OBEX Panel Extenders
  • Home
  • Products
    • Barriers for Health and Safety
    • Mobile Freestanding Screens
    • Dividers and Screens for Schools
    • Cubicle Wall & Panel Extenders
    • Universal Cubicle Door
    • Desk & Table Mount Privacy Panels
    • Free Standing Desk Mount Privacy Panels
    • Ceiling Hung Screens
    • Ceiling Sound Baffles
    • Split Screen Panels
    • Desk & Table Mounted Modesty Panels
    • Tack Boards
    • Whiteboard Privacy Screens
  • Installation
  • Options
    • Privacy Panel Options
    • Tack Board Options
    • GSA
  • Photos
  • Contact Us
  • (760) 542-7444
OBEX Panel Extenders
  • Home
  • Products
    • Barriers for Health and Safety
    • Mobile Freestanding Screens
    • Dividers and Screens for Schools
    • Cubicle Wall & Panel Extenders
    • Universal Cubicle Door
    • Desk & Table Mount Privacy Panels
    • Free Standing Desk Mount Privacy Panels
    • Ceiling Hung Screens
    • Ceiling Sound Baffles
    • Split Screen Panels
    • Desk & Table Mounted Modesty Panels
    • Tack Boards
    • Whiteboard Privacy Screens
  • Installation
  • Options
    • Privacy Panel Options
    • Tack Board Options
    • GSA
  • Photos
  • Contact Us
  • (760) 542-7444
  • Home
  • Products
    • Barriers for Health and Safety
    • Mobile Freestanding Screens
    • Dividers and Screens for Schools
    • Cubicle Wall & Panel Extenders
    • Universal Cubicle Door
    • Desk & Table Mount Privacy Panels
    • Free Standing Desk Mount Privacy Panels
    • Ceiling Hung Screens
    • Ceiling Sound Baffles
    • Split Screen Panels
    • Desk & Table Mounted Modesty Panels
    • Tack Boards
    • Whiteboard Privacy Screens
  • Installation
  • Options
    • Privacy Panel Options
    • Tack Board Options
    • GSA
  • Photos
  • Contact Us
  • (760) 542-7444

Home/workplace aesthetics/Workplace Aesthetics Part 4: It’s All in Your Head

Workplace Aesthetics Part 4: It’s All in Your Head

23 April 2014Mark Canavarroworkplace aestheticsoffice design No comment

This next post about workplace aesthetics is designed to blow your mind. The paper it references is very highbrow with lots of references to great minds like Nietzsche and Kierkegaard. The title is “Aesthetics, morality and power: Design as espoused freedom and implicit control” (George Cairns, 2009). Most of the paper is too dense for light reading, but there’s a section about “Aesthetic as ugliness – beauty as unaesthetic” that is really fascinating. It starts on page 10 of the PDF linked above if you want to read the whole thing. Here’s the short version.

It’s Time to Tear Down the Walls…

The author of the paper was working as a facility design consultant. He was hired by a government agency to redesign a work environment that featured “regimented rows of administrative staff desks, with supervisors sitting at the heads of the rows – supervision by watching every move. Departmental boundaries delineated and defined by ‘Berlin walls’ of storage cabinets – almost as impenetrable and, in the event, more permanent.”

Top management signed off on the consultant’s new plan to switch the layout to a single open-plan office for 350 people. Workers were given more equal space, the filing cabinets were moved, and supervisors were integrated into teams. Plants were added to make the space more aesthetically pleasing as well. All these changes happened over one weekend with no warning to the staff. Workers showed up on Monday morning and were directed by guides to their new workspace—where all their personal effects had been relocated.

How Did the Staff React?

They hated the changes. Employees claimed the new layout was too hot/cold, open/claustrophobic, quiet/noisy, etc. The consultant was mystified. A few years later, he returned for another visit. In the interim, workers had been permitted to make their own changes to the layout (within reason) to better suit their needs. They didn’t return to the original, regimented structure. Instead, they changed the orientation of some desks and added some screens to break up the space (and presumably offer some privacy). One group in particular had made only very minor changes to the consultant’s original redesign.

However, when the author interviewed the group members, it was revealed that they felt they had greatly improved on the consultant’s design. “…the particular group saw themselves as designers of their own workspace, having had to overcome the ineffectual input of an irrelevant external party.” In other words, it wasn’t the layout or the appearance of the space that really mattered. It was their perception of involvement in the design process. That’s something to bear in mind if you plan to make sweeping changes to your office space. Encouraging staff input at the start is likely to greatly increase their satisfaction with the outcome!

Tags : office design
Share this article
0
0
0

Written by Mark Canavarro

The author didnt add any Information to his profile yet

previous article

Workplace Aesthetics Part 3: Office Aesthetics Stats & Tips

next article

Workplace Aesthetics Part 5: How Would You Do on This Office Design Quiz?

Leave a Comment

Cancel reply

    Request Info

    Interested in OBEX privacy panels? Use the form below to request a quote or more info

    Company:

    First Name: *

    Email Address:*

    City:*

    Phone Number:*

    What can we help you with?

    Security Check: Type the code shown below

    captcha

    Archives

    • May 2019
    • January 2019
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012

    Everything You Need to Increase
    Worker Privacy & Productivity

    Browse our Products
    • Testimonials
    • FAQ
    • Blog
    • Case Studies
    • Reviews
    • Submit Review
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Warranty
    • Privacy Policy
    • Sitemap

    Request a Quote