Are you looking to update your office layout?
You may want to, considering that working in a comfortable office environment plays a significant role in boosting employee morale, mood, and productivity.
These worker attributes will either directly or indirectly impact the success of your company.
The number of employees should not solely determine your choice of office layout. You should also factor in the type of work, amenities present, aesthetics, and company branding.
Check out the following, trendy options that we think are worth a try.
1. A Modified Open Space Layout
Following the recent proliferation of modern startups with new-age generation employees, open office layouts became very popular.
As the name suggests, this layout is characterized by an open working space, free from partitions. Working desks appear as clusters or in rows.
This layout was thought to be perfect for fast-paced startups and tech companies without a designated hierarchy. The absence of barriers and partitions would make it easy for employees to communicate, consult, and share ideas.
Similarly, decisions would be made faster, which leads to prompt action and thus increased efficiency.
In reality, it has hampered productivity because of too many distractions.
One common drawback with open office layouts is the lack of meeting rooms and office pods where sensitive discussions could be held.
Along with the need to communicate privately, employees need quiet places to make calls in peace. With the open office layout, your staff will experience endless noise pollution that might affect their general performance.
You can resolve this issue by consulting with Zenbooth. Zenbooth makes office phone booths that are ideal for private phone calls, confidential meetings, and small brainstorming sessions.
At Zenbooth, you can choose from models that suit your particular office needs in relation to size. Incorporating these office booths or pods will provide a more flexible layout.
That aside, the open office layout is very affordable. Companies only invest in the necessary installations, without having to partition the space, saving on costs.
The open design also makes it easy to share natural lighting in the entire office.
2. Remote Office Layouts
Contrasting the open office layout is the remote office space or completely no-office model.
This is perfect for companies that have distributed employees in various regions or countries. Apart from reducing the overhead costs, there are other reasons why remote working layouts are increasingly popular.
First, remote offices are a perfect way to recruit talent from anywhere. Employees also benefit from working remote due to its inherent flexibility.
Advanced project management tools and the increased digital environment make it easy for workers to connect from various locations at any time.
Moreover, this type of layout brings forth several other advantages. Among them is that it is open to various working styles and employees are free to focus on their assigned tasks.
It also eliminates the conventional office politics that occur when employees are grouped.
Allowing employees to work remotely will definitely have a positive impact on productivity, attract talent, boost communication, and encourage employees to approach assignments with different mentalities.
3. Cubicle Office Layout Ideas
This is another common office layout that traditional companies have adopted.
This floor plan features quads of cubicles arranged in various styles. You can have two-by-two cubes or row-designed cubicles that follow a horizontal style across the office space.
The cubicle layout is perfect for large corporations with teams or employees that need the occasional minimal privacy such as banks, auditing firms, and medical offices.
Cubicles make it easy for employees and customers to engage in quick and open communication while still having some confidentiality.
It also mitigates common distraction experienced in open layouts from other employees' phone calls. Cubicles may also be better for the handling of sensitive documents.
However, there is a common flaw with many cubicle office designs; arbitrary seating plans. For instance, some companies may have their sales team on one floor, operations team on another, and marketing team on the next.
Yes, this makes sense in a typical organization chart, but it severely affects workflow.
4. Private Room Layouts
If your company deals with confidential information that requires ensured privacy, the conventional private office layout is an excellent option.
Companies handling confidential work or engaging in frequent one-on-one meetings, such as legal firms and healthcare institutions should also have private offices.
In this layout, employees have individual rooms which they can customize to suit their specific needs. For instance, they can change the arrangement, decorate, and furnish according to work demands and individual preference.
High-level privacy, zero visual distractions, and quiet for intense focus are the main benefits of working in this type of office design.
However, employees work in total isolation in this office layout; therefore, there is a need for meeting rooms, halls, and pantries to be included to provide space for interaction, consultation, and collaboration.
The hallways and break rooms should feature inviting designs for your staff to hold casual conversations, take coffee breaks, and exchange ideas.
5. Team Cluster Office Layout
Whether cubicles are present or not, the essence of the team cluster office layout is to have employees grouped in designated office working zones.
This model eases communication between employees and improves workflow. It also suits an organization with several teams that play different roles but require extensive discussions.
Good examples are marketing and advertising agencies.
Similarly, employees with related roles get to use the same space, share ideas, and consult widely. However, the effectiveness of this layout is lessened by various design mistakes.
A common error, for instance, is overlooking the importance of private booths and meeting rooms with the prevailing assumption that employees should work together every time.
Every company should have dedicated private rooms and meeting areas to foster communication and social interaction without disturbing those who need quiet.
Office meeting booths, for example, provide confidential areas for phone calls, performance reviews, and sensitive management discussions, as well as for high-focus individual work.
6. Coworking Office Layouts
Coworking is another office layout that has gained traction over recent years.
As the name suggests, this office floor plan involves third-party office providers that offer ample workspace for individuals & organizations.
These floor plans can feature office suites, whole office floors that suit large companies or simple desk rentals.
The co-working office layout is perfect for startup companies without enough capital to rent an office. It's also a good fit for freelancers and established companies that need overflow space.
Employees typically enjoy unlimited access to premium services such as printers that are maintained by the co-working space provider and a constant supply of refreshments.
Among other amenities included are spacious meeting rooms, event halls, phone booths, and office suites.
Nonetheless, a common disadvantage associated with this office layout is the lack of adequate security and privacy measures.
Every company should consider installing lockers, introducing individual card access to the building, and most importantly, evaluating cyber security for shared Internet service.
To learn more about how you can improve your office, contact Zenbooth today.
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