Open office space was a concept many deemed to be the ultimate solution in workplace collaboration and company success. Touted as the perfect arena for brainstorming sessions that would inevitably breed the best products and services available on the market and the environment for which the strongest collaborations would be born, open office spaces were idealized as the new definition of a company’s culture: friendly, innovative, and team-focused.
The only problem is, they don’t work. And here’s why:
Increased Distractions = Waning Productivity
If you’ve ever found yourself amongst a bustling crowd of market-goers while trying to find the perfect produce to bring home for dinner, you can understand how difficult it can be to focus your attention on finding exactly what you’re after and making the most efficient use of your time: Get in. Get out.
The same speaks true for open office spaces. Research has proven that productivity is at an all-time low thanks to the constant overstimulation within the surroundings. When you’re unable to focus solely on your tasks at hand, it’s difficult to hit deadlines, and even more difficult to ensure the work you’re putting out is at the level it needs to be.
Open Offices are Experiencing More Isolation, Less Collaboration
While the idea behind increasing collaboration through open office spaces looked good on paper, the results paint quite a different picture. By moving away from traditional office spaces – and yes, even the dreaded cubicle – privacy has become nonexistent. While you would expect that to automatically result in more face-to-face interaction, the truth is that people want and need time to themselves, especially when focusing on pressing work.
Harvard Business School conducted a research study that found with open spaces comes an even larger gap in collaboration. In fact, most employees are choosing to isolate themselves as much as possible despite the fact that they have no real privacy (ie: wearing large headphones and keeping their heads down in an effort to appear busy).
More People Desire Remote Work Than Ever
The truth of the matter is, more and more people would rather work from home or enjoy the freedom that a virtual office provides. When compared to open office spaces, they are finding the trade off of isolation vs overwhelm to be worth it.
Amata Offers Virtual Office Packages Designed for You
If you’re ready to ditch the open office space for actual productivity and results, then a virtual office package may be just what you’re looking for. Amata has several packages to choose from to accommodate any business needs, no matter how big or small.