Open Offices: Pros and Cons of Using Open Office Concept

This article discusses the pros and cons of using open office concept. It covers when to use it, how to use it, and its impact on communication, collaboration, and budget. The article also highlights the disadvantages of open office concept such as conflicts, noise, and distractions, and the spread of diseases.

Running head: ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
ORGANIZATIONAL
BEHAVIOUR

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR 1
Table of Contents
Open Offices..........................................................................................................................................2
When to use Open Office Concept....................................................................................................2
How to use.........................................................................................................................................2
Pros of using Open offices.....................................................................................................................2
Channels of Communication..............................................................................................................2
Collaboration.....................................................................................................................................2
Budget...............................................................................................................................................3
Cons of using Open Office Concept.......................................................................................................3
References.............................................................................................................................................4

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR 2
Open Offices
As per the opinion of Kim and Dear (2013), the idea of open office was designed by a team from
Hamburg in 1950 having a thought that this concept would ease the communication among
employees. Today, more than 70% of national and international organizations are using this concept.
When to use Open Office Concept
The rent of the offices and business buildings are continuously increasing in the past several years.
Due to this reason, companies are looking for the options to minimize the operating cost by
minimizing the building rent, electricity charges, investment and maintenance of equipment etc. An
organization looking for the same purpose should use this concept.
How to use
Haynes (2008) states some important factors that are required to be considered by the organizations
at the time of introducing open office concept at workplaces:
 For introducing the concept of open office, the organization is required to construct the
room of human nature. It indicates that there should be separate and sufficient space with
chair, table, and locker to keep their important documents and files secured.
 The room should be ventilated enough having the sitting capacity of a number of employees.
 The privacy of the employees should also be considered by making the proper rules and
arrangements where they can attend their personal phone calls or private conversation for
official purpose.
 The organization should also introduce the rules regarding the unnecessary noise and
unofficial chats in the working area.
 The arrangement of the employees should be done according to their departments so that it
would be easy for them to get help from each other.
 The environment of the floor should be monitored through security cameras so that
employees may work seriously having some fear of the management.
Pros of using Open offices
In the opinion of Koske and Kwasira (2015), the usefulness of open office concept can be understood
with the help of below-mentioned points:
Channels of Communication
Employees can turn and talk to each other or can ask for help at when they needed without having a
schedule of a meeting. This is applicable to both non-business and business-related interactions and
can also help in improving the social environment of an office.
Collaboration
As per the popular saying of Steve Jobs, ideas are not generated in boardrooms; they tend to happen
in corridors. It indicates that collaboration comes naturally at the place having no barriers. Open
offices force team spirit and create a social space instead of creating a closed and individual space.

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR 3
Budget
The open floor at workplace may certainly reduce the cost of construction, equipment, and utilities
and thus can save the cost of the company. It is more effective to have a number of employees in
one room in terms of office supplies and utility bills.
Cons of using Open Office Concept
Kok, Meyer, Titus, Turner, and Bruwer (2015) stated some disadvantages that can be faced by the
management as well as to the employees by adopting the open office concept:
 The high level of everyday interaction among the employees may lead to an increase in
conflicts, noise, and distractions in the work.
 As computers screens of employees are easily visible to one another, there are chances of
leakage and theft of information.
 Open office plans also facilitate the diseases to spread as if any of the employee suffering
from cold comes to office, it can directly affect the health of entire floor staff.

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOUR 4
References
Haynes, B. P. (2008). The impact of office layout productivity. Journal of Facilities Management, 6(3),
189-201.
Kim, J., & Dear, R. D. (2013). Workspace satisfaction: The privacy-communication trade-off in open-
plan offices. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 36, 18-26.
Kok, W., Meyer, M., Titus, S., Turner, H. S., & Bruwer, J. P. (2015). The influence of open plan work-
environments on the productivity of employees: The case of engineering firms in Cape Town.
Problems and Perspectives in Management, 13(2), 51-56.
Koske, E. C., & Kwasira, J. (2015). Adoption of Open Office Strategy on Effective Service Delivery in
National Government Offices in Nakuru, Kenya. International Journal of Humanities and
Social Science, 5(5), 84-93.
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