Working Environment

Office Layout

What do we mean by office layout?

An office layout is the environment in which employees work.

When designing an office layout thefollowing points are considered:The number of employees.Equipment and furniture.Space available.

Types of office layout

There are 2 main types of office

layout:

1. CELLULAR also known as a traditional office layout.

2. OPEN PLAN also known as a flexible office layout.

Open Plan Office

Consists of a large area where many employees work together.

Examples include:

School Office

Call Centre

•Easy to supervise.

•Information can be passed quickly.

•Less space wasted.

•Equipment can be shared.

Advantages of an Open Plan Office

Noise can put employees off of their work.

Security can be an issue. Personal belongings or confidential data may become vulnerable.

No privacy for private telephone calls, conversations or meetings.

Disadvantages of an Open Plan Office

Cellular Office

A large floor space that is divided into anumber of individual offices bypermanent walls, in contrast to an openplan office.

Advantages of a Cellular Office Each office is private.Employees can work with minimal noise.Less issues with security.Offices can be personalised. Each

employee can decide on the layout of their desk and equipment.

Disadvantage of a Cellular Office Costly as each office will need their own

equipment. Employees may feel isolated as they are

working on their own. Equipment may be noisy making it harder for employees to concentrate.

Working Practices

There are several different types of working practices available to employees in many jobs now.

Each working practice has their own advantages and disadvantages. The slides to follow will detail the most common working practices today!

Full Time

This type of working practice means an employee will work a specified number of hours depending on their contract of employment.

These hours are normally Monday to Friday 9am until 5pm.

Advantages Disadvantages

The same person is doing the job all of

the time therefore they

will be good at it.

Lack of flexibility in working hours.

All of the benefits that

go with the job will be

earned.

Less time to spend with

family and friends.

Full Time

Part Time

Employees will work an agreed number of hours per week depending on the nature of the job they do.

Part time could mean a reduced number of hours per day OR employees could work 3 out of 5 days.

Mon Tue Wed Thurs Fri

Advantages Disadvantages

May suit the employee

due to family or other

commitments.

It may be costly to the

employer to employ a

number of part-time

staff.

Allows flexibility to do

other jobs.

Due to demands of the

job the employee may end up working an increased

number of hours.

Part time

Flexi Time

Flexi time allows the employee to be flexible with their working hours.

All employees must attend their work during the organisations core hours. E.g. Core hours may be from 10am – 2pm.This means the employee must be present in the organisation between these hours.

Employees working flexi time are allowed to decide their own start and finish time, as long as they are working the required number of hours per week.

Flexi Time

Flexi time allows the employee to be flexible with their working hours.

All employees must attend their work during the organisations core hours. E.g. Core hours may be from 10am – 2pm.This means the employee must be present in the organisation between these hours.

Employees working flexi time are allowed to decide their own start and finish time, as long as they are working the required number of hours per week.

Job Share

Job share allows two employees in the company to share one full time job.

They will share the work load and have the same duties and responsibilities.

Job share employees will share the same desk, computer and other resources.

The salary and benefits are shared between the two employees.

Job Share

Advantages to the employee

Advantages to the employer

Employees can control how the

job is done.

Valued employees can be retained.

Increased flexibility for other

commitments.

It can increase the skills available as you have two staff who each have a different talent

and skill range.

Homeworking

Employees will work from home using the latest Information Communications Technology (ICT) to communicate with the organisation and clients.

The organisation will supply the employee with all of the resources they need to carry out the job.

They will work most of their hours away from the organisation however they will

be required to attend meetings, interviews and training course in the

office.

Homeworking

Advantages for employee Disadvantages for employee

You choose the hours you can work.

Social contact can be lost.

Employees can fit work around other commitments.

Training opportunities can be missed out on.

Advantages for employer Disadvantages for employer

Rent for office space can be reduced.

It is hard to monitor your employees work rate.

There may be a wider range of labour to

choose from.

There may be issues regarding confidential or other information.

Teleworking

The advancement in ICT has resulted in more teleworkers.

Teleworkers rely heavily on the use on ICT to carry out their jobs.

Teleworkers can work from home however many teleworkers travel a lot to be able to do their job.

Teleworking

Advantages Disadvantages

Flexibility to choose where to work.

The working environment may be busy and noisy.

Reduces travel time to and from the

office.

There is no sense of ownership of a

desk or workspace.

Hot Desking

Hot desks or workstations are there for employees who are not in the office permanently. You do not have your own desk in an organisation.

Hot desking is used readily for employees working shift work for example call centres use hot desking. They would use this as they have several shifts per day.

HOTROOMS are also available to book for meetings or interviews etc.

Hot Desking

Advantages Disadvantages

Saves space therefore saves

money.

Employees feel insecure as they

have no set space in the office.

Encourages employees to be organised and

tidy.

No personal touches around the office

such as family photographs.

Other KEY terms:

TOUCH DOWN AREA Work areas that do

NOT have to be booked.

Used for employees coming into the office infrequently.

CARREL A small booth used

in an open plan office to give the employee more privacy.