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Office Layout: Types, Examples, & Tips
Your office can be much more than just a place of work. It can truly transform your business across a series of areas. It cannot only change the way you present yourself; it can also change the work environment for your employees. Moreover, it can make a perfect first impression, whenever a client or a prospect walks in through the entrance. You can make a business statement with a well-planned office layout.
In this article, we will look into office layouts and how to plan one.
What is an Office Layout?
An office layout reflects the corporate statement of your business. More than that, it creates a wholesome environment that can make everybody at ease but efficient in their work at the same time. Hence, it is best to plan your office floor plan as per the atmosphere you want to create in your office.
The term office layout deals with the design and décor of an office. It takes into account all the equipment, supplies, accessories, and designs an arrangement needed for the proper functioning of an office. All are within the available floor space so that all procedures and personnel can work efficiently and effectively.
In simpler words, it is the blueprint of the office floor, and hence, called the office floor plan. An office layout can be practical only when it makes your employees more efficient in their tasks. Let’s say, for example, an office floor plan where all the employees in your accounts department get grouped into one area or floor depending on the space available. It will help them to carry out their tasks more efficiently as they can now communicate within themselves much better than before.
Main Objectives of Office Layouts.
There are a few aspects you need to consider while designing a good office floor plan or layout. There are some minimum standards or objectives that an office layout needs to suffice. The main aim, however, remains to be the streamlined workflow, keeping in mind employee satisfaction. The following are the main objectives of an office floor plan:
- To ensure proper and effective use of the floor space available;
- To facilitate managers with better supervision and control of their workforce;
- To ensure steady and effective workflow to increase production;
- To provide a wholesome environment to employees to make them feel safe and comfortable at the workplace;
- To facilitate better inter-communication between various departments by interlinking them as needed;
- To provide adequate privacy for your staff working on confidential projects;
- To ensure a disturbance-free working environment by insulating the office floor from external noises;
- To include provisions for future expansion of the company.
A whole amount of planning makes an excellent office floor plan needed for satisfying the high standards or objectives is always favorable to your business.
Different Types of Office Layouts.
1. Open-Plan Office Layout
In an Open-Plan office layout, there are no walls or separators between workstations. Instead, they get defined by furniture in the office area, including cupboards, shelves, cabinets, etc. The desks may get stacked up side-by-side or replaced altogether with work-tables capable of facilitating multiple employees at one go.
Pros & Cons:
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2. Private Office Layout
A private office layout uses a cellular style workstation, with the interior walls reach up to the ceiling. It means that these parts are completely sealed off from the rest of the office floor. It is the most widely preferred seating arrangement for the senior managers of an organization. Sometimes more than one manager would share a private office.
Pros & Cons:
Image Source: gstatic.com
3. Cubicle Office Layout
A cubicle office layout is the most used type. It is a type of open plan layout where the workspaces are separated from one another using partitioning walls to form a shape of a cube, hence cubicle. It is the most cost-efficient type of office layout. You can see this type of plan in combination with private offices for senior staff and built-in meeting rooms.
Pros & Cons:
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4. Co-Working Office Layout
It is one of the greatest innovations in office layout designing in this century. These plans are best for the self-employed who generally are mobile with their work. What’s more, is that you don’t need to create this workspace; but pay a small fee and find a workstation you like or a spot on the lounge.
Pros & Cons:
Image Source: bertholdbuilding.com
Benefits of Good Office Layouts.
1. Economic stabilization of your business through cost reduction in office maintenance;
2. Better morale and goodwill with both employees and clients;
3. Improved workforce efficiency through the best possible use of office machines and equipment;
4. Improved production due to better supervision;
5. Enhanced inter-departmental communication through proper use of floor space.
These are just a few of the varied benefits of a proper and effective office floor plan.
Principles of Office Layout.
1. More natural lighting by designing the layout in such a manner that the office faces either the North or the East;
2. Maximum utilization of available floor space to create a complete workspace environment by accurately placing computer consoles and worktables keeping in mind factors such as lightning, ventilation, etc.;
3. Ensuring proper flow of work by designing the layout after careful study of the sequence of tasks to be carried out daily and implementation of unidirectional workflow while designing;
4. To bring balance to the workflow by creating an aesthetically pleasing floor plan;
5. Improving employee efficiency by provisioning necessary processes and tools with easy access;
6. Enhancing employee morale by implementing provisions needed for every employee based on their tasks in the layout design;
7. Restricting the number of private offices by carefully and accurately asserting the need for such offices as they are quite costly to implement;
8. Inclusion of adequate exit routes in an office layout for safe passage in case of an emergency, thus considering the safety of all;
9. Designing both informal and formal spaces in the layout, to set them accurately;
10. Provisioning for the scope of future expansion.
Office Floor Plan Examples: Traditional VS. Stylish.
In this section, we will take two examples of office floor plans: one traditional and one more modern and stylish. We will analyze the various features of these two examples, the style portrayed, and the advantages each possess.
Features:
Style:
Image Source: roomsketcher.com
Advantages:
How to Plan An Office Layout with Edraw Max Online?
Before we plan an office floor plan with Edraw Max online, there are a few things you must note.
- Be familiar with the interface of the online designer, the symbols, floor plan templates, and examples of the online designing software.
- Be aware of the arrangement of the office furniture so that there is adequate space for free movement of all.
- Another thing to keep in mind is a comfortable and ergonomic design.
Now, let us see how to create an office layout with Edraw Max:
New Trends in Office Layout
Modern offices are more than just your workspace. They do not portray the traditional office environment. These offices are more focused on creating a wholesome and friendly environment for employees.
Biophilic designs go a long way to create a comfortable working environment. The integration of technology is another trend in 21st-century offices.