open-plan offices evaluation
Do open-plan offices bring more benefits than harm, or the other way around? Nowadays, many companies have their employees to work in an open-plan office without any wall or barrier between the seats. Although there are obvious drawbacks, I believe that advantages of open-plan offices outweigh its disadvantages.
Firstly, I believe that open-plan offices can help to improve working efficiency and environment. Especially for companies where its employees are usually involved in group projects, the absence of wall or barrier can make group discussion much easier and increases working efficiency. Open-plan offices also promote socialising between colleagues, unlike the traditional-styled offices where employees often only focus on their own work without communication with others which may lead to increase in stress levels. A recent study done by University of Japan have shown that employees working in open-plan offices work 70% faster than workers who work in the traditional-styled offices.
However, there are some disadvantages that come with open-plan offices too. One of the main drawbacks is that it acts as a form of distraction. The absence of wall or barrier means that random noises or conversation between colleagues will be transmitted directly to the ears without any obstacles to lower the volume. For individuals who have a hard time concentrating in a noisy environment, open-plan offices will worsen the situation.
All in all, I believe that open-plan offices bring more advantages than disadvantages to the table. The issue of distraction can be solved easily by wearing earphones, whereas the benefit of improvement in working efficiency cannot be neglected.