Crystal Rae
Where does work get done? In the office.
If you’re a business owner or manager, one of your biggest responsibilities is to create a productive office environment. There are many steps you can take to achieve this and one of them is to decide whether to go with a communal office space or closed office space.
Both options have their fair share of pros and downsides, but in this article, our focus is on communal office space. We’re telling you the different ways it can help your business.
Read on!
What’s Communal Office Space?
Communal office space is a shared office space.
Before co-working become a phenomenon, communal office space meant an open office plan – an office where employees are not confined in a cubicle. Depending on the design, you could find an open space with desks and collaboration tables or an open space that’s divided into different sections using items such as mobile whiteboard dividers.
However, as co-working becomes more popular, communal office space can mean a commercial space offered by a third party, where employees from different companies work from.
So, what are the benefits?
More Cost-Effective Than Closed Office Space
This is a no-brainer, really.
Let’s say you’re starting a business and you have a 150 SF open space. You want to turn this space into an office.
If you’re going for a closed office plan, it’s going to cost you a lot of money to build the cubicles. But if you’re for the communal office plan, your biggest expense is going to be the desks and other equipment employees need to do their jobs. Even if you need to subdivide the space, the cost of mobile subdividers is nowhere close to building cubicles with doors.
As such, if your business is running on a shoestring budget – as most small businesses do – a communal office space will suit you.
Easier Collaboration
In the workplace, employees need to collaborate.
Your office plan will either make it easier for them to collaborate or become a barrier. Which office plan do you think provides an ideal environment for collaboration?
You got it right!
A communal office plan makes collaborating a breeze. There are designated collaboration desks when a team can meet and share ideas face to face, which is far more effective than using collaboration software.
When one worker is struggling with something, maybe they’re trying to figure out how to convert c# html to pdf, they don’t have to resort to calling for IT support. They can simply lean over to the next person and ask for help right away.
Increased collaboration means increased productivity.
Nurtures Community
As a business leader, you also want to build a community where workers have a deep sense of belonging. Since communal office plans encourage workers to spend more time close to one another, it’s easier to build a community than you would with a closed office plan where workers spend a lot of time on their own.
A Communal Office Space Is Ideal for Your Business
If you’ve been on the fence about communal office space, it’s time to make a decision. As we’ve demonstrated, this space is budget-friendly, boosts a culture of collaboration, and nurtures community. Go for it.
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