The workplace was born with merchant and clerk offices that were large rooms with individual desk, much like an open office. In the industrialized society, these open office spaces could be compared to a factory floor as information and decision-making ability rested solely in the executive suite. After World War II, leaders focused on efficiency and division of labor.
Years later, middle management was introduced to compartmentalize work into manageable tasks and the capitalist ladder-climber was born. Each employee was eager to make it to the corner office with living room furniture, a private conference room, and a corner bar.
As work became more specialized and competition for knowledge-oriented expertise grew, so did the height of office partitions, creating quasi-offices as seen in the cube farms of the 1980s. The cubes functioned as miniature private offices with simple, standardized furniture solutions.
The advent of the internet in the new millennium gave all employees access to information that once flowed exclusively from the top down. Now, information flows in all directions and the social structure is amebic, flexing and adapting in organic responses to people and data. As a result of this collaborative social structure, workstation partitions were lowered, creating the modern open office. Leaders of progressive companies and firms gave up their private offices to sit with everyone else.
As a result, there has been a democratization of the workplace. Employees at all levels have equal amenities, resources, and access to leadership. The office is the physical embodiment of a company’s values. It is a branded city complete with space for individuals and the collective.