatter instead of work.

It would be nice to introduce a conditional signal that any employee can give if he is busy important matter and cannot be distracted. Such a sign, for example, can be headphones worn on the head or special usb indicators on laptops. The red indicator in this case means busyness, green - readiness for communication.

Tip 5Decorate the room with vegetation. It has long been proven that living plants that are close to people in the most positive sense affect labor productivity. And open space office employees are no exception. The presence of such “green support” makes decision making easier, response to complex tasks faster, and the number of errors made is less. Many advanced companies do not just decorate their offices with vegetation, but set up entire parks and gardens indoors, often allocating a separate floor or roof of the building for this. A person who has the opportunity to visit such a garden at any time and spend some time there works better and more productively after that.

Of course, not every company can afford such expenses. But decorating each room of an open space office with living plants is not so expensive. Tall pots of herbs are easy to place on windowsills and even just on the floor. At the same time, it will not be difficult to choose plants that do not need special care. Wipe the leaves from time to time and water the soil can be charged to the cleaning lady. Such green spaces will not only give strength to the employees of the open space office, but also ennoble the room, make it more lively and bright.

Tip 6Do not forget about jobs for superiors. Often, while people are working in the common room, company executives are sitting in separate offices. But in order to merge with the team and control the work process, the authorities also sometimes need to be present in the open space. This does not mean that there is no need for a personal account - just a few hours a day you need to be among subordinates. Or you can set aside a full day for this a couple of times a week.

Such a mode of work will allow the leader to be closer to the team, to better understand the activities of the team. Knowing the strengths and weak sides workflow, it is easier to find ways to optimize it.

Tip 7.Don't be afraid to experiment. It is almost impossible to find the ideal open space format for employees working for the company on the first try. Each team has its own characteristics, people have their own needs and preferences. A manager who truly cares about the staff will not once and for all approve the working conditions. After certain intervals, they should be changed - and see how this affects the mood and performance of subordinates.

There are many options for organizing an open space office. Workplaces can be arranged both facing each other, and in the form of a "locomotive". Tables can be arranged in clear rows, in the form of a labyrinth, or even randomly. The number of people sitting at one table can also vary. Only by working in different formats, people will be able to understand which one suits them best.

5 rules of conduct in an open space office

Daria Solovieva, Director of Human Resources, KPMG in Russia and the CIS, Moscow

People working in open spaces are required to follow certain rules of conduct. If this is not done, then about comfortable cooperation and productive work out of the question.

1. Each employee must have enough space - both for work and for storing documents and personal belongings. Otherwise, the tables will be a mess. It has long been known that the feeling of chaos reduces performance.
2. A person should always feel comfortable - including at the workplace. Partitions in an open space office will protect employees from excessive noise and walking behind them. Not bad if the windows of the room offer a beautiful view. We have windows like this around the perimeter of the hall.
3. In an open space office, there should be not one meeting room, but several. This allows you to convene meetings without disturbing the rest of the company. Also, you can not do without a separate kitchen and recreation area. People should be able to sit in comfortable chairs, relax and talk to each other on abstract topics.
4. Office equipment in the common room should be located as compactly as possible and as far as possible from workplaces. It is even better to separate it with a partition so that the noise of printers and faxes does not interfere with the activities of employees.
5. Sound mobile phones workers should keep it to a minimum or turn it off altogether. A loud call melody (especially long if the owner is not in place) greatly interferes with the work of others.

The office is a place of creativity, creativity, the birth of ideas, and therefore the design of an office in the open space style has become so popular not only in the West, but also in Russia.

The concept of open space (that is, open space) in the interior design of a modern office has become popular not so long ago. The “open office” has been “run-in” in the West, and today in Russia we can observe a general boom.

What is an open space office

Open plan office or open type office - the layout of the workspace, office, in which there are no walls as such. An exception can only be the offices of managers - glass walls. The transparency of the partitions supports the concept of an open office.

Office design in open space style: a single space without walls and doors

At first glance, in the office landscape, all the tables are scattered in disorder, at different angles to each other, forming work areas of different sizes and configurations. However, in reality, as the creator of open space Frank Duffy explains, in this chaos there is a clear order based on detailed study relationships between different departments and individuals.

Open space office design: horizontal management model

If in the old type of offices the chatter of employees was not encouraged, then the atmosphere of the new ones, on the contrary, encourages them to exchange views. Managers have become more united in all respects.

