Is it goodbye to open office spaces? Rethinking the workplace

Distracting, intrusive, and now a potential health hazard. The list of grievances against crowded open office floor plans is mounting, and leadership teams mull how to safely embrace occupancy in offices and their estates. some people are wondering whether the design is on its way out the door.

Most companies are only just beginning to think about how they might change their corporate workspaces, with some experts saying the open floor plan could be redone with better consideration for personal space and agility of the business respond to changing markets and further outbreaks, even a stricter cleaning regime. Others, however, say the pandemic was the final straw for the open office.

Eventually getting back to the workplace is not just about floor plans, but about a dramatic shift in office life as we know it.

A barrier to productivity?

As both a design trend and a cost-saving measure, open office arrangements have become increasingly common. The modern concept was made popular by early 20th-century architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who believed the design would democratise the workplace by tearing down walls both literally and socially. Eighty years later, designers and architects tout similar benefits, saying the open environment allows employees to collaborate more easily.

Today, there is no standard definition of what constitutes an open office, but generally the space is considered distinct from cubicles and characterized by having a short barrier or no barrier at all between employees. Following the 2008 recession, open office plans grew even more popular as a way to save on operational costs. Unlike Wright’s, which emphasized natural light and space between desks, today’s open offices are often used to cram more employees into smaller spaces.The effect has been a more distracted workforce.

Even before the impact of Covid a 2018 study?published by the Royal Society measured changes in employee habits when offices transitioned to open layouts. In each case, they found face-to-face communication declined by 70 percent, while electronic communication increased. Worried about distracting others or being overheard, the study says employees began to “socially withdraw.” Another study?also published in 2018?unfortunately highlights the fear of infection makes crowded spaces more psychologically stressful.

Evidence still emerging shows how easily the coronavirus spread in a crowded office space. As example on one floor of a call centre where 216 employees worked, 94 people tested positive for the virus. Investigators believe the outbreak happened over the course of 16 days beginning on February 21, and over?90 percent of the cases were concentrated in a densely clustered portion of the office. In addition to desk arrangements, all stakeholders will have to consider all the spaces people move through in an office, both open and sectioned off. What do you do in an elevator? Corridors? or Hallways?

Many experts hope the pandemic will spur employers to take steps to make offices healthier overall. Businesses could use virus-killing ultraviolet light to disinfect surfaces, install air filters and reassess ventilation or invest in more touch-free technology, such as automatic doors and sinks. People also need personal space, natural lighting, and enough quiet to concentrate in order to be fully productive. Many business offices will not be able to afford office renovations and so some employers will consider having workers forgo the office altogether. Each business will need to assess their own data compiled through employees. Studies conducted by researchers in America showed as much as?37 percent of US. jobs?could potentially be done remotely, so it is likely a similar percentage in the UK

Still, having a central place to gather and collaborate in person will likely remain essential to most businesses, and where open offices persist, the spaces with employees packed in like sardines will be scrutinized—which may lead to design changes that give employees more space and flexibility.