Whether the open office—or some iteration thereof—is right for you depends on many variables:

Industry. While many technology companies seem to thrive in an open environment or a hybrid version, law firms, financial institutions, and advertising agencies are examples of industries where privacy is important.
Culture and demographics. Tech-savvy, multi-tasking younger workers are typically more adaptable to open environments. The culture in many traditional offices is more structured," with senior executives often feeling entitled and reluctant to give up their corner offices.
Brand. How will it be integrated and reflected in the workplace in terms of its design and implementation? What does the workplace say about your values?

Sustainability. How important are environmental factors like LEED (plans to promote renewable energy and employee health, with natural lighting and other "green" considerations).

Mobility. Increasingly, companies are allowing more employees, such as sales staff, to work remotely. While this reduces space needs, many managers fear this decreases accountability. In any event, employees need to return to home base at some point to reconnect.

Business plan. Perhaps most important is the need to align your business plan with your workplace strategy. If you are in a growth mode and must recruit and retain talent, creative, collaborative environments that promote the "live-work-play" dynamic are attractive lures.

These variables contain many nuances. For instance, even tech environments may include engineers who need their own space to write code. On the flip side, financial institutions might benefit from common areas for staff to recharge. In this light, a generally open office can offer a variety of private and semi-private spaces, and more traditional environments can have open accommodations.

Instant Insights /

Does an Open Workplace Work for You?

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