The rejection of offices allowed significant savings, and a promotion does not mean more separation from the team, unless the lucky person gets a bigger table.

Pros and cons of an open space office

In the design of each space, there are both pluses and minuses. It is like the law of communicating vessels, like a medal with two sides, yin and yang. Open space is no exception. Our list outweighs the positives of working outdoors. Perhaps we have not yet fully felt all the hardships.

Advantages of open space

• ease of management control;
• ease of communication between employees;
• lack of gossip;
• maximum operational interaction between employees working on the same task;
• eye contact;
• democratic relations;
• planning solves the issue of savings.

Cons of open space

• domestic conflicts on the basis of "fresh air" - two opposing camps of the air conditioner on and off;
• ease of spread of infections;
• lack of personal space.

Office design in open space style: cost savings

open space office layout

An open layout is good when employees are engaged in monotonous, well-regulated, routine work (call center, technical support, etc.). If we are talking O creative work- open space, surprisingly, is not suitable.

It is more practical to use spacious separate rooms such as creative studios.

Office design in open space style - photo gallery

Open space office design: noise

Office design in open space style: ease of management control

Office design in open space style: ease of communication between employees

Office design in open space style: ease of spread of infections

Open space office design: eye contact

Open space office design: lack of personal space

Office design in open space style: democratic relationships

Open space offices have been known since the time of the engineers of Henry Ford and still remain one of the most popular types of planning. Numerous studies prove 9 Reasons That Open-Space Offices Are Insanely Stupid. that this format has become obsolete: work efficiency is lower than in office-type offices, and employees get tired faster and have less time.

The main problems that arise in open space:

1. Noise generated by people and equipment.
2. The risk of spreading the infection if one of the "responsible" colleagues comes to the office sick.
3. Inability to work due to frequent interruptions and meetings.

If you work best in the morning or in the evening, when most of your colleagues are not at work, and in two hours you manage to do what you didn’t do in the other six, take a look at our recommendations.

Leaving the office

Flexible working hours

If the format of your work allows, use a flexible schedule. For some, it is better and more convenient to work in the morning, when most of the colleagues are not yet at the workplace, while others wake up in the late afternoon.

Follow your biorhythms.

Negotiating such a schedule with your superiors can be difficult, but it's worth at least trying. If the task is completed, then what difference does it make, in what particular period of time?

The practice of the publishing house where I worked showed the effectiveness of this approach. Only employees involved in customer service and salespeople had a clear start and end time for the working day. The editorial, promotion, and other departments formally started at 10:00, but even within the same department, there were distinctions between owls and larks.

Transition to partial remote

For some people, wearing active noise canceling headphones may cause dizziness or headaches. And the point here is not the quality of the performance of the headphones themselves, but the anatomical features of a particular person and his vestibular apparatus.

In order not to waste your money, ask friends who have such headphones to borrow them for a couple of days, or before buying, ask the store about the features of the return if suddenly the headphones do not suit you.

According to the Consumer Rights Protection Law Law of the Russian Federation of 07.02.1992 No. 2300-1 "On Protection of Consumer Rights". and article 502 Civil Code You can return an item of good quality to the store within 14 days of purchase. But the store may insist that these headphones are technically sophisticated products. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 19.01.1998 No. 55. which cannot be returned or exchanged.

We are engaged in redevelopment

Look critically at the layout of the place where you work. Do you have a dedicated space for the kitchen and is it a separate room, a fence or a table in the middle of the room with a tea and coffee maker?

The coffee maker and other noisy household appliances should be isolated from the main room as much as possible. If there is a separate fence, then try to negotiate to bring it up to the ceiling and separate the kitchen from the common area with a door.

Printers and coolers should be located as far as possible from workplaces.

The office should be divided into noisy and quiet areas. To settle together marketers and programmers - bad idea for both departments.

Organize your workplace so that you enjoy being there, because we spend most of the day at work. A comfortable workplace is a balance between openness and personal space. You can isolate yourself from colleagues with flowers, a partition or a locker without leaving the common space.

Save time

The danger of open space is that every employee is almost at arm's length. So the advantage of this layout turns into a curse, because you are constantly distracted. At the same time, what may be an urgent and important task for your colleague turns around for you.

