Mobile Partitions

Open Concept In A Office Better?

okay this may sound a little vague, but i will try my best to explain it. in a office setting, will a open concept whereby the managers and directors mixed and sit around with fellow workers better? or will a traditional office setting with normal office cubicles seperated by partitions and room for the senior managers be better? the type of industry this comapny is in will play a part in deciding the management approach. the style and leadership of this company's management plays a part as well. we also have to consider the particular department and its function when deciding whether to adopt a open or a traditional concept. I think all in all, a balance has to be made after taking into consideration all the above factors. what are your views on this?

Public Comments

1. I like the idea of an open concept. Too many higher level managers depend on the eyes and ears in the lower management level hierarchy to get a sense of what employees are doing etc... By having all levels sit in one common area everyone is interacting together. From my experiences in the traditional office setting, there tends to be very little personal interaction between those in offices and those who are in cubicles. At lunch time managers interact with managers and non-managers interact with non-managers. At my last job it was a smaller company, so there was a little more interaction between various levels of the hierarchy. However, as an employee moves up in the company they are privileged to more sensitive information. So if someone in an entry level job is sitting next to the Director of Finance some sensitive information may leak out. Also, would employees be distracted by the high traffic and phone call volume that a senior level person gets? I like the concept, I like the fact everyone gets to interact with one another. Everyone in a company is supposed to be a team, so teams do not separate themselves from ones another.
2. I think an open concept in the US is Chaotic. I think people need to interact, but in an organized fashion without constant distractions. I think lunch time and coffee breaks are great oportunities to interact informally. I don't really want to hear the personal lives of 10 other people while I'm busy doing work, which an open concept allows. It can make the day go quicker if you have a bunch of folks around you to chat with but it is not productive. teams are business organized, goal oriented groups which meetin in conference settings. Work groups are not always working on the same projects and goals and so need to have some level of independent space.
3. I think the managers at a certain level need to have their own offices with doors that they can close. It may depend on the type company you have, but the more senior level the employee is (management) they tend to need to have more conversations about personnel, salaries, budgets, downsizing, etc. that you would not want the general employees to overhear. Also, they could have confidential paperwork on their desk that just anyone should not be able to see.