The Importance of Office Privacy in Any Setting

Privacy used to be a given at the office. Traditional office spaces offered significant amounts of privacy, with people working in separate offices or cubicles. Recently, however, as open office floor plan has become increasingly popular, you often get workplace privacy at a premium. This lack of privacy can have a negative effect on the people in your workplaces in several ways. Let’s take a look at a few reasons why privacy is important in an office setting, and how Versare’s products can help.

Concentration

Background noise, interruptions, other employees collaboration, and other sound distractions can severely affect an employee’s concentration, and therefore their ability to work efficiently. All of these disruptions make it difficult to maintain a clear train of thought, and an employee’s concentration can wander to everything but what they need to be working on. Both visual and auditory privacy are vital to ensuring proper work concentration. One way to accomplish this in an open office plan is to utilize products like our desktop acoustic panels, which provide visual separation and help absorb sound. These panels are easily moved as well, if changes to office design are needed.

Productivity

Similarly, lack of privacy can be detrimental to an employee’s productivity. Employee privacy needs will vary - some workers need more privacy than others in order to be productive - but all employees need some measure of privacy to be at their best at work. A study done by the Ponemon Institute found that employees are 50 percent less productive when they perceive a lack of visual privacy! Employees need spaces where they can do their work unimpeded by interruptions.

Creativity

Distractions and interruptions can also impede the creative process. Creative thinking requires both large group brainstorming as well as privacy for quiet reflection and focus. New ideas need an incubation period to grow, with quiet discussion among a smaller group of trusted colleagues, before they are shared with the company as a whole. In an open office plan you will need an area set aside for these small group meetings. Portable partitions are an excellent solution, as they provide both privacy and flexibility - they can be moved around as your needs change for office privacy.

Protecting Sensitive Workplace Information

Workplace security is vital for any business, especially with the amount of data we all work with on a daily basis. Employees who handle and see sensitive information everyday need secure, private offices to work. Your customers will also appreciate privacy if they need to disclose personal information in the course of doing business with you. Having spaces set aside in your office for working with sensitive data is a vital part of protecting that information.

No matter what your office privacy needs are, Versare has a solution that will help. Search through our full line of room dividers, cubicles, and acoustic panels in our online shop, and don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have about which option could be best for your offices.