What are the advantages of a Private Office?

Private offices are small rooms occupied by departments. Each department will be placed in each room. Such rooms are allotted by considering the nature of confidential matter to be dealt in, or for top officials etc. Nature of the work determines the private office. Then secrecy and security can be maintained.

Advantages of private office

1. It gives prestige and importance to the top executive in the organization.

2. Confidential work and discussion is possible. General privacy is ensured.

3. Concentration of mind on accounting and statistical work is possible. It leads to increased efficiency in their work.

4. Better ventilation is possible and it ensures better health of the workers.

Disadvantages of private office

1. Much space is wasted for partitions.

2. It affects the flow of work.

3. More supervisors are needed to watch the work done in office. Thus supervision becomes more costly.

4. It is more expensive to build separate offices.

5. There will be more expenses to provide adequate light.

6. Cleaning of the office becomes a tedious work.

7. The office layout will be a complicated one.

8. More expensive furniture arrangement is needed than the open office or general office.

9. Extra means of communication are needed for each room.

10. Clerks, messengers have to waste time to see whether the concerned man is there or not in the private room.

Both advantages and disadvantages of open and private office have been discussed. At present, there is a tendency of preferring open office to have smoothness, forward flow of work and greater efficiency. In all cases, open office system may not be suitable.

The persons, who are holding major positions, are advised to occupy the private office because of the nature of their work. The positions of high executives need privacy, security, concentration of mind and avoidance of disturbances from others. The question of their own status also comes in.

Therefore, it is advisable to have private office. Apart from the preferences, take the example, of a bank, where open office system is adopted. Therefore, as far as possible private office may be replaced by open office accommodation; but private offices may be provided wherever they are essential.