If you spend your working days sitting in a cubicle, you may have developed strong opinions regarding the pros and cons of this very popular office feature. If you are like most cubicle occupants, you have probably taken some time to personalize the space in one way or another. Whether you see your cubical as a prison, or a welcome relief from distracting office mates, you probably never considered how much thought has gone in to the production of your home away from home as professionals consider things like corporate interior design. If you are not a fan of the traditional boring designs, there is good news. Modern interior design has finally come to the office. New designs meant to maintain productivity while moving away from the old mundane standards have arrived. Now you just need to convince the person in charge of buying for the office to invest in some new cubicles!
This may seem silly, but there is actually quite a lively market for used office cubicle furniture, so someone is buying and selling these things! Accessories for office cubicles are also growing in popularity. It only makes sense that people would want to personalize the space that some spend one third of their adult lives in.
Productivity in an endeavor springs from the attitude of the people to pursue their aims and succeed in achieving them. This attitude to surge forward and strive hard is affected by a number of factors such as the passion of the person, the vision of the company and the collaboration of everyone involved to attain the goals of the whole company as well as to surmount their corporate competition. What influences these factors on a more fundamental level is the corporate environment in which the employers and employees’ professional lives actually play out.
The well designed professional office space must resemble a career haven as well as a productive melting pot of fresh and pioneering business ideas. A person who works in a pleasant corporate setting will do his job efficiently, providing his best performance on a day to day basis which in a general and holistic scale is more likely to make the company prosper.
One of the most essential and perhaps, the busiest part of a corporate office is the general office area. This is where the basic work happens, the hub of the employees and supervisors who dedicate a minimum of eight hours per day, five days per week of their lives in order for the company to run at a steady yet progressive pace. It is a crucial aspect of corporate office design to focus on the most effective and the most efficient plan for this area. The layout should accommodate the employees’ private work space as well as the accessible collaboration of these employees on group discussions and planning. The aisles should be wide, a minimum of 1.2 meters so that people can pass with minimal obstruction in traffic flow. It must provide ample space for furnishings, office equipment and utilities such as photocopy machines, scanners, common internet stations, etc. The spaces should be appropriately divided with minimal partitions so that supervision and circulation can be manageable. The placement of the office cubicles should be according to corporate hierarchy and ease of office communication. Each office cubicle should cater to the needs of the individual employees for a semi-private work station that will allow them to go about their jobs with ease and efficiency.
Office cubicle design
The origin of the first office cubicle is credited to Mr. Robert Probst in 1968. He revolutionized the design of the cubicle by making it movable and flexible therefore changing the earlier perception of the corporate world that people working in the office should be segregated in their permanent location through their professional status. Loose desks and cabinets back then were distributed linearly, void of divisions and they were rarely moved which made the past offices run in a systematic yet rigid approach. It offered little in the way of privacy to the employees and resulted in frequent distractions and inefficient work collaboration. Since this type of office didn’t work well, a new type emerged in the form of office cubicles. They can be moved easily when layouts have to be changed or redecoration or renovation of the office is required. The equipment and supplies of the office can be laid out properly near office cubicles without distracting the work of the employees because the space will be divided by partitions.
Each office cubicle is a flexible work station that provides a semi-private atmosphere for the employee. There is ample amount of storage for files, office supplies and personal belongings of the occupant since cubicles not only have horizontal surfaces to utilize for such a purpose but also vertical surfaces that can be adorned by shelves and cabinets. The most employee-friendly advantage of office cubicle dividers is the provision of areas and surfaces to personalize. Aside from the traditional desk where they can put their computers, gadgets and even personal frames, the walls of the cubicles can also be decorated by pictures, notes of to-do lists, cork boards, and scrap boards. The typical wall partition is about 1.5 to 1.8 meters high so in addition to not being completely visible while working on your desk, it also gives you plenty of opportunities to stack on creative ideas to make your office space reflect your personal tastes and preferences.