Areas in a building that are
largely used by employees for talking and meeting with each other.
Cafeterias and dining halls are an example. Seating configuration in
dining facilities influences whether the area will enhance or inhibit
conversation and relaxation. The most inefficient seating configuration
is for six; preferred seating arrangements are for two and four.
Approximately 60 percent of the technical information in an organization
is exchanged informally: workers talk over coffee, in chance meetings by
the photocopy machine or in the corridors. One way to enhance
interaction is to create common nonterritorial workspace, or "group
space," that is shared by a group or unit. In some facilities, companies
have reduced the size of individual offices to a single work surface
with storage cabinets and have contributed the remainder of the
traditional office space allotment to the group area. Corridors provide
an excellent opportunity for employees to interact. Because shorter
corridors encourage more group contact, managers prefer to limit
corridor lengths to 100 to 125 feet in work areas and 40 feet in
sub-work areas. Activity nodes strategically placed along the corridors
increase interaction. Intersections, vending areas with seating, office
supply storage and lavatories are the most effective activity nodes. The
physical distance between workers bears a direct correlation to the
probability of communication among those workers. There is a 25 percent
probability that researchers situated within 5 meters will talk to each
other daily. There is a 10 percent probability that workers located
between 10 and 45 meters will talk.
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