When you own a business that has employees, sharing space inevitably becomes an issue. In the past, businesses relied on office cubicles to demarcate working areas for each employee. It looks like this method of sharing a workspace is one that employees don’t respond well too. Good news for business owners! There are ways that they can still ensure each employee gets their private working area without making use of the traditional office cubicle, one of the most popular: frosted glass.
In a recent survey on co-working environments where workers share a space without having a cubicle, researchers from Website Building Company Wix and Employee Engagement Software Provider Officevibe found that people who work in non-traditional office environments get more work done, get along better with their co-workers and even feel healthier. It is a sentiment that is reinforced by findings in a recent book written on office cubicles – Cubed: A Secret History of the Workplace by Nikil Saval. In the book, the author visits the working spaces of the top companies in the world who boast the happiest employees.
On one such visit to Google, he discovered that one of the most popular spots in Google’s gigantic workplace was the company juice bar. When asked what made this space more attractive than the dozens of other outfitted rooms at Google, a representative attributed its success to “ the floor-to-ceiling windows (which let) in a glimpse of green and late afternoon California Spring-time sun. ‘It’s the proximity to nature”.
While most Australian workplaces can’t rival Google in offering employees juice bars or fancy workspaces, use of frosted glass is a way that they can move away from traditional workplace cubicles and create a more open, brighter work environment. Frosted glass is a great way to create privacy in the workplace while still allowing light in and not making employees feel closed off or isolated from each other. This is a popular option amongst modern Australian businesses looking to move away from a workspace where co-workers are blocked from seeing their surroundings or even natural daylight.
By allowing employees to retain their privacy while still enjoying a view of their surroundings, businesses can go a long way to boost productivity and create a happier workforce.
