Office layout can have a major impact on staff

16 Feb 2012

Companies have been advised that the layout of a working environment, such as an office, can have a major impact on the performance of staff, according to Voula Grand, business psychologist.

Ms Grand suggested that those in IT jobs may be more 'introvert' and so an office environment wouldn't cause too many problems were it open or closed-plan. The same goes for a workforce full of extroverts.

She stated that problems may arise when you have a mixture of the two personality sorts. This is because many would prefer to keep themselves to themselves whereas others thrive off workplace interaction.

"The vogue is for open-plan offices and there's some very good reasons [for opting for this]

"You can be flexible within that and use different kinds of screening devices to allow the introverts more privacy than a total open plan would allow them."

Voula Grand practices at Grand Shearman Consulting and her professional work consists of coaching executives and their teams to be more effective.

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