Office productivity is influenced by a number of factors, one of which is office layout. Because office layout influences the entire white-collar-employee segment of the organization, its importance to organizational productivity should never be underestimated. Office layout is based on the interrelationships among three primary factors: employees, flow of work through the various work units, and equipment.

Efficient office layout results in a number of benefits to the organization, including the following:

1. It affects how much satisfaction employees derive from their jobs.
2. It affects the impression individuals get of the organization's work areas.
3. It provides effective allocation and use of the building's floor space.
4. It provides employees with efficient, productive work areas.
5. It facilitates the expansion and/or rearrangement of work areas when the need arises.
6. It facilitates employee supervision.

Planning the layout tends to occur in two steps, a preliminary stage and a final stage...