At the beginning of 1990s, international organisations became interested in Poland and they set a trend of arranging offices according to the open space system.
Open space is a golden mean to manage a team
In recent years, there has been a heated discussion about the influence of organizing office space on work environment. Supporters of open spaces mention democratic conditions of work and more efficient communication as main advantages. Sense of belonging to the team and the fact pf fulfilling the set aims together are also essential. Moreover,tThe management can control the team easier. Open space also makes the circulation of air easier and it enables a good exposure to sunlight at every workstation in the large office space.
What do the employees say?
The research carried out by Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane in Australia shows that 90% of employees is not satisfied with open space solution. They think they have no privacy and they have problems with their own identity. They do not get satisfaction from work. Usually they feel trapped and don't have the possibility to think creatively. A counter argument to the easier circulation of air are difficulties in appropriate temperature, which is individual matter for each employee. And in a season for illnesses, in an open space bacteria are transferred easier among the members of the team.
What to choose?
The nature of the company is very significant to the way we arrange its office space. A company with a consolidated structure, where eveyone is working on a similar project, can function well in open space arrangement. Creating private space for the employees using boxes with high walls usually works in this kind of work. Companies, where work demands smaller teams and the scope of duties varies has to look for solutions that will ensure a more friendly environment to the employees. Of course, large spaces can be arranged so that they form smaller rooms, which is also a common practice.
New trends
All the time we hear about new trends in Poland which come from more developed countries. International corporations invest on the Polish market and, at the same time, they change the standars of it. At the beginning of 1990s they introduced open spaces, which were popular at that time in the west and are fashionable still now. During the last year we hard more and more about mobile offices solutions, where an employee does not have his own desk, or working outside of the office. The fashion changes, people change, the aim, however, remains the same - the biggest profits both for the employee and for the company.