Office workspace is influenced by corporate climate, nature of work in office, when most of the work day is spent on field assignments, meetings, site visits and consultations, a smaller office space may be quite satisfactory. In the workplace the amount of personal space is often linked with status within the organization. It is natural for people to strive to occupy more space, for "more" space may signify importance, respect and more authority or power. It is influenced the type of work, enclosure, surface, storage for stationary, equipment and other personal articles, sitting arrangement for visitors and the treatment of the workspace or cabin.
The main purpose of an office environment is to support its occupants in performing their job - preferably at minimum cost and to maximum satisfaction. With different people performing different tasks and activities, however, it is not always easy to select the right office spaces. To aid decision-making in workplace and office design, one can distinguish three different types of office spaces: work spaces, meeting spaces and support spaces.
Work spaces in an office are typically used for conventional office activities such as reading, writing and computer work. There are various types of work space, each supporting different activities such as – Open space for routine activities with little concentration; team space for frequent internal communication and a medium level of concentration; cubicle for medium concentration and medium interaction; private office for confidential work that demand a lot of concentration or small meetings; shared office for semi-concentrated work and collaborative work in small groups; team room for confidential and demands frequent internal communication; study space demand concentration or confidentiality; work lounge for collaboration and/or allow impromptu interaction.
Meeting spaces in an office are typically used interactive processes, be it quick conversations or intensive brainstorms. Different types of meeting space for supporting different activities are small or large meeting rooms for formal interaction, open or semi-open space for small or large meeting and informal interaction.; Conference or brainstorm room for brainstorming sessions and workshops and a meeting point for two to four persons suitable for ad hoc, informal meetings.
Support spaces in an office are typically used for secondary activities such as filing documents or taking a break. There are different types of support space such as filing space, storage space, print and copy area , mail area , pantry area smoke area, games room, waiting lounge and corridor space for circulation on office floors, linking all major functions.
Understanding the work relationships and job adjacencies helps to locate each department and each office space in each department. Individuals who need to communicate frequently must be located near each other.
The office entrance should be in an appropriate location for giving direct access from the central corridor only to different departments/areas resulting in some saving of space, end of disturbance, reduction in movement, and quicker mobility.
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