A satisfactory workstation facilitates tasks, provides privacy, and recognizes employees' individualities.

Open-plan office design should help reduce the distractions of the open area and facilitate the occupants' tasks. A good workstation environment is created through the interaction of many elements and design strategies:

• Block occupants from distractions;
• Mark boundaries between public and private space;
• Allow personalization;
• Provide work surfaces, furniture, and equipment appropriate to the occupant and his or her tasks.

After the 4-year COPE study, researchers have compiled design strategies that will help designers meet all employee needs in open-plan offices. All of these design techniques are more effective when combined with others.

For suggestions on improving acoustic privacy, please see the Acoustics section.

Elements of Workstation Design
When creating cubicles, designers can use the following to modify the environment.

• Partitions (partial-height screens)
• Furnishings: chairs, desks, tables, storage units, work surfaces, etc
• Windows
• Control systems
• Workstation size
• Location relative to important personnel and equipment

Partitions
Partitions are used in open-plan offices to create acoustic and visual privacy. They can provide a feeling of enclosure and mark the boundaries of an occupant's office space. Partitions are an excellent way to differentiate between public and private areas and should be used to block occupants off from the distracting interaction that occurs in public spaces, such as corridors, meeting rooms, kitchens, break rooms, and space for communal equipment like a photocopier or printer.

There are a number of partition features that can increase occupant satisfaction:

• Partially or fully opaque partitions provide greater visual privacy;
• More partitions provide better enclosure (e.g.: 4 partitions instead of 2);
• Higher partitions provide better acoustic and visual privacy than low ones; however, the partitions do not all have to be the same size to provide privacy and enclosure. A design with some high and low partitions may satisfy privacy and daylight access. It is most effective to evaluate where the occupant requires privacy and whether the requirement is for seated or standing privacy.

Note: Partition height, width, surface, and density greatly affect acoustic privacy and lighting uniformity and distribution. Please refer to COPE ACOUSTIC DESIGN STRATEGIES and COPE LIGHTING DESIGN STRATEGIES.

Workstation Size and Density
Larger workstations are generally better than smaller workstations because they provide better acoustic and visual privacy, allow for more workspace, and contribute to feelings of enclosure.

Spatial density is calculated by measuring workstation size; the smaller the workstation, the higher the density. Occupants are generally happier with lower density: therefore more square feet per person.

The number of people in an open-plan office is another measure of density: social density. Social density rises as the number of occupants increases. As with spatial density, occupants prefer lower density offices. Designers should aim for as few occupants as possible with reasonably large workstations to keep social and spatial density low. Low density gives occupants greater task and speech privacy.

Note: Workstation size affects sound propagation. Please refer to COPE ACOUSTIC DESIGN STRATEGIES.

Furnishings

Office furnishings respond to an employee's physical and task needs and their recognition needs. A combination of two horizontal work surfaces, some storage space such as shelves or filing cabinets, and a good chair tends to be satisfactory to most occupants. However, furnishing requirements will depend greatly on employees' tasks.

• Ensure that the work surfaces and the chair are appropriate for the physical characteristics of the occupant (height, reach, leg length). The height of the desk and chair and the shape of the chair greatly affect occupant comfort and satisfaction. Adjustable furniture makes it easier to adapt furnishings to the specific needs of an occupant.
  
• Provide appropriate chairs because they are often the most important piece of furniture for seated workers. Employees generally wish their chairs to be comfortable and adjustable. A chair contributes to employee health as well as comfort because poor posture can cause back problems or other strain injuries ^[1].
  
• Provide enough storage for all work-related material and for some personal items, such as shoes, coat, photographs, wallet, keys, food, plants, tissues, etc. It is also important to provide some lockable storage so that employees can protect valuables and confidential material.
  
• Provide good quality furnishings and maintain the quality. Poor quality or poorly maintained furnishings send the message that employees are unimportant. These furnishings may also have to be replaced often, creating disruption and higher long-term costs.
• Consider the materials used in the furnishings. Some fabrics may trap dust, mould, and other contaminants that can bother employees. Some materials may also emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which may be dangerous and contribute to indoor air quality-related symptoms. For more information, please refer to COPE VENTILATION.

