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