Pros and Cons to Using Office Cubicles In Your Next Office Design

Picking out just the right office furniture can be a challenging job for any office manager. Pleasing EVERY worker is impossible. Millennials prefer an open office where they can collaborate and socialize with coworkers. Older generations appreciate an office cubicle, giving them a place to concentrate and call their own.

But are office cubicles the enemy of the younger generations? According to one study, about half of open office workers can’t stand the noise. While another 40 percent don’t appreciate the lack of visual privacy. Plus, it’s speculated that the benefits of an open office don’t outweigh the costs, so it’s important that you weigh the advantages and disadvantages of selecting office cubicles carefully.

Follow these pros and cons to using office cubicles in your next office design.

Office Cubicle Pros

The original success of the office cubicle was because it provided a cost-effective means for each employee to have a private workspace. Privacy continues to be a key advantage of the cubicle system.

Other advantages include:

·       Quieter workspace

·       Wall space for employees to post calendars, memos, etc.

·       Ability to have shelves for holding binders and supplies

·       Fewer distractions from coworkers

·       Improved productivity with better ability to concentrate on focus work

Office Cubicle Cons

The new open office trend has dealt a big blow to the popularity of cubicles. Many people now claim that office cubicles are somehow dehumanizing or soulless. Of course, it’s the office culture that promotes these feelings, not the cubes themselves!

Even so, cubicles do have some drawbacks:

·       Difficulty accessing team members

·       Reduced communication & collaboration between employees

·       Need more square footage than desks alone

Here’s how to come to a decision

The decision of whether to use office cubicles in your next office design depends on the nature of your business and the types of tasks your employees are doing. For example, a call center would not do well in an open office because it would become too noisy. On the other hand, workers in a more collaborative business, such as web development or advertising, would benefit from tearing down cubicle walls to facilitate constant communication about projects.

Consider these factors about your business:

·       Do employees need to work together with coworkers and different departments?

·       Does your staff get along?

·       Which is more important in your business, focus or creativity?

The best of both worlds

The good news is that you can get the best of both worlds with a bit of careful planning. First of all, consider getting low wall office cubicles instead of high wall ones. This will improve your employees’ ability to talk with one another during work, even if they can’t see one another while sitting at their desks. Yet, privacy and quiet will still be good. You could also consider grouping employees with similar responsibilities together in cubicle clusters. This will allow employees to work together when necessary.

No office layout — private offices, cubicles, or an open office space — is going to be perfect for every one of your employees. Instead of thinking about it in that way, consider what choice is the best fit for your company as a whole. Ask yourself what the company goals are and what environment will best help your employees achieve those goals.

At ROSI Office Systems, we understand that choosing the right office furniture in Houston and office cubicles for your next office design can be overwhelming.  Especially if you don’t know what your options are.  Office cubicles come in all shapes, sizes and colors. We carry both new office cubicles and remanufactured office cubicles as well.  If you’re looking at an office redesign, contact ROSI Office Systems for a free consultation. We’ll help steer you in the right direction with our decades of expertise and well-stocked inventory.