When scheduling meetings, adhere to the rule of allocating mandatory and optional participants, at the end of the planning meeting, send everyone a protocol with final decisions and deadlines for completing tasks.

Allocate time that will be only yours to complete your tasks, when none of your colleagues will distract you with their questions. Notify co-workers in advance that you are preparing for an important deadline for the entire team, so ask them not to disturb you on a certain day or hour.

Working in open space is a series of compromises. Start the changes with yourself and your immediate environment, then gradually the rest of your colleagues will catch up to the new standards. Even if you are not a leader, but an ordinary employee, you can change the life of your office for the better. It is enough to take an active position and promote your ideas.

Tell us how you solve the problems of working in open space?

The most common form of organization of the work process today is the office. In a developed society, most people work in it. There are various configurations of offices, one of them is the Open space office. Let's take a closer look at what it is.

What is Open Space?

Open space (translated "open space“) is a type of office space layout in which workplaces are located in one large room and are separated from each other by thin partitions.

The first to use this type of office in America. Today, more than 90% of US office workers work in such premises. It became widespread in Russia in the middle of the 20th century.

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:

1. Savings on rent. Most organizations rent premises for their activities. Open Space helps to place employees much more compactly than is obtained with a cabinet-corridor type. Accordingly, a smaller area means lower costs.
2. Convenient interaction between employees. The close location of employees to each other helps to quickly solve the problems that have arisen. There is no need to run around different offices spending a lot of time on it.
3. Improved control. Open space does not allow the employee to engage in extraneous matters, since at any moment the boss can catch him doing this.
4. 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 set goals is increasing. Employees have a sense of shared responsibility.
5. Improved adaptability for beginners. An integral part of the workflow is the emergence of new links in it. Employees who have just started their duties can easily contact any experienced person for help. A beginner also gets to know the whole team in a short time.
6. Reduced paperwork time. All papers are in one place, so they do not need to be collected from offices.
7. Reduce equipment costs. The compact arrangement of workplaces allows you to save at least on connecting wires. Savings are also obtained on office equipment.
8. Increasing customer confidence. According to research, on a subconscious level, customers trust companies with open space office layouts more.

Like any phenomenon, open space offices have their drawbacks:

1. Noisy environment. A noisy environment is created, which does not have the best effect on the performance of employees, especially noise affects people with low stress resistance.
2. Theft. In this case, this does not mean the theft of personal belongings, but the disappearance of work items of pens, paper, a stapler.
3. Increasing conflict. 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.
4. The spread of disease. In places where a large number of people accumulate, diseases transmitted by airborne droplets spread much faster. The design of an open office directly contributes to the spread of diseases at an accelerated pace.

Employee reviews

In the United States of America, many researchers have studied the comfort of working in Open Space offices. According to research, most employees complain about:

• that they lack personal space;
• on climatic conditions indoors;
• to the noisy environment in this type of office. Noise prevents them from concentrating.

How to increase the productivity of employees in the Open Space zone?

If productivity in an open space office leaves much to be desired, there are a number of measures to help increase it:

1. Smart room layout. The first step is to take care of the interior layout of the office. It is better to abandon the standardization of the workplace in favor of diversity. It is necessary to provide employees with a choice of a place where it is more convenient for them to work. IN office space set up a big table general meetings, as well as equip a recreation area near the workplace. It is also worth filling the entire office space with plants, but so that they do not interfere with the work process.
2. Possibility of adjustment internal environment . All employees should be able to regulate the temperature and humidity of the air, as well as its air conditioning. This will create acceptable working conditions for each person.
3. Refusal of high partitions. High partitions contribute to an increase in the noise level throughout the office, while the effect of increasing personal space is almost impossible to achieve.
4. Setting rules. In any large team, one cannot do without a set of rules that will regulate the attitude of colleagues towards each other. For example, it is worth recommending the introduction of special signs, prohibiting listening to music without headphones, talking loudly, etc.
5. Leadership should be closer to the "people". Usually, managers allocate a separate office for themselves, while employees work in a common space. If the boss arranges a workplace not far from his employees and refuses to personal account, he can improve the microclimate in the team, thereby significantly increasing productivity.
6. "Breath of fresh air. Fresh air increases brain activity, and also reduces the irritation of the nervous system. It also helps fight various diseases. Therefore, it is worth installing forced ventilation in the office, which provides a regular supply of oxygen.