Open space offices: a tribute to fashion or an industrial necessity?

Traditionally, it is believed that the fashion for "open" office space, where all the furniture for staff located in one large room without walls and partitions, "came" from the West: after all, most of the ordinary employees in European countries work in such an environment. However, the very idea to place all workers in the field of visibility of the head belongs to Prince Potemkin, and the prototype of the open space of the cabinet is captured in generations of his favorite film "Office Romance", the plot of which reveals all the incidents of work in a large team.

So, what are the advantages of offices "in the open space", and is it worth choosing a "European" layout for your own company?
«Open space» cabinet: in front of the management

• The main advantage of offices like "open space" is brought to the head of the organization:
• Remaining under the vigilant control of the chief and colleagues, employees spend their working time much more efficiently, without distracting themselves from computer games, casual conversations and idleness.
• With an open plan, almost all office furniture remains available to all employees of the organization, which allows you to reduce the cost of individual bookcases, shelving, etc.
• A single workspace allows you to "get close" with your subordinates and control not only the work process, but also the emotional atmosphere within the team.
• "Open space" premise provides the manager with unimpeded access to any working material: you can immediately call for the conference table of the right employee, or monitor several employees at once.
• Closely located office desks allow minimizing gossip and "podsizhivanie" in the team: not everyone will dare to openly discuss the colleague who is sitting two steps away from him (and even in the presence of immediate superiors).

In addition, this "collectivization" allows you to optimize the entire workflow: with direct supervision of employees, management more efficiently distributes the current work and issues instructions.

Features and pitfalls of "open space" cabinets

However, in addition to obvious advantages, an open layout of the office space has a solid list of shortcomings.

First, a large crowd of people in a closed space invariably leads to the emergence of local epidemics. Thus, low office cabinets and computers will not become an obstacle to infection, and if one of the employees is unwell, after a couple of hours the entire team will have to fight the virus.

Secondly, due to overcrowding and constant supervision (both from the leadership and colleagues), most people accumulate nervous tension, which over time will manifest itself either in a decline in the quality of work, or in frequent domestic conflicts with employees.

In addition, constant noise, phone calls and third-party calls make it difficult to concentrate on your own work. Therefore, "open space" cabinets - far from the best solution for professional creativity or serious scientific developments, requiring the performer of maximum concentration and concentration.

And finally, conflicts of social status, interests and ages inevitably arise in the "open space": smells of food and perfume, clothing style, telephone conversations and curious views of colleagues - all this will eventually become an annoying irritant.

Therefore making the choice in favor of "open space" planning it is also necessary to provide in the office a separate relaxation zone where each employee can not only relieve nervous tension, but also solve any private issues without the intrusive attention of colleagues.