Watching ‘Mad Men’ on television is a stark reminder of exactly how far the modern office environment has come.
Go back half century or so, and the office layout was very much a hierarchy of the social pecking order of each employee. Administrative work (by mostly female workers) was clustered together in a large group in the centre of the office environment. Desks were utilitarian, small and offered no privacy whatsoever.
When moving to the slightly elevated associate positions, there were very small, shared office in cramped quarters. However, the residents were allowed to ever-so-slightly personalize their space with a framed picture of the family. As we reach executive level personnel, we find large and lavish rooms with incredible views of the cityscape, full stocked wet bars, a settee and behemoth cherry wood desks with leather chairs that resembling a throne.
Fast forward to modern times, and we still see a hint of the old office ‘class structure’, although as a society we have embraced a slightly more balanced status for employees. However for practical reasons, there is still a need for corporate executives to have some privacy to wheel and deal.
Today we still want the room to be movers and shakers, and to allow our workers to be able to take a tea break in a room with a few tables and chairs. The problem we face is that real estate is on the rebound, and the cost of spacious offices simply isn’t a reality for most businesses. So the only solution is to make the most of the space you have.
Regardless of whether you have a hot-desk set up in mind for your team or a cubicle structure to provide a bit more privacy to allow team members to concentrate (and cut down on the chin-wagging that can take over in an open office plan), Millenium SI can create the perfect office plan to utilise your space for maximum efficiency. Wherever your office is located, get in touch with our team of experts for a consultation on what we can work out for you.
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