When the design of open plan offices became established in the 1950s, it was heralded as a revolutionary way to transform offices into a melting pot of ideas which would ultimately generate innovative solutions in an environment that fosters comradery. 60 years on and the reality is these open offices have become like a bull pen which encourage a negative sense of competition by pitting colleagues against each other. Rather than collaboration, it can create a state of rivalry which suits some, but punishes others. This has led to a rise in popularity of partition and acoustic screens which are designed to maintain the open office layout while introducing an element of privacy.
A recent study by Steelcase revealed that 85% of people working in open office environments can’t concentrate due to distractions, while 95% of those said they valued privacy highly when at work. The result is that the workforce is unmotivated, unproductive and overly stressed. While in theory an open office encourages staff to interact more with their peers, instead it restricts them from fully concentrating on the work at hand. The Delta Acoustic Screens developed by Rap Industries tackle this directly by introducing partition walls to the open office layout which gives staff a sense of privacy while the panels are also designed to absorb idle chat from across the office.
Affecting concentration is not the only downside of the open office either as subsequent studies have revealed a plethora of issues stemming from integrating all of your staff together. Canada Life discovered that by collectively having staff work together has led to a spread of illness and infection which has increased by 70%, inevitably leading to a loss in productivity. Furthermore, there is no way to guarantee that conversations are productive, and the sheer amount of chatter in a busy office is an integral factor which leads to distracting members of staff. For this reason, the Delta Partition Screens are equipped with acoustic foam to soak up ambient office noise to help staff to concentrate.
A final factor holding some members of staff back in an open office has been the distinction between extroverted and introverted workers. Extroverts thrive on group work which the open office layout is designed to promote. The frenzy of this group work allows extroverts to freely speak their thoughts and connect with others. Alternatively, introverts operate in the complete opposite way by excelling during solo work with very little interaction. The result of an open office is detrimental for these members of staff as the layout restricts them to working next to others and it is these who are heavily impacted by high volume levels in the work place.
Delta Acoustic Screens are ideal for situations such as these as they create a divide in the open office layout which gives staff their own space while also leaving the option for your team to bounce ideas off of each other. During the design process, we focused on introducing acoustic foam to absorb idle chatter and to help staff to concentrate in these environments. By tackling the little things in the work place such as privacy, noise and personal space, you can expect it to go a long way by giving members of staff the space needed to complete work at their own pace.
If you are interesting in knowing more about how Delta Acoustic Screens can help to make your open office layout more productive, then you can get in touch with our team of advisors on 01733 394941 or by e-mailing sales@rapind.com.
