Here is how to increase privacy in the office. The last few years have been revolutionary by all means in terms of office planning innovation. There has been the advent of open offices, which have made offices more collaborative and at the same time, there has been a rise in remote working culture.
Amidst this – there has been a steady rise in concerns over workplace privacy. There are sceptics against this concern and they believe that is privacy becomes a top priority in offices, offices will lose collaborative cultures. The people who buy into this hypothesis are unable to define privacy the right way.
In its simplest terms, privacy is an arrangement which allows an individual to work the way she/he wants when she/he wants, without any external participation. The key emphasis should be on the phrase – when she/he wants. That way, the tasks which require necessary collaboration will not take a hit.
Then there is a set of proponents of privacy, who are against open office spaces. The issue is that open offices work great for some companies and not so well for others. In general, if you want to optimize workplace collaboration and productivity, you should have an open office space with booth seating and quiet zones, that allow people to tune out when they want.
Now that we are in clearer waters, here are a few ways you can work on making your workplace more ‘privacy-friendly’ and not entirely secretive and private:
1. Have Noise-Free Zones
If you are in a product-centric business, your team will love this once in a while. Yes, the office printer noises and the noise of consistent typing sometimes make us feel affiliated to a social setup, but on other times they can also pose distractions.
Hence, you can develop smaller collective spaces which are sound free, where teams can conduct their meetings without any noises or disturbances. These places can also be used for any sensitive meetings, such as strategic reviews or meetings with your investors.
When creating such zones, make sure you take into account the usage of acoustic furniture that allows for proper amplification whenever necessary, and a soundproof setting on the other times.
2. Use Temporary Office Partitions That Increase Privacy in the Office
Want to be the cool boss? Let your employees decide what they want. Give them the option to go for temporary partition screens for their cubicles, or use temporary screens in other forms to differentiate between two teams.
Partitions absorb sound to a very large extent and also allow for a visually concentrated space to work into while creating a sense of privacy. This can be an inexpensive solution with great returns.
3. Allow a Designation Free Space
Aren’t designated cabins the ultimate step towards privacy? They might be, but they also send out the statement that you are enforcing people to sit in one place.
The ideal mix would be to give people a designated storage unit and along with a desk and a chair if they need one, and then making the entire office accommodative to wherever people want to sit – except into other people’s spaces. People usually are the best judges to decide what place gives them the ideal mix of privacy and productivity – so why not let them decide!
In Conclusion
For some companies, such as those in finance and law interpretation industries, privacy is naturally structured into the organization. For other companies, the governing principle is to allow people to make a choice on what they want – this is a sign of trust and empowerment for your employees, and the above tactics will prove to be productivity boosters in the long run.
Office privacy is just one of the several measures a business operator has to take for building a productive work environment. Why make all the decisions by yourself, when you can get professional assistance? We provide a free office furniture consultation session. Contact us and our team will reach out to you.
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