Why You Should Use More Glass In Your Office Fit Out
Getting an office layout right can be tricky! You’re looking to find a balance between maintaining an open plan space and reducing ambient noise. An office with lots of walls might be quieter and more private, but having cubicles can be demoralising.
Research indicates that worker productivity suffers dramatically when they’re working from cubicles. Couple that with a lack of sunlight and interactions, and you’ve got a recipe for despondent employees.
Here are some of the top reasons to include glass in your office layout designs:
1. Noise reduction
While open-plan offices have become increasingly popular, one thing workers hate about them is noise pollution. It can be hard to focus when you can hear the person one desk over loudly eating snacks and someone coughing across the room.
Choosing solid walls is a drain on productivity as we’ve discussed, so glass is a great way to achieve a good balance. It gives you all the advantages of an open-plan office with the quiet and privacy of a closed one.
2. Open-plan aesthetic
Open-plan offices, while we’ve established aren’t always the most effective working spaces, are still very trendy and sought after. If your office is open to investors, stockholders or other consumers, having an aesthetically-pleasing office is a huge boon. A nice space reflects well on your product, lending an appearance of quality.
So, you can use large sheets of clear glass to maintain that highly sought-after open plan appearance. If noise pollution is less of an issue, half walls made of glass are a good option, as they can be used to demarcate borders between workers’ spaces without blocking eyelines or the flow of light through the room.
3. Natural light
If you’ve ever tried to work in a dark room with fluorescent lighting, you know that it can be very demotivating. It’s dull, there’s no sign of the outdoors and your body can’t accurately rely on its internal clock, which leads to increased lethargy. Using glass spreads more natural light throughout the space, which raises productivity and morale. Plus, if there’s greenery nearby, it will add to your office décor without you needing to spend any extra cash.
This doesn’t mean you need to use crystal clear glass everywhere and sacrifice privacy. Use rippled glass to maintain light dispersion, even in-between spaces where you need to keep away prying eyes, like between boardrooms and the main floor.
4. Cost-effective
Solid sheets of timber and drywall are a classic choice, but they definitely have their downsides. Once a wall is put up, it’s costly and annoying to move it. But with a glass barrier, rearranging is easier as they can be locked into small brackets on the floor and/or ceiling which are far easier to move. Using glass also means less cost for lighting as you can capitalise on natural lighting.
Finally, glass is almost always cheaper as a building material, so combined with the added cost-effective features noted above, you’re in a great financial position when you use glass.
So now you understand how using glass as a construction material will improve employee morale, workplace aesthetics and your bottom line. If you’re looking for help, Frameless Glass Installations is here for clients across the Sunshine Coast.
We have a wide range of glass in various colours and patterns, and it all comes with a 5-year warranty because we trust our suppliers and workers. If you’d like to organise a quote, get in contact with us today and we’d love to help you out with your new office plan.