The open office: The joys. The sorrows. And the stats.
When they were first introduced to the work world, open offices were the rage. (Now they’re also the rage.)
They were innovative. They were revolutionary. They upended the notion of what an office would (or even should) be. “Were” being the operational word here.
Their mission was: increase collaboration and save money.
Decades after their inception, open offices have been found to have some not-so-slight drawbacks:
- zero privacy
- noise
- less productivity (ah, the distractions)
- increased sick leave (germs travel well in an open space)
- brain damage (let’s end here)
Even so, open offices aren’t going away anytime soon. Over 70 percent of U.S. offices are open concept.
But let’s cut them some slack. Some of their initial positives have remained.
They’re cheaper. There’s more light, it’s easier to communicate with coworkers and they level the playing field, so to speak.
But even so, businesses are increasingly looking for ways to mitigate some of the negatives and the workplace has morphed into a new hybrid, the dynamic, flexible office or whatever we’re going to call it.
Companies are experimenting with office furniture, glass partition walls, introducing huddle spaces, focus booths, …
They’re going for collaboration software, apps, bots and the like, and technology that will help them utilize their office space, like meeting room booking for example.
JOAN is part of this transformation. Hanging on your meeting room door, hanging out in Slack, it helps you use your meeting space more efficiently.
The big wide open office world is filled with drawbacks but also full of benefits. Have a look at this great infographic below.
