The function, look, and location of each workstation affects all an employees needs.

Employees are affected by both the components of open-plan office design and by the environment that these components create. Workstation design, layout, and appearance work to satisfy three basic job-related needs. Job type is also a significant factor, and all employee needs have to be considered in relation to job tasks.

Physical and Task Needs
Workstation design responds to physical and task needs by providing appropriate equipment, storage, furniture, and surfaces for an employee's tasks. It also involves creating a layout that allows the occupant access to any resources that are important, such as equipment or personnel.

The appropriate furniture for an employee will depend on the job and the individual's height, reach, and preference.

Satisfactory layout will depend on the job and the placement of resources within the building.

Privacy Needs
Employees often identify their privacy needs as some of the most important and most neglected office requirements. Privacy refers to the degree to which an employee feels he or she can control social interactions and distractions. Employees want to avoid being distracted and being observed or overheard.

Distractions can be both acoustic and visual. Open-plan office employees generally require privacy of both types, though one may be significantly more important than the other due to job type.

Acoustic privacy is achieved if an employee can work without being interrupted by unwanted noise (telephone rings, other peoples' conversations and noisy equipment) and without being overheard. (Please see the COPE ACOUSTICS section for an in-depth exploration of acoustic privacy and strategies for increasing it.)

Visual privacy is achieved if an an employee can work without being distracted by other peoples' movements, without being constantly observed, and without compromising the confidentiality of work on desk or computer.

Two contributors to perceptions of privacy are density and degree of enclosure. There are two measures of density: spatial and social. Spatial density refers to the square footage allotted to each employee in an open-plan office; social density refers to the number of people who occupy the same space. This can occur in a large office with many people in many cubicles, or in a small office divided into two or more cubicles. High density of either type is unsatisfactory, and both should be considered when designing an office. Many studies have found that as density increases, environmental satisfaction decreases. Occupants become dissatisfied when their cubicle space is small and when there are many occupants close by. Feelings of crowding, visual distractions, and acoustic distractions are common.

Degree of enclosure refers to the number and height of the boundaries to a cubicle and the occupant's feeling of seclusion. The number of partitions (partial-height screens) and their height create enclosure. However, employees want privacy, not isolation. If the partitions are too high, they can make occupants feel isolated and may be visually displeasing.

Individuals differ in their need for privacy. A given set of conditions might satisfy one person but leave another feeling unpleasantly exposed. Open-plan spaces provide relatively few ways for each individual to regulate his or her privacy (e.g.: there are few doors to close), but accommodating individual needs in the office design might improve environmental satisfaction with privacy.

Recognition Needs
Cubicle design satisfies recognition needs by providing adequate space for personalization. Organizational policies must also allow employees to identify space as their own.

In terms of status, employees may compare their workstations to their peers' and can become dissatisfied if they perceive a great discrepancy in design features, space, position in the layout, window access, or other status markers.

Job Type
All of an employee's needs will be affected by job type. If a workstation design does not consider the job and the tasks of the occupants, the chances of success are small.

Depending on job type, certain needs will be significantly more important than others. These needs will also change throughout the day as the activities change. A good office design responds to these needs according to their priority and frequency.

When considering job type, there are many factors that can play a part.

• Privacy: Some jobs require high visual and/or acoustic privacy; for example, jobs involving sensitive or confidential information. Other jobs, such as that of a receptionist, require more interaction than privacy.
• Distractions: Knowledge work requires a lot of thinking and concentration, which can make workers more sensitive to distractions than employees in other positions. Designers have to consider the sensitivity of the occupants and adequately control distractions from people and equipment.
• Conversation: If an occupant's job requires many telephone conversations or meetings, the occupant becomes a potential distraction to others. Also, this occupant will be concerned about the privacy of his or her conversations.
• Task Surfaces and Equipment: Depending on an employee's tasks, he or she may require special surfaces or equipment, such as extra table space, special task lighting, a wipe board, or a special computer system. The workstation must be designed to accommodate these special requirements.
• Proximity: Jobs that require integrated work with others benefit from being located close to other team members, supervisors, or equipment. This contributes to a social atmosphere, and less time is lost locating people and materials.
• Accessibility: Employees with special physical needs can require particular equipment or workstation layouts. These must be provided on an individual basis. For more information, see the Ontarians with Disabilities Act [http://www.citizenship.gov.on.ca/english/accessibility/index.htm], and the Americans with Disabilities Act [www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm].