This provides employees small, quiet places to work, as well as their own team areas for spontaneous collaboration, Sims says. For example, offices might include more open space and dedicated project rooms. By setting aside rooms for the duration of a project, rather than scheduling them hourly, employers allow workers to keep brainstorming and development ideas posted as long as they wish, which should help them remain focused on a specific mission. The key is to integrate the physical environment with technology, management practices and work practices. Evaluation of work space begins with the job, experts say.
Some jobs dictate that an employee always have an office.
In other jobs, employees frequently interact with co-workers and should probably work in open spaces. For example, software programmers or copywriters may need totally private space, but HR executives might spend most of their time in an open area and need access to private rooms only for interviewing. Customer service departments may work better in totally open areas, where it will be easier for employees to help one another answer customer queries. Mich. Organizations that want to stick with cubicles should consider some options. Stagger the cubicles, rather than line them up in groups of six or eight, suggests Wheeler.