Workspaces To Support Personnel Retention

By Author: Mel Joelle
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An old saw suggests that a tidy office is the sign of a sick mind. Googling the expression yields some interesting results, but humor aside, disorganized workspaces can exert a negative effect on productivity as staff members search for misplaced documents, catalogs and reference materials not located in computer files. The solution is found in versatile filing and storage facilities and a commitment to keeping materials in their proper place.

To support good organization, workspaces must provide space for more than business-related materials, says Mark Bassil, co-founder and vice president of MAiSPACE, a Mt. Olive, NJ, based manufacturer of modular office furniture systems. Correspondence, manuals and catalogs represent but one element requiring space. Facilities must also be provided for employees' personal items while on the job. Because of this, filing and storage can be a significant issue for office managers due to the downsizing of workspaces and how the spaces are utilized. This is in spite of the contribution computers and other electronic storage systems are making toward eliminating paper.

It is ...
... a fact that office cubicles and other workspaces, meeting and collaboration areas are being downsized by many of today's businesses. This is because companies need to reduce rents based on the amount of floor space leased, Bassil explains. For example, we are seeing a trend toward 6 x 6 workplaces for single-occupancy cubicles and only slightly larger for 2-person facilities. Ergonomically correct seating and adequate work surfaces in smaller cubicles do not leave much room for filing and storage.

Filing and Storage Options
Managing filing and storage calls for systems furniture designed to accept a variety of storage options. Shelves and bins attached to the workspace stackable panel walls are the most likely solutions for materials that should always be near at hand. Rugged construction is a critical criterion - especially as it relates to basic framing that supports stackable panels, accessories and work surfaces, Bassil states. MAiSPACE structural elements are constructed of 14-gauge cold-rolled steel. In a 10-foot high test configuration comprised of 8-foot panel frames supported by 24-inch return panels, they supported 2.5 tons.

Load-bearing capability is but one element related to storage. The second is our off-module design that allows greater freedom in placing bins and shelving where they can be comfortable accessed instead of being governed by a less-flexible structure, Bassil says. Tackable, paper management and whiteboards are panel options that directly or indirectly support filing and storage. Further versatility is provided by hang-on accessories that are attached to paper-management panels. These can be used to hold catalogs or for temporarily filing correspondence.

Systems furniture file drawers, as with bins and shelving, are built into the cubicle and represent another element to support filing and storage within the cubicle. You can tell a lot about the quality of systems furniture by looking at file drawers, Bassil says. As with shelving, drawers should be a minimum 20-gauge cold rolled steel to reduce distortion, be equipped with bearings for easy full-extension opening and closing, and be available up to 30-inches deep to maximize storage.

Outside the cubicle, added permanent storage options include vertical heavy-gauge steel storage towers for personal items such as coats, jackets and briefcases coupled to multiple-drawer files that can be dedicated or shared among adjoining workstations. Free standing lateral files can be used to support several workstation cubicles.

Storage Issues in Multiple Occupancy Workspaces
The need for flexible filing and storage space increases when shared workspaces are used in an office environment. Functions carried on in the workspace can vary depending on the occupant. Support materials for a particular function may no longer have a permanent home within a cubicle, but instead move with the job.

Employees are becoming increasingly mobile and many organizations have responded to that by creating what some call ‘touch down' spaces that staff can use when they need to be in the office, Bassil says. Instead of having a personal, dedicated workspace, employees are assigned one when they come into the office and plug their laptop into the company's local area network.

While technology has made it easier to be productive off site it does not directly address filing and storage in workspaces that are used by several people.

Mobile storage and filing systems by MAiSPACE solve this when companies equip employees with dedicated cabinets that hold not only their relevant files but personal items as well. These can be kept in a central storage area when the employee is working elsewhere. When the employee reports in to the office, the storage units are rolled to the assigned cubicle, Bassil explains. Dedicated mobile storage also enables staff to personalize their temporary workspace with photos and other memorabilia, the lack of which is a major emotional argument against not having a permanent office ‘home'.

Regardless of how workspaces are occupied, permanent or transient, materials on worksurfaces should be cleared and filed at the end of the day. Attractive, cleverly designed systems furniture provides multiple options to support the benefits of tidy offices.
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