A. annoy your employees but increase communication
B. reduce employee stress but decrease communication
There is a third choice that nobody ever talks about:
C. increase communication, let employees decide if they will work in open or closed spaces
How do you accomplish C? Two ways.
1. Increasing communication: This is a huge, huge topic, and would be most effective with training sessions that work on the varying problems with communication. One size does not fit all, but general techniques exist to allow people to collaborate easier in a variety of ways. You figure out what works for your team and you maximize communication, which increases collaboration.
2. Movable partitions. Either people can work on an open desk layout, or surround their desk with a movable partition that partially or completely isolates them. These are cheap, flexible and allows the employee to dictate their preferred level of comfort in physical interaction.
1. Increasing communication: This is a huge, huge topic, and would be most effective with training sessions that work on the varying problems with communication. One size does not fit all, but general techniques exist to allow people to collaborate easier in a variety of ways. You figure out what works for your team and you maximize communication, which increases collaboration.
2. Movable partitions. Either people can work on an open desk layout, or surround their desk with a movable partition that partially or completely isolates them. These are cheap, flexible and allows the employee to dictate their preferred level of comfort in physical interaction.