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Balancing the Pros and Cons of an Open Office Environment


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For the last several decades, more and more companies have been moving to an open office environment. An open office is an office that places a lot of employees in a single room, some times separated by the use of cubicles.


More companies are even eliminating the cubicles and employees are working together with no separation at all. A long time ago, most office employees had their own office. A few key employees couldn’t have an office, such as the receptionist, but most employees had an office with a door they could close when they needed privacy.But as more companies have been moving to a more open office structure, distractions are inevitable. Open office environments certainly have their benefits. Many companies simply can’t afford to offer every employee their own office space.

Cubicles are generally much less expensive than offices, and they can be expanded more readily as the company grows. It’s much easier and cheaper to rearrange and add a few cubicles as the company expands, than to add offices or move to a larger office building! An open office without cubicles is even more efficient for space purposes. In order to add more employees, you only need to rearrange furniture to make room for another desk. Many companies also appreciate the camaraderie and ease of communication that comes with a more open environment.

Intel is credited with popularizing the cubicle office, claiming it fosters creative thinking and office relationships. But other companies disagree. Some are moving toward a completely open environment, claiming the open space promotes more active collaboration and cooperation between employees.Cisco has recently moved toward a more open environment, finding that it made their employees happier and reduced space-related costs by about 37%. Still other companies are moving toward giving most employees their own offices.


Microsoft has been known for the fact that it gives most employees their own office. Then again, Microsoft is a large enough company to afford doing so. Most companies simply don’t have that luxury.Noise is a major problem for employees in an open or cubicle office. Without walls and a door to help block noise, many people find they simply can’t concentrate very well. But can anything be done about noise levels in open office environments?

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Sound masking systems use white noise to help reduce the distraction caused by office noise. This is especially helpful in cubicle offices and in open offices, because they’re very noisy by nature.Sound masking systems help mask the sound by using matching frequencies to turn distinguishable noises into noises than can simply be tuned out and ignored. If your company can’t afford to give each employee their own office, a sound masking system might help employees be less distracted in their open environment.

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Keyword tags: Acoustic Privacy Noisy Off ice Office Acoustics Office Noise Office Privacy Office Sound Masking Sound Masking (edit keyword tags)
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Anonymous also annoyed 1 Yesterday, 2:48 PM EST by Anonymous
 
Thread started: Nov 28 2011, 2:28 AM EST  Watch
i loathe working in an open office environment. different people constantly walk around my desk distracting me. how many times do i have to acknowledge them? how many times must i fake smile at their inane jokes when i just want some time to myself to work. it is very stressful having people walk around your desk constantly. it feels like people are watching my every move even if they are not. it's very stressful not having privacy for 9 hours. convenient dehumanization by corporations.
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Keyword tags: Acoustic Privacy Noisy Off ice Office Acoustics Office Noise Office Privacy Office Sound Masking Sound Masking (edit keyword tags)
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Anonymous VERY ANOID WORKER 0 Jun 22 2011, 12:39 PM EDT by Anonymous
 
Thread started: Jun 22 2011, 12:39 PM EDT  Watch
I believe this open space is HORRIBLE and dislike very much !!!
Lets get real !!!!
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Keyword tags: Acoustic Privacy Noisy Off ice Office Acoustics Office Noise Office Privacy Office Sound Masking Sound Masking (edit keyword tags)
Anonymous Interaction VS Privacy 2 Jan 11 2011, 1:37 PM EST by Anonymous
 
Thread started: May 22 2010, 12:33 PM EDT  Watch
Hi! I'm Nazrun from Temasek Design School. So, I'm currently working on this topic about the office environment, Interaction VS Privacy. I just would like to know how many people out there do prefer interaction over privacy or vice versa. I am making my stand whereby I think that open environment for offices have more benefits compared to close environment. It's just my own personal view on this topic. It would be great if anybody would like to give any comments on this topic. It would really help me in finding the right conclusion for my topic. Comments anyone? Hehe =D

Nazrun
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Keyword tags: Acoustic Privacy Noisy Off ice Office Acoustics Office Noise Office Privacy Office Sound Masking Sound Masking (edit keyword tags)
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