Before you delve into the world of mobile, freestanding and curved screens, or even office pods, why not consider one of the most popular styles of office partition: the desk divider. Offering a number of different benefits, investing in desk divider screens can make a huge difference in your office.
Read on to learn about 5 key benefits of desk divider screens.
1. Privacy
Most offices install desk divider screens to offer employees a sense of privacy; particularly important in the large, open-plan offices most of us are accustomed to in the modern workplace. Studies show that employees often rank ‘privacy and peace’ as two of the most important factors when it comes to concentration and productivity. These can be hard to achieve in a busy, open-plan space; but smaller, semi-private ‘cubicle’ areas can be created using desk divider screens.
Fabric-covered panels such as these are designed to offer privacy. Sold with a pair of desk clamps included, they’re suitable for use on table thicknesses 17-33mm, which covers most traditional office desks.
2. Organisation
Writer A. A. Milne once said: ‘Organising is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.’ Having a tidy and organised workspace can make a huge difference to productivity levels, particularly within an office environment. ‘Tidy desk, tidy mind’ is an adage for a reason, after all. It’s hard to work effectively in an untidy environment, so creating an organised and segmented workspace using desk screens to divide up large desk banks can be a real boost to morale and productivity.
Desk divider screens also present a professional look, important when you have visiting clients or VIPs. For offices with clear-desk policies, there are desk dividers available with helpful tool rails so you can fix accessories such as PC monitor screens to keep desks free of clutter. An office organised with desk dividers creates neat boundaries between individual work spaces, for a tidy and orderly finish.
3. Noise Reduction
Anyone who’s worked in an open-plan office knows that they can be difficult places in which to achieve the peace and quiet needed for true concentration - particularly in call centres or busy sales departments where people are chatting amongst themselves or often on the phone. Much emphasis is put on the benefits of collaborative working, but for many of us, a peaceful and private place in which to get our head down and work is essential to be truly productive.
Many offices have minimal soft furnishings (such as carpets, curtains or rugs) which means that noise from employees or office machinery such as printers or faxes bounces unchecked around the large open space. Choosing acoustic desk divider panels, rather than the standard fabric version, offers an estimated NRC (noise reduction coefficient) starting from 0.22.
Our noise-reducing acoustic desk screens are designed to reduce noise in two ways: prevent sound from travelling easily through the screen, and minimise the ability of sound to reflect off the screen back into the room. They range from 35mm to 60mm thick, and are covered with a layer of foam-backed woven fabric on both sides. Short of providing your employees with their own individual set of noise-cancelling headphones, there’s no better way to create quiet workspaces within your office.
4. Display
It can be hard in an open-plan work environment to personalise your workspace; even if you have your own designated desk, on large desk banks it’s nearly impossible to display personal items without it leaving the office feeling cluttered and untidy. Setting up fabric desk divider screens, however, serves a dual purpose. Not only do these screens provide a semi-private, quiet space to work (even more quiet if you choose an acoustic panel) but thanks to their construction, they can also be used with Velcro tabs, pins or staples to display personal or work-related items. Even better, they’re available in a variety of colourful fabric hues to match your branding or office decor.
5. Social Distancing
It’s a term we’re all fed up with by now, but as Coronavirus looks like it will remain with us indefinitely; it’s likely that social distancing measures, in some capacity, will stick around too. The basic ideas of remaining 2m apart, wearing face masks in shops and public spaces (indoors), regularly washing or sanitising our hands and self-isolating at the first signs of the virus are familiar to all of us. But social distancing measures in offices and workplaces have an additional dimension of difficulty.
Remaining a safe distance apart in work environments, particularly offices, can be a real challenge, which is why social distancing desk dividers are still an incredibly important tool, despite the fact that we’re moving through the government’s roadmap out of lockdown. Installing Perspex® desk screens is a great way to fight back against the spread of illness in the workplace. COVID-19, as well as seasonal illnesses such as flu or norovirus, are most commonly spread via respiratory particles. These are expelled when we breathe, talk, sneeze and cough, for example. Social distancing screens made from Perspex® and other similar materials trap these particles, preventing them from spreading person-to-person. All these materials can be easily sanitised on a regular basis to remove all trace of bacteria and virus particles, meaning that an almost normal work environment can be preserved. In addition, these screens are typically transparent, making it easy for colleagues to communicate effectively, and allowing light to spread easily through the workspace for a bright and airy feel.
For more information on any of our office desk dividers, please reach out to our team via our Contact Us page or on 01234 676767.
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