Pop culture has painted the cubicle as a restrictive office accessory. Cubicles are small, says pop culture; they’re oppressive and not designed for collaborative spaces.
This is not the case. Cubicles rose in popularity due to their effectiveness and versatility. As your team moves back into the office, you can use cubicle installations to your advantage.
Some of a cubicle’s most effective in-office features include:
Additional Free Space
Cubicles add surface area to any office they’re in. They create active hubs for employees to gather together at. While cubicles are not as inherently social as workstations, that versatility is to their benefit.
Your employees can use cubicles to either set themselves apart from their coworkers or to co-mingle. Employees who thrive when left on their own can have the space to work, while teams that do better together can share their ideas and progress.
In this way, cubicles are employees’ free spaces to do with as they wish.
Noise Barriers
An open office is a noisy place. After over a year spent working from home, your team may not be used to working alongside one another just yet. As such, noise barriers can help your team stay on track.
Cubicles are among the most versatile and inconspicuous noise barriers you can place in an office. That’s because cubicles, at first glance, don’t look like noise barriers. The walls of a cubicle, however, can create a semi-private atmosphere for employees, allowing them to focus on their work without losing access to your office’s more social spaces.
What’s more, cubicles muffle additional noises by limiting how far soundwaves can travel. When you install cubicles around hard surfaces — the ones that usually bounce sound back at you — music, typing, and other workplace noises won’t be as overwhelming.
Office Customization
Nothing makes an office feel more like home than a bit of customization. Cubicles may not be large, but they do allow individualization better than workstations do. As your team settles back into regular office life, they can bring parts of their homes with them.
With that being said, you can limit what kinds of accessories your employees bring from home. While blankets and heaters are acceptable during the winter, you may want to limit employees’ use of personal mini-fridges or blow-up pools.
Let your team know, then, that customization is encouraged within reason, and you’ll start to see signs of new life and energy making their way around the office.
Office Furniture Direct Can Help You with Efficiency Initiatives
Cubicles have a bad reputation. With a little bit of work, though, you can change the way your team views these office accessories.
If you’re looking to customize your office, let the team at Office Furniture Direct help. Get in touch with a team representative to discuss your latest project.