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The Return of Office Cubicles and Potential Collaborative Workspaces
Considered a recognizable representation of the traditional workspace, office cubicles were becoming symbolic of mundane, robotic office work that separates employees from one another. However, the cubicle culture is experiencing a revival, with the demand surging over the last few years. Despite initial assumptions of a diminishing cubicle market, recent trends predict more growth in upcoming years, fueled particularly by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The need for quieter, private workspaces increased as employees transitioned back to the office following months of remote work. The distractions at home and the lack of focus while remote working necessitated the demand for a private and dedicated workspace. Consequently, employers are finding the right balance between collaborative areas, conference rooms, and private spaces.
The global market for cubicles and partitions has reached $6.3 billion and is projected to grow to $8.3 billion over the next five years, according to a report from Business Research Insights. Furniture manufacturers have responded to this trend, recognizing employees’ desire for some degree of seclusion despite employers’ inclination toward more collaborative workspaces.
New York-based accounting and auditing firm, Grassi, for instance, has redesigned its office spaces to be more hybrid. The new setup includes a mix of open, collaborative spaces, cubicles, and semi-private areas. This adaptation is a response to previous office layouts that were overly open and lacking in dedicated private spaces. It has also evolved from the coworking spaces that found varying degrees of success, as in the case of WeWork.
Modern cubicles deviate from the traditional high panel structures and offer “sitting privacy” with mid-height partitions. These structures are ergonomic, flexible, and designed smartly to accommodate multiple electronic devices. They offer different shapes and adjustable walls, satisfying a variety of needs within the team. Some even include sound-masking features to minimize distraction.
Furthermore, modern cubicle partition systems come in various types:
- Panel-based systems use diverse materials and adjustable heights, offering customizable layouts for changing needs.
- Modular systems champion flexibility, allowing easy assembly and reconfiguration based on spatial needs, perfect for dynamic workspaces.
- Benching systems focus on collaboration, featuring long work surfaces with minimal dividers — a balance of team unity and individual focus.
- Tech-integrated systems are packed with features like built-in charging ports, adjustable monitor arms, and intelligent lighting systems to cater to the modern workforce’s tech-dependencies.
The demand for refurbished cubicles, although slightly down from the pandemic surge, continues to exceed pre-pandemic levels. Modern cubicles hint at flexibility, and smaller setups incorporating cubicles are gaining popularity over office benches. Hence, the cubicle culture has come full circle from the 1950s and ’60s when privacy-oriented offices were the norm.
After the phase of open spaces with benches and communal work areas, we are now seeing a resurgence of partly enclosed spaces. This comeback is not just about recreating private spaces; employees are also personalizing their cubicles by incorporating elements of their home décor, creating a sense of comfort and familiarity at their workstations. For example, the workforce culture in South Korea utilizes creative and colorful decorative themes in cubicles to help employees make it through long work days.
While acknowledging the influence of residential design on office furniture, manufacturers are also witnessing the rising trend of employees importing home décor into their workspaces and sharing their creations on social media. It’s clear that the cubicle, once considered a relic of the past, has made a comeback, and it’s now redesigned, refurbished, and rejuvenated for the modern office.
Discussion Questions
With the resurgence of cubicle culture in office spaces and the blending of residential and professional design principles, how do you foresee these changes impacting the psychology of employees and, consequently, their productivity? Given the prevailing shift toward hybrid cubicle-based work environments that balance collaboration and privacy, how would you navigate the challenge of maintaining cohesion and company culture while respecting individual employees’ needs for seclusion?
With the global market for cubicles and partitions projected to grow to $8.3 billion and the rising trend of employees personalizing their workspaces with home décor, how can the retail industry capitalize on these shifts? What potential new product lines or services could be developed to cater to this hybrid workplace culture?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Neil Saunders
Managing Director, GlobalData
Paula Rosenblum
Co-founder, RSR Research
Ideally, offices should have a combination of quiet working spaces and areas for collaboration. Cubicles can be great if they provide employees with that quiet place to work. I also think there’s no need for cubicles to be dull – workplaces should allow personalization. Work should be a fun and engaging environment.
The revival of cubicle culture, balancing privacy and collaboration, reflects a shift towards employee well-being and flexibility. By allowing personalization and importing home décor, it creates a comfortable and familiar workspace. This blend of professional and residential design principles is likely to boost employee morale, fostering a positive psychological impact and potentially enhancing productivity.
The retail industry can seize the growing demand for cubicles and personalized workspaces by offering modular furniture sets, customizable décor options, and tech-integrated office accessories. Creating curated collections that blend functionality with personal style would cater to the evolving needs of the hybrid workplace culture, maximizing market potential.