Note: The colour and surface characteristics affect light distribution. Please refer to COPE LIGHTING DESIGN STRATEGIES.

Access to Daylight and a View
Most occupants prefer to have some access to a window.

• Provide access to a window to give occupants daylight. Daylight use can reduce the need for electric lighting and provide satisfactory natural light. Exposure to high-intensity light may also increase the general health, well-being, and mood of office occupants. This light exposure can be achieved with daylight. While researchers cannot specify a necessary daily light dose, there is evidence that humans require more light exposure than they get with current interior light levels. (Daylight can cause some lighting difficulties, such as glare. Blinds or shades can solve this problem. For recommendations on daylight and windows in open-plan offices please refer to COPE LIGHTING DESIGN STRATEGIES.)

• Provide access to a view, because it offers occupants a connection with the outside world and a relaxing image at which they can gaze when taking a break. The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America suggests that a window must have an area of at least 20% of the window wall to provide an adequate view. ^[2] Skylights and windows that provide a view of the sky do not satisfy occupant desires for a view.

Note: Access to a window can cause dissatisfaction with thermal comfort. Please refer to COPE VENTILATION.

Layout
Layout refers to the organization and arrangement of workstations and equipment in an open-plan office. By creating a good arrangement, designers can improve the functionality and the environment of an open-plan office.

There are many considerations for office layout.

• Use corners, posts, walls, and other architectural features to increase the degree of enclosure and privacy.
• Use partitions and architectural elements to clearly define public and private areas, such as workstations, lunchrooms, hallways, equipment space, etc. Open-plan offices can often be maze-like; therefore, the layout should be clear to facilitate navigation.
• Keep public areas and areas of high traffic away from workstation entrances and occupants who require high concentration.
• Create quiet rooms and meeting rooms to which employees can retreat when they need high levels of privacy or will be creating distraction for others.
• Place occupants close to frequently used resources such as team members, supervisors, equipment, without compromising the required level of privacy.
• Allow display of personal items within an occupant's workstation.
• Ensure that occupants, furnishings, and air vents are appropriately placed. Furnishings should not block the air vents; nor should occupants be seated in a strong draught. (Please refer to COPE VENTILATION for more information.)
• Place occupants and workstation openings away from each other to increase privacy.
• Protect confidentiality by placing visitor chairs away from work areas and computer screens, providing lockable storage, facing computer screens away from entrances and corridors.

Note: Acoustic issues are affected by workstation layout and equipment placement. Please refer to COPE ACOUSTIC DESIGN STRATEGIES for additional suggestions.

Adjustability and Control Systems
All occupants' needs depend on the individual, the time of day, the activity, and other factors that an office designer cannot control. Giving control to the occupant through adjustable furnishings and control systems considers these individual factors and increases occupant satisfaction.

Designers can give control to the occupant by implementing personal lighting and ventilation controls, window blinds or shades, adjustable chairs, desks and shelves, and moveable storage units. Designers can also increase employee control over the environment by giving the employees some design input so that they can express their particular needs. (Please refer to COPE LIGHTING DESIGN STRATEGIES, and COPE VENTILATION DESIGN STRATEGIES for suggestions concerning lighting, ventilation, and temperature control systems.)

Both policies and actual control systems have to allow for adjustability. Most occupants are much more satisfied with some control over their personal environment, even if they do not change the base environment very often.

Note: While a lack of control makes employees unhappy, too many decisions frustrate people. In terms of adjustability and control systems, employees can experience too much of a good thing. Allowing employees some choice in the initial set up may remove this problem while satisfying individual needs.

Policies and Employee Recognition Organizational policies contribute to employee recognition while creating a good social and working environment in open-plan offices. These policies can be as simple as allowing employees to display personal items in their cubicles, encouraging quiet office etiquette to keep noise levels down, and distributing desirable workstation features fairly. Office etiquette can be an important factor in reducing acoustic distrations. Please refer to COPE ACOUSTIC DESIGN STRATEGIES.

Organizations can also allow employees to contribute to office design and furniture selection both during the design process and afterwards. Good communication between employees and facility managers gives employees the opportunity to voice their needs.

References:

1: Cornell University's Ergonomics Program. ( http://ergo.human.cornell.edu )