History and Common Types of Office Cubicles

The work-space has gone through numerous positive changes over past few years. There was a time when least preference was given to the comfort of employees. A workplace was designed to get more work from employees, not to improve their productive. However, in the present scenario, the workplace and furniture are designed to increase the productivity of employees by minimizing the effects of sedentary lifestyle on body and mind of employees. Office chairs, desks and cubicles are evolved with time to provide a comfortable and convenient work environment.

History of Office Cubicles  

The evolution of office cubicles spans over more than four and half decade. The very first office cubicle was invented in 1967 by a designer at Herman Miller, Robert Propst. They called it Action Office II (AO2). It was designed to suit needs of office goers in the 60s. Cubicles were designed to provide a private work-space that could be personalized according to the needs of the employee. Propst designed cubicles having two-to-three sided vertical divisions for creating territories and allowing some privacy. The first office that used the Propst’s cubicles was The Federal Reserve Bank of New York. 

Modern Office Cubicles

Modern cubicles come with built-in storage space and desks. Some cubicles even have footrests and lightings. Now, we have a wide range of office cubicles. Cubicles used in banks and hospitals are completely different from cubicles used in service industries. Some of the modern cubicles have glass panels for transparency.

Types of Office Cubicles

Standard cubicles

These are extra-spacious cubicles for one person. However, it has space for the second chair. It has enough space for computer, files, documents, phones and notepads. Not all standard cubicles are manufactured with footrests. These are usually I or U-shaped. Both high and low-panel options are available. Cubicles can be customized. However, standard footprints are 6’X6’, 6’X8’ and 8’X8’. 

Call Center Cubicles

Telemarketing cubicle is the second name of call center cubicle. When you need cubicles with small footprints, you should go for call centre cubicles. These are just like study booths in libraries. As it has a size less than an average office cubicle, it has space for one person only. Footprints of a call centre cubicle are – 2’X5’, 4’X4’ and 5’X5’. 

Modular Offices

There are some cases in which privacy is important and cubicles offer very less privacy. In that case, one can use modular offices also known executive offices. There are actually high-walled cubicles that may or may not have a door. Footprints are much larger than other cubicles. Walls are approximately 12’ high.