I’ve heard from some cubicle dwellers that now instead of having their own dedicated space that they get whatever cubicle happens to be open at the moment. Whether more private or not, this makes the experience feel even less personal. Like anything else, more personalization, not less, is a much better way to go.
That has to be like working at a table Starbucks but with better perks. #nope
I was just saying on some other thread elsewhere that I have turned down jobs that had “cubicle seating.” It was fine when I was a junior programmer, but after 30 years of experience, I had no interest in having my every conversation overheard. In other words, I hate them. I have been working from home for 19 years, and I don’t think it has affected my productivity at all. Probably just the opposite. I have taken press calls at 10PM at night!
Why waste your money on real estate no one wants to use anyway? “Putting personal decorations” in your cubicle is the human representation of “putting lipstick on a pig.” Create meeting spaces, and that’s that. Cheaper for you, with happier employees. Put metrics together that employees have to meet, period.
Provide space for those who really want to work at the office, but I’ll bet there won’t be too many takers.
I don’t get it. At all.
I think that you should stop mincing words and tell us all how you really feel about cubicles. Is there no room in your heart for a decorated 8′ X 8′ prison cell?
None. I did my time.
Save the money on cubicles which will be seldom used. Spend the money on nice meeting rooms with large round conference tables and some coffee-and… dispensary facility. Satisfy the need or requirement to come to the office on specific days and the desire to work from home. If one is not going to an office facility to actually meet with coworkers, why go at all?
Wait….are you agreeing with me? By the way, when was the last time YOU lived in a cubicle?
1977
Blending collaborative and private spaces makes offices more inclusive than open concept designs. Respecting and accommodating different needs can strengthen morale and productivity.
Situating private spaces away from lively spaces respects social and individual needs, as does setting dedicated collaborative time and quiet time.
Just as Dormify specializes in personalizing dorm rooms, brands will pop up to personalize workers’ cubicle space.
The key word in this article, and the article it is based on, is “global.” I’m not so sure I’ve personally seen a Cubicle Renaissance either in terms of mass adopted design or employee demand in this country. I’m with Paula Rosenblum on this one. I don’t like cubicles. I also don’t understand what “cubicle culture” means and somehow I take great comfort in that. Collaborative work spaces are great and so is privacy. Cubicles provide neither. And, with post-COVID flexible hours still quite prevalent, it’s harder to justify a “worker in every cubicle” design theory, which leads to “cube hoteling” which in turn leads to less privacy and makes workspaces even less personal and comfortable … if that’s even humanly possible.
Regarding cubicles, let’s take a lesson from the late and great Tony Hsieh of Zappos. As a successful online retailer, Zappos was forward-thinking in setting up its office. All departments were in cubicles, mostly in the same area. In the middle of the room was a row of cubicles for the execs. If any executive wanted “privacy,” they had to go to one of the conference rooms. In other words, they were approachable with no closed doors. I believe that we’ll see more of this in the future, especially as the stay-at-home workforce is brought back into the office, if even part-time. One other thought… As the cubicle business looks like it’s growing, there is still a lot of empty space in office buildings. We will know what the new “norm” is for hybrid workplaces is within the next year or two.
I am sure personalized work spaces are preferred over stock work spaces for most. The bigger trend is the how the world of work has changed & the impact on retailers & retail workers. Most retail workers are going to be in the store, warehouse, or some mode of transportation, cubes are less relevant. The optimizations that will improve the lives of retail workers are scheduling flexibility, location flexibility, earned wage access, & access to insurance (event if its occupational accident insurance) mimicking the gig economy.
Granted, I have not worked in a corporate setting for years, but I know I would hate working in an open setting with no privacy.
Open areas to collaborate are fine but people need a space they can call their own. And that not a seat at a shared table.
The look of these cubicles is, I don’t know, dystopian? Boring? Antiseptic? This is the best that interior designers of offices can come up with????
Open plan offices – with everyone sitting side by side – might be ok if you’re the kind of person who can work with a headset on, but terrible if you need a quiet space to think. Many people found they were able to be so much more productive during the pandemic because they had that quiet.
Meanwhile the need for cross team collaboration has increased too. Work silos mean data silos. And siloed data is not good for business. I’m excited to see the cubicle culture return, and the spirit of being able to ‘bring your whole self to work’ and am fully supportive of people adapting their cube to fit their working preferences. Whether that’s with lighting, greenery, stand up desks, drafting stools instead of chairs, or other items to increase productivity.
Having worked in many different corporate office configurations, concepts and cultures, I’m convinced more than ever companies are best served to have a combination of both team-oriented spaces for collaboration, and private quiet spaces for focused work. An ample dose of space and visual design for fun, personalization and warmth will create a good work environment everyone wants to be part of.