| | AUGUST 20168Consultants Reviewhe truly new millennials are yet to truly set foot in the office environment and the crossover generation is still finding its own ideology and behavioral patterns. Hence designing an office for the millennials by the established interior designer itself is full of holes in our understanding and belief. As designers we tend to do a lot of studies in behavioral science, organizational design, change management, performance metrics, demographics and technological advances ­ and claim it is with an eye toward how they affect the workplace. Open offices today are the new Fad ! Why ? The number 1. reason is that Open offices are about 15 to 20 percent more efficient on floor plate utilization. The number 2. reason is that are less dense in the use of materials required for making cabins and partitions. Google's open office spreading over 1 million sq.ft. has been a major trend setter and many have styled themselves along the lines . Some have analyzed and adapted in a more specific manner than others who have merely copied. Needless to say that those who have thoughtfully adopted are more successful and functional than those who have resorted to tokenism and copying. The corporate offices in open space format have a couple of issues like: noise , air quality, lack of natural light, spaces that feel crowded, stress & social pressure leading to reduced work output but they can also be grounds for great team building, team spirit. On the other hand, emotional health issues vary by the personality type and nature of jobs. Routine data process in seamless workflows with a lot of automation are ideally suited for open work environment. Open offices have a higher noise levels and workers have to resort to headphones to cancel out the noise because some people are blessed with a naturally large vocal system and there is nothing much they can do about it, while others are similarly cursed with a high temper. Do I, therefore, mean that the "open office" is a total design disaster?Far from it! The open office is here to stay but we need to move away from tokenism or mindless adaptation and make it work for the task appropriate to the setting of people and place. Corporate Interiors today are facing a "Change Challenge"!By Sanjay Srivastava, VP & Head of Architecture ­Design, RelianceReliance is a popular leader with businesses spread across hydrocarbon exploration and production, petroleum refining and marketing, petrochemicals, retail and telecommunications. TIN MY OPINION
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