Offices with an open-space culture are now loved by many companies. Besides being considered more efficient, the concept of an open workspace allows workers to be more productive at work. The open space concept refers to an office design that is open and has minimal walls, which will allow employees to work in one large room with many people.
Open space workspace concept is something that we will find easy nowadays, especially among start-ups! To better understand this working concept, read the following about the advantages and disadvantages of working with the open space concept.
What Are The Advantages of an Open-Space Office?
● Better Collaboration
Working in an open space environment will help employees to be more at ease to collaborate with each other and exchange ideas. It also allows employees to learn from one another and create innovations easily.
● Smoother Communication
Employees can easily talk directly to each other without any limitation of walls or partitions when working in an open space environment. Thus communication between employees can be done much easier and faster.
● Lower Costs
Since there are no walls and separate rooms, the cost that company will need to pay can be lower than that of a traditional office.
● A More Enjoyable Work Environment
Employees who work in open spaces often feel more engaged in their work and are happier and more productive.
What Are The Disadvantages of an Open-Space Office?:
● Lack of Privacy
There is little privacy for employees, especially when they need to talk to co-workers in private, make private phone calls, or do work that requires their full concentration.
● Distraction and Noise
Since many people are working in one room, noise and distraction levels can be a problem, especially for employees who need full concentration on their work. Working in an open space environment often makes it difficult for some people who need to focus and work without distractions.
Important Work Ethics to Apply for a Better Work Situation
Through the list below you may find that working in an open space concept is not always fun to begin with. There are a couple of drawbacks that can affect your productivity as a whole.
The drawback could have happened due to a lack of employee knowledge regarding the ethics of working in open spaces. If you are also working in an open space environment, it is very important for you to pay attention to the following 4 ethics, to ensure productive work, as well as show respect to your co-workers.
1. Mutual Respect
When working in an office with an open concept, there are no walls or doors that could separate you and your colleagues. Although this allows you to communicate freely with each other, there must still be a mutual respect that you show toward each other.
Don’t engage your colleagues in talking all the time, afterall you and your colleague must have work responsibilities that need to be tackled. Not to mention, probably people around you also need quiet time and can be easily distracted by your constant chatter. This is a very basic way of respecting your coworkers when working in an open-space office concept.
2. Don’t cross other personal space
Every human being certainly has a personal space that cannot be contested by other people. In a working case, the person’s personal space is their desk. Even if you work in an open space, usually there will be a designated desk that belongs to each employee. To keep privacy safe, it’s best to treat all desks like a private office room. Always ask your colleagues before borrowing pens or other items that don’t belong to you.
3. Keep your desk tidy
Indeed, the desk is your personal space, but because this is a public space, it’s a good idea to keep the desk tidy. Not only can messy and cluttered work desks hinder productivity, but it can also annoy other people, especially if your items cross the boundaries of your colleagues’ desks!
Thus, you should always tidy up your desk before going home. You can also purchase a couple of things to organize your desk better, such as a filing storage box and pen holder. These two things can do wonders to keep clutter at your workspace minimized. You can shop online for the filing storage box and pen holder for more efficient and affordable shopping.
4. Minimize sound
Conversations over the phone can distract people around you. Thus try to stay away and pick up your phone elsewhere. Similarly, when you want to listen to music and block out the noise in the office, you should use headphones. Never play songs with a speaker on, because it can distract people around you.
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