Workplace Organisation

Today we are going to look at different kinds of working environment, e.g.

• Open plan

• Cellular

• Hot-desking

• Teleworking

• Flexible working

And think about how an organisation might choose which ones they could try.

Office Layout

• The tradition office layout is the cellular one – each person has their own office, which is a separate room.

• People may share offices, if they are large enough – this means that there is more than one person in a cellular office.

• A more modern approach is the open plan office, where one large office space is shared between all the employees – sometimes with partitions or screens between them

Open Plan Office

Cellular Offices

• The office is quiet so that workers aren’t distracted

• The workspace is more easy to personalise

• Confidential meetings can take place – e.g. doctors’ offices

• Can be locked – more secure

• You can’t easily change the shape and size of your work area

• It’s more difficult to communicate with your colleagues

• People working together won’t be in the same room

• It’s more difficult to supervise staff

Open Plan Offices

• There is more activity and distraction – e.g. phones

• The workspace is difficult to personalise

• Confidential meetings cannot take place

• Can’t be locked – less secure

• You can easily change the shape and size of your work area

• It’s easy communicate with your colleagues

• People working on the same thing can work together

• It’s easier for managers to see what’s going on

“Hot Desking”• Employees don’t always have their own desk!

• In organisations where people travel or work from home there may be a smaller number of hot desks that are shared between the employees

• E.g. sales staff who spend most of their time on the road – it would be a waste of space to give them a permanent desk

• E.g. some organisations have two offices – if staff had a permanent desk that would mean we had two each!

Hot-desking

• Needs careful timetabling to make sure you don’t run out of desks

• It’s difficult to personalise the space so you don’t feel “at home” at your desk.

• Communication is more difficult

• Not suitable for all jobs

• Less furniture is needed

• Less office space is needed

• This could have a big cost benefit

• Modern technology – e.g. laptops and wireless networks – makes it easier to do

Teleworking

• More than two million people are now classed as teleworkers

• These are people who work at home (or in some other location away from the office)

• Usually these people will work in hi-tech industries and communicate with their employers via the internet (although there are other types of home workers)

• Although employers might find it harder to trust them, employees who work from home are usually more productive due to lower stress

Teleworking

• It can be hard for people to understand that you’re working!

• Support, training, etc., can be more difficult!

• Workers can feel isolated from their colleagues

• Increased heating, etc., bills for employee

• No time is spent commuting too and from work

• Employers can recruit all over the country – where the skills are

• Workers can be more motivated due to flexibility – e.g. fitting around child-care

• Reduced costs for employer

Flexible Working

• Many employees work from 9-5, but some are employed flexibly

• Flexible working might include flexi-time – where you can arrive and leave when you want as long as you do the right number of hours per week (and usually core hours)

• Flexible working might mean working only certain days, or maybe working evenings or early mornings to suit your personal circumstances – e.g. child-care arrangements

Flexible Working

• It’s not suitable for all types of work – e.g. shops with fixed opening hours, or teachers!

• The employees need to be trusted to work when they say they will

• Communication could be more difficult outside of “core hours”

• Employers get to keep the best staff – e.g. after they have children

• People can work when it best suits them and may be more motivated and more productive

• You can avoid rush hours and save time commuting