Making Open Floor Offices Even Better With Partitions

More and more offices have set aside the cubicle floorplan and embraced the designs inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright and big-name corporations. The open floor plan or open office concept was designed to foster communication and creative interchange, employer-to-employee connections, and the overall health and well-being of employees. In addition to facilitating communication, it helps lower building cost, but the most significant downsides to any open office concept are the lack of privacy and increased distractions.

A few studies over the last decade indicate that for some, open office floor plans reduce personal space, which can negatively impact productivity and happiness in the workplace, drastically declining face-to-face communication.

So what do you do when you have an open floor office but want to accommodate the needs of both employees that work better in privacy and those that love the open floor plan? The answer may be more simple than you think:

use partitions to manage open floor offices better!

This article will feature all of the fantastic options available for office partitions and some of our expert tips to give your office designs a sense of balance and freedom.

The Case for Workspace Privacy
Migrating back and forth between an open floor plan or cubicle-like assigned seating presents a few common issues and will no doubt receive mixed reviews from employees. In a late 2019 study conducted by New York City-based design firm Ted Moudis Associates, they reported that roughly 49% of individuals surveyed said they believed having unassigned workstations and an open plan created a welcoming environment. This translates to roughly half of the employees being able to do well in such an environment, whereas the other half do not.

Furthermore, 58% of high-performing employees said they needed more private space for problem-solving, and 54% of the same high-performing employees said open office environments were too distracting. At the same time, the workforce saw a 62% increase in sick day usage, a 70% decrease in face-to-face interactions, and a rise of 22% up to 56% in email usage. (1)  What does this mean? It means that you want a work environment that gives employees a choice.

Where to Begin
The best place to begin is by understanding your team's workplace needs. Some of your employees will likely be productive and happy in an open office, while others will need privacy and noise reduction. It would help if you also considered whether you have sales employees who will need quiet to make professional calls or employees who deal with sensitive information that requires both sound and visual privacy.

Static Elements
Once you know your employees' needs, it's time to explore various open office ideas on paper or with the help of digital tools. Identify the elements of the office you want to retain, such as a kitchen or break room, conference rooms, or already enclosed offices. Also, mark any electrical outlets and data ports that you'll keep in place. 

Next Step: Planning
Think about your space strategically. Consider where to put the conference table, open-air brainstorming space, or work stations based on the typical workflow. You may not want to place them directly beside the sites where you'll be using partitions for sound absorption and privacy. After all, you wouldn't put a toilet off of the dining room when designing a home.

Control the Noise and Address Privacy
Noise distraction or personal interactions and lack of privacy during calls should be your next priority. You can create quiet zones such as private offices, and collaborative zones for conference rooms or teams requiring privacy. Create flexible, hybrid workstations for most of your space with the ease and convenience of partitions. Creating hybrid stations lets your employees customize how they work, allowing for work to happen individually or collaboratively at sitting or standing desks. But how do partitions do that?

Acoustic Dividers
Soundproof partitions are sound-absorbing portable walls made of cotton, polyester, or other fabrics. One of the best acoustic dividers on the market today, made by ReFocus™, is made of polyester. When sound passes through, they are absorbed into the panels and converted into energy, meaning the sound wave doesn't bounce back into the room they are placed in.

By reducing the noise and dampening it, the usual sounds of a workspace or office are either less noticeable or entirely insignificant. Not only are they perfect for reducing distracting sounds, but they are also excellent for employee privacy while being lightweight and easy to set up or rearrange as your employees need them or as your office layout changes—all without needing costly construction!

Why choose acoustic dividers, panels, or modular acoustic walls? Because of their interchangeability and versatility they can be arranged and used in countless ways, allowing your or your employees to set customized spaces that work for them and increase productivity. For example, an employee that may want privacy during a call could adjust their acoustic panels or modular walls themselves, then open up their workstation again after they are done. Many dividers, partitions, clamp-on divider side panels, and modular walls can be infinitely adjusted. Acoustic dividers can also absorb up to 85% of noise while remaining flexible for portioning that fits large and small spaces alike.
How else can partitions better the open office?
• Office partitions can also double as writing surfaces. Whiteboard room dividers double as surfaces excellent for brainstorming and internal marketing or note-taking.
• Dividers make it easy to design around columns, too. Necessary as structural support, columns could pose challenges to space allocation and design of your open office space.

However, modular, adjustable dividers can be used with or around columns to form breakout spaces perfect for your floor plan.

Using partitions to manage open floor offices better is a quick and easy way to play with the space you have, creating unique floor plans better to suit your business and all of your employee's needs. And, with a wide variety of customizable options available from Stand Up Desk Store, every office or workspace can benefit!

Are you interested in making your workspace optimal for employee happiness, productivity, and privacy? Browse our fantastic store for all the best open office products online, or reach out to us to get our expert opinions and help with any questions you have today!




Sources:
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B; Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment, and Health; a survey by software strategist William Belken.