“What would make your workday better?”

In today’s hypercompetitive race to recruit and retain top talent, this is a question that employers—and the architects planning and designing their workspaces—must ask and address. After all, the physical space is a key factor in whether employees choose to join or remain with the company, the team’s performance, and, ultimately, the business’ success.

Open offices free of cubicles and private offices were seen as a way to create an environment that would foster collaboration and innovation. Research has shown, however, that these layouts dramatically reduce face-to-face interaction, with employees using headphones to block out the noise and relying more on digital communication to combat the lack of privacy. Employees instead prefer an environment that is mostly open but also offers ready access to private meeting places and quiet areas for focused work.

“The physical space must adapt to support new ways of working to maximize rewards for employees and the company,’ says Jeff Phillips, general manager of Holoform, an interior demountable wall brand of Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope.

Demountable glass walls can help achieve this, offering the design flexibility and performance needed to create an adaptive environment that reflects a business’ brand, engages employees, and provides the various types of workspaces that employees need.

Glass partitions can help establish a modern aesthetic that showcases a company’s commitment to creativity and innovation. An array of graphic treatments can be employed to create effective branding opportunities and provide various levels of privacy.

“You can establish an environment that says ‘We understand and care about our employees and are providing a great place for them to work—one that makes them feel good about where they are and helps them take pride in what they do,’ ” Phillips says.

Demountable glass walls offer limitless possibilities for designing flexible spaces that provide necessary separation without compromising connectivity. Visible sight lines help eliminate departmental silos and encourage communication and collaboration, while unique spaces can be established for training, socializing, and other activities. And glass provides excellent sound-blocking properties for creating acoustically private spaces for meetings or quiet, focused work.

Natural light can be directed throughout the entire space, increasing productivity, reducing energy consumption, and enhancing employee wellness.

Phillips also shares several additional benefits of demountable glass walls that business owners will appreciate:

  • The open look created by glass means that individual spaces can be slightly smaller without feeling cramped, helping companies maximize compressed office space.
  • The walls are reconfigurable, enabling businesses to more easily adapt their spaces in the future as needs change.
  • Because the walls are movable, from a tax perspective they are considered personal property. As such, the cost can be depreciated in seven years or less, rather than over the life of the space, which is great for building owners.
  • The glass is easy to maintain and clean. The universal cleaners that facilities crews use gets the glass clean and there’s no need for constant painting to repair “dings.”

Demountable glass walls are an easy way for businesses to make their employees’ days, and their bottom lines, better.

To learn more about designing for a better work environment, visit: https://www.holoform.com/.