The Benefits of Open Plan Offices
You can expect teamwork to rise in an open floor plan office, as associates work together rather than hiding behind technology. Consider that face-to-face conversations have been shown to be an astounding 34 times more successful than email, according to a study in Harvard Business Review.
Not only is an open floor plan office more conducive to teamwork and common goals, but a study conducted at Stanford University found that groups are more productive if they have cues that indicate they are working together—even if they actually aren’t at the time. That can make an open floor plan office an incredible tool to supercharge any small business since often your team members are working alone, when others are in meetings or working on other tasks.
Flexibility is also a huge benefit of an office cubicle environment, especially if the size of your team is constantly in flux. By utilizing different furniture layouts, you can accommodate additional team members as needed, or spread out if you have fewer people onsite.
An open plan office with modern office furniture can also be more cost-effective, especially if your team members are often working remotely or on site with clients. If this is the case, they probably don't need a dedicated office space.
Open floor plan offices can even offer health benefits for employees, according to research published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine, which finds that this layout encourages physical activity while at work—20% more when compared to workers in office cubicles and 32% for those in private offices.
And finally, given that the world of work is constantly changing, it can be short-sighted to lock yourself into one type of office environment. As your team shifts through outsourcing or your products and services change, an open plan office space can be easily adapted to your new goals with a fresh furniture layout that enables new configurations.
