There is something about the old fashioned office cubicle that strikes dread into the heart of today’s workforce. Many workers around Australia continue to spend their days in solitude, lined up in rows of bland box-like partitions, isolated from the rest of the workforce. The office cubicle, initially designed to transform office environments from open floor plans without any privacy, have over time become the signature image of dreary office life.
Inventor Robert Propst came up with the cubicle solution in the 1960s when he designed walls and furniture that could be easily manipulated in creation of semi-private spaces within the larger open floor plan. The system, called Action Office, was trialled in 1968, and soon became a huge success. The original idea of adaptable offices quickly evolved into the cubicle, which has remained the office design of choice until very recently.
The innovative cubicle was a cheap and easy solution, although far from inspiring. More recently, studies have been made regarding the effectiveness of cubicles on productivity for businesses. CBRE, a real estate firm in West Los Angles, recently conducted efficiency studies prior to moving to a new premises down town, and the results were surprising. According to one executive:
“We found that 51% of the time, people aren’t in their seats…we were also running out of space because everyone owned their own bit of real estate in the office.”
The research by CBRE also discovered that technology was being under utilised, with less than 20% of space being used collaboratively, despite business demands requiring at least a third of the tasks be shared. At this point CBRE recruited experts to provide solutions, create a more efficient environment, and encourage flexible employee choices. According to the CBRE spokesman, the results are “transformative”.
The new office is not a hipster cyber domain like Facebook or Google, where employees take breaks to lounge about or play table tennis. Traditional values remain in place, although it is now not uncommon to witness employees happily chatting in a bar area enjoying healthy snacks and quality coffee. Another section of the office is fitted with a workstation and dual monitors, where employees can combindedly examine documents and prepare business solutions. Small rooms exist nearby, glass-encased and showy, where staff can make phone calls in reasonable privacy, or take time out to do some work alone. Bright and modern colours are the order of the day, and a huge media screen continually features Twitter updates. Nearby, on the second floor, an abstract techno-mural created by a local street artist adorns the wall.
The office has been designed to give employees choices about how they work as individuals and as part of the team. It also encourages opportunity to choose various regions of the office to suit different tasks. Modern office design has changed in many ways, both due to business requirements and also because of new ways of thinking that have grown with the advent of the internet. Most importantly, changes have been made that increase productivity and improve staff morale. Choice is the key, providing staff the opportunity to fit in exactly as it suits them (and their employer) best.
UPDATE: The Harvard Business Review posted an article about a research carried out by the University of Sydney. This research revealed that open space office areas are far from the best solution and the biggest issue in these work environments is the noise and lack of privacy.