The concept of open office originated in Germany in the 1950’s with the Quickborner team of management consultants
developing the radical office layout idea of Bürolandschaft or ‘office-landscape’.
The management consultants at Quickborner devised layouts for different office environments
and the underlying principle which shaped these designs was based
on human interaction, whereby open
office would create an ecosystem which would diminish rather than erase the
concept of office hierarchy thereby encouraging more interaction among workers. The concept
was quickly adopted and spread to different parts of the world. As with any
system, the concept of open office also had its own tale of evolution ever
since.
Though the underlying philosophy behind open office was to
create an atmosphere of interactive work supposedly in an egalitarian environment,
the concept quickly got transmuted into a money saving mechanism, which would ultimately
reduce infrastructure spending on work spaces. Though the concept was widely accepted across the industrial
fraternity, it did have its share of criticism for denying workers their well-deserved
space of privacy at work. Within the IT industry, the concept of open office has been greeted, accepted and adopted on a wider scale than in any other industry. With
the adoption of new methodologies like Agile, the need for constant interaction
has increased ever since. The days when you could send a mail or use instant
messenger to interact with a colleague on the same floor is becoming a thing of the past and today’s work environment demands loud and interactive employees than ever before. There is constant exchange of ideas
and thoughts on these floors and open office facilitates such interaction. Though the concept
of privacy has undergone mutation, research has found that without
adequate facilities to address balance areas like meeting spaces and private zones
for phone calls, the concept of an open office could sometimes be stressful on employees.
From
my personal experience of working in a busy agile environment, moving into an
open office floor from an orthodox office territory was a bit daunting in the beginning. However, once you settle as a team, the merits of open office floor
starts to reveal itself. The ease with which you can interact and share ideas
with your colleagues is amazing. But at the same time, it could be a bit distracting
at times, and to immerse completely in a particular job could be difficult. In
an open office environment, ears are open and there is always someone to
help you out. To me this is the fundamental premise which could keep the
concept of open office alive.
- Vinod Geeachan
- Vinod Geeachan
References:
- Does open-plan get the worst out of workers? . 2015. Does open-plan get the worst out of workers? . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.irishtimes.com/business/work/does-open-plan-get-the-worst-out-of-workers-1.2195271. [Accessed 23 May 2015].
- Research: Cubicles Are the Absolute Worst - HBR. 2015. Research: Cubicles Are the Absolute Worst - HBR. [ONLINE] Available at: https://hbr.org/2013/11/research-cubicles-are-the-absolute-worst/. [Accessed 23 May 2015].
- New National Office > History > Bürolandschaft. 2015. New National Office > History > Bürolandschaft. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.carusostjohn.com/media/artscouncil/history/burolandschaft/index.html. [Accessed 23 May 2015].