5 Different Ways to Divide a Workplace

While open-plan offices might be trendy, dividing the workplace can help define purposes for each area and promote productivity. When you separate an office, you get to consider whether the space is being used to its full potential or if you could organize it to encourage better flow, privacy and collaboration.

Dividing an office can be as simple as switching out desks or incorporating glass partitions and open shelves. Select the solution that will work best for your company’s goals to limit distractions and encourage creativity in the workplace.

Why Divide Office Workspaces?

There are so many reasons for dividing your workspace. A downside of open-plan workspaces is their lack of privacy. When you have multiple teams working on separate projects, it just makes sense to have designated areas to get work done. By dividing a workspace, you can have areas for quiet work to keep operations running smoothly.

Benefits include:

Privacy and collaboration: When you separate an office, you can decide whether you need soundproofing to keep work quiet and separate from other activities. There’s a reason conference rooms are separated from other work operations. Dividing an office creates private spaces to communicate clearly and collaborate with team members without distractions.
Functionality and moods: Partitions can also draw a line between relaxation and work. Breakrooms, for instance, physically draw employees away from work to help them reset. When they are ready to return to the office, they can enter the area they associate with productivity to get back to work mode.
Security: Private documents and accounts are essential to an employee’s role, making it crucial that measures are put in place to protect them from prying eyes. Keep in mind the importance of security and privacy during interviews, meetings and exams. It’s also wise to consider safety for visitors who enter your building. For instance, a doctor’s reception area should have a screen to maintain patient privacy while letting employees see who is coming and going.

Each area of the workplace plays a unique role in your company’s goals. There are many different ways to divide a workplace to promote organization and productivity.

Choose Different Shaped Desks

U-shaped desks can help divide a workspace when you have an open office layout. These desks are popular since they offer a spacious surface to work without taking up too much space in the office. You can configure the desks to suit various storage possibilities. This way, you can keep your workspace more organized, functional and aesthetically pleasing.

If you generate or work with a lot of documents or regularly host clients or partners, U-shaped desks can make your workspace feel less cluttered when completing work tasks or conducting meetings. Using them to store your work, computer, documents, equipment, files, supplies and personal items can keep these items within arm’s reach. The drawers and amount of space offered by U-shaped desks promote a more attractive, professional-looking workspace.

Divide Your Office With Open Shelving

To separate an office and maintain a professional aesthetic, invest in open shelving. Open shelves can store and display essential items like office supplies and organizational bins. They can also include decorative touches, such as picture frames or plants, to make your office more comfortable for guests and employees.

You might place file separators, supply bins and other containers or boxes on the shelves to stay organized while keeping essential documents and items that need replacing more frequently, like staples or pens, nearby.

To organize open shelving in your office, place large items and closed-lid storage containers near the bottom and lighter, smaller items toward the top. Mix in decorative items that show your office’s style or personality, like awards, framed pictures, plants or functional decor.

Open shelving can go a long way in creating a simple yet functional room divider. In addition to providing storage, open shelving units are an excellent way to display the objects that reflect your company’s culture. They provide flexibility as you can arrange your office layout creatively and practically.

Divide Your Office With Modular Office Partitions

Modular office partitions are an affordable way to create privacy in an open office space, waiting room or break area. These partitions are freestanding room dividers that can create a temporary wall. Connecting multiple panels can make them as large or as small as you need. Modular partitions provide flexibility and functionality while offering a visual barrier in a room.

Some can help reduce noise and dampen sound, ideal for private meetings or large offices with multiple groups sharing a space. You can position modular partitions at any angle that fits your layout or team needs, and you can quickly remove or adjust them as needed. You can set up modular walls in any way and quickly create cubicles or offices for temporary employees or interns. You can also use them to divide a large area into separate sections to bring order to an inefficient workflow.

You might custom-order modular office partitions to fit your company’s style and choose from a range of stylistic options, like traditional wood paneling or more modern metal edges. These functional partitions can be made to look like part of your building’s permanent architecture.

Divide Your Office With Privacy Panels

Desktop privacy panels can be configured on three sides of the desk, turning shared spaces into private zones to encourage focus and productivity. Due to their construction, you can also use temporary adhesives or hook-and-loop fasteners on the panels to display personal items or calendars.

Along with desk panels, you can also install taller privacy screens to section off larger parts of the office so teams can meet and discuss tasks without distractions from the rest of the space. Some panels can even prevent sound from bouncing around the office to keep operations quiet. Panels on wheels can help you quickly create areas in the workspace for quiet discussion.

Divide Your Office with Glass Wall Partitions

One of the most creative ways to split up an office is by utilizing glass wall partitions. These partitions are practical and can maximize natural light in the office. Studies show natural light can even benefit your employees’ productivity. Glass partitions reduce the need for artificial lighting, helping you save on your electric bills and lower your company’s carbon footprint.

There are so many benefits of glass walls in the office. These partitions are sleek and can help showcase your business as modern and cutting-edge. When installed in lobbies, these partitions convey a message of sophistication and professionalism while showing clients and visitors your business is transparent and has nothing to hide. Though the walls are glass, you can ensure privacy with tinted, frosted or textured finishes.

Additionally, glass-walled conference rooms are open and light to encourage open communication and collaboration between teams. In a comfortable, open workplace, creativity and productivity flourish.

Contact WB Wood for Office Furniture Project Management

There are many creative ways to split up an office and promote productivity, privacy and collaboration. From privacy panels to glass partitions, incorporating one or more of these ideas can keep your workflow running smoothly without distractions. If you need additional help working on your office space design, contact WB Wood. We are an office furniture procurement company that can provide the necessary furniture to keep your workspace attractive and professional.

With our wide selection of dividers, you will surely find one that fits your office design needs. Many of our partitions offer sound-blocking, privacy and the flexibility to adjust for aesthetics.