4 Reasons Why Businesses Should Use Open Offices

The idea of open office space isn`t new. It has been around for decades and is often associated with larger companies. Some studies showed open space offices decreased overall productivity for the company and the general privacy for employees. However, the open office is still going strong, with companies from IT to media organizations embracing the idea.

Let`s have a look at why major employers still prefer open offices:

Employees are more open

Even if they are not available, employees do tend to be more open when in an open office space. Their approachability is beneficial to both management and colleagues. Junior employees will also find it easier to integrate in the company with an open space. Having a mix of junior, middle and senior level employees is great for company communication.

There is an open office atmosphere

If your company is working on an important project everyone will notice it in an open office. If it`s just overhearing or actually participating in the project, people will get more motivated. Sitting in an isolated office might impact work energy and enthusiasm.

Financial benefits

Whatever the other benefit are none of them actually compare to the savings companies make on open offices. If you have 100 employees it will be very difficult to find and facility with and affordable price. Having a shared common space will decrease the annual costs of the company even with things like phone line (2-3 people could be on the same line), TV subscriptions (with organizations like news agencies), office furniture etc.

Communication

Technology has brought some great communication solutions like online chat systems, but it cannot replace actual face to face interaction. Some studies found that many employees name communication as the first benefit of open space working environment. Statistics also show that people working in non-open space offices struggle with simple tasks such as knowing which colleagues are at work in a particular day. Sure work-related communication can get easily interrupted in an open office but on the other hand employees could focus better while in a group.

The bottom line is that no office space is perfect, especially to large companies. There are many variables to consider but more specifically everything is down to the business type. Some companies have larger communication needs than others and it could be beneficial to ask what the employees think when renting out new premises. Business owners also need to keep in mind that saving money isn`t everything especially when employees are unhappy. We`ve seen offices continuously evolving with companies investing in space for recreation and it is unlikely things will stop here.

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