Office work space is shrinking Office layout may not be the most exciting topic

Question

Office work space is shrinking

Office layout may not be the most exciting topic in Chapter 9, but an article in The New York Times (Jan.19,2011) will definitely catch your attention. Titled “Office Work Space is Shrinking”, students will discover that their future office may be a lot smaller than they anticipated, but that’s not all bad. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/19/realestate/commercial/19space.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1

As employees become more mobile and less tied to their desks, the work space per employee nationwide (across all industries) has dropped from 400 sq. ft. in 1985 to 250 sq. ft. today. And it’s heading towards 150 sq. ft. within 10 years.

“A lot of thinking about the office has changed”, says the president of Steelcase, which is the leading office furniture maker. “The work setting was a reflection of your status. A job focuses more on collaboration than on the individual now”.

Intel, featured in the Times article, was known for decades for its endless rows of gray cubicles, low ceilings, and flourescent lighting. Intel was never one of those tech companies to offer beanbag chairs, designer desks, or pinball machines. But in the last 2 years, the company has completed a major relayout of over one million sq. ft. of office space. Gray walls are now yellow, purple, and white, cubicle walls are low enough to see other employees, and lounges have been equipped with flat-screen TVs, comfy chairs, and sleek kitchens. The whole idea was to get people to work more in groups, rather than be isolated at their desks.

This also saves money. With less space needed per person, one newly layed-out floor at Intel holds 1,000 employees, up from 600. In some departments where employees are on the road a lot, two people may be assigned to one desk. Even tradition-bound firms in accounting and banking are embracing the open-floor layouts. The thinking is that downsizing makes people interact more and become more productive.

Discussion questions:

1. What are the plusses and minuses of the new office layout concept.?

2. Which system do students prefer–private offices(or cubicles) vs. open floor plans?

Explanation / Answer

1. The plusses (advantages) of the new office layout: Firstly, the new office layout encourages employees to work in groups and collaborate. Increased collaboration promotes innovation and leads to better solutions to a problem. Secondly, the operating expenses for the organization reduce. Need for lower space per employee means that an organization will require lower office space for its employees. It can also mean that an organization can accommodate more employees in the existing amount of office space, without the need of increasing the space. The end result in both the scenarios is that the organization will have to bear lower rental or lease costs, thus reducing their operating expenses.

In terms of minuses (disadvantages), new office layout concepts can disorient certain employees, thus reducing their productivity. Secondly, new office layout concepts can increase the distraction levels for employees, again hampering their productivity.

2. Students prefer open floor plans. This is because students are used to work in groups as a part of projects and assignments. They like to collaborate and produce synergies. Most of the assignments in colleges and business schools are required to be done as a part of group and so students are more comfortable working in a collaborative environment. This leads to a preference for open floor plans.

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