The Return of the screen

Over the past few years, open plan seems to have been the way to go in most workplaces. Sure, an open plan office is better than a chicken coop where everyone is segregated. But what about the downside of having no boundaries?

The open plan culture can encourage teamwork and communication – but there is a limit to just how much communication most people want to hear while they are
trying to concentrate. Open plan offices can be distracting and noisy, so people wanting privacy end up going into a private room and closing the door when they need to make conference calls, check their voice mail or just get away from irritating mobile ringtones and workmates! This rather defeats the object.

There has to be another way, a compromise between cellular office working and the open plan free for all. Nobody wants to return to the days of working in isolation, but the workspace of the future needs to acknowledge that times have changed – mobile technology, flexible working and paperless offices mean that people don’t need to be chained to their desks anymore.

The new way isn’t just a matter of adding a breakout area. A breakout area is usually somewhere people escape to for a cup of coffee or an informal meeting – it’s more a hiding place with a comfy sofa than it is a workspace. So what is the way forward?