How to Make an Open Floor Plan Work for Anyone
In one of our earlier blogs, we talked about the benefits of an open floor plan. When you eliminate cubicles and tear down walls, you can create a sense of community within the workplace, encourage teamwork, and see more interaction among employees.
While these are all great benefits, open floor plans don’t always work for everyone, all the time. For some, open floor plans can cause distractions, overstimulation, and a lot of extra stress.
As a manager or employer, you’ll find people on opposite ends of this spectrum. Many employees are all for the open work environment, while many others would prefer quiet, secluded areas to work. Fortunately, it is possible to make your work environment cater to both types of workers. Here are 3 adaptations to make an open floor plan work for anyone.
1. Respect the need for privacy.
One of the best ways to create privacy in an open work environment is through the use of headphones. By using headphones, employees can stay focused and minimize distractions. Encourage your employees to bring in their own headphones or if the resources are available, consider providing noise-canceling headphones for your team.
You may want to establish a respect rule when it comes to headphones. When someone has headphones in, consider this act a “do not disturb” signal. If anyone needs to talk to someone with headphones in, ask them to send a chat or email, rather than trying to verbally communicate. Also, if you have any music playing in the office, try to keep the volume at a low decibel so your employees won’t have to work too hard to drown it out.
2. Consider noise-absorbing furniture and materials.
One of the drawbacks of an open work environment is how loud a large room can get. The furniture you choose, the type of flooring, and other materials and features can greatly impact the noise level. Without the right furniture and features, your office can quickly turn into a high school cafeteria, when it should be more like the library.
With the right furniture and materials, you can control the sound of your office. Try adding plants throughout the room. Not only will plants promote creativity and help people breathe better, but they are effective at absorbing sound as well. You may want to consider embedding white noise technology into ceiling tiles to reduce sound in certain areas. Also, you can add rugs, carpet, and soft furniture throughout the space to reduce echoing.
3. Get rid of assigned seating and allow flexibility.
Even the most extroverted people need some quiet time every once in a while. With an open work environment, you want to give employees the freedom to move around and take advantage of the space. Your employees have different needs based on the type of project they’re working on, the time of day it is, when they need to meet deadlines, and whether they need to collaborate or brainstorm on their own.
Allow your employees to move around and work from desks, tables, couches, or even from the floor if they want. Try creating breakout areas for quiet time and focusing, where people can have the chance to breathe and get away from the excitement. Understand that headphones may not be enough privacy for some people all the time. Also, consider separate meeting rooms where discussions can be had without distracting anyone else.
*As a bonus, your employees will be encouraged to get up and move around, which is great for their health!
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