In recent years, glass partitions have become ever-more popular for growing numbers of businesses and commercial spaces across the UK – and understandably so, given the diverse number of benefits they have to offer. At Altitude Glass, we have more than 15 years of experience behind us in designing, supplying and installing glass partition systems for a huge range of commercial clients, so we’re well-versed in the many benefits they can provide. Below, we’ll provide a quick roundup of some of the most important!
One of the most distinctive features of glass office partitions is that they don’t involve making any structural modifications to the fabric of the building itself, which makes them easy to install and easy to remove. This not only provides plenty of design flexibility at the point of installation, but also gives you freedom to adjust them to a new layout at a later date, should you so choose. You might want to do this for practical reasons, such as adapting your workspace to accommodate changes in your personnel or operations – or simply because you fancy a change.
Whatever your reasons, you’ve got countless custom configurations to choose from, with almost limitless options to maximise function and flow within your space. The right configuration can have a surprisingly big influence on your workplace’s atmosphere and culture – and that’s what we’ll talk about now!
Glass partitions can help you segment up your space while keeping it open and airy, ensuring that your team are all able to still see each other – encouraging that all-important sense of collaboration and communication.
There are a lot of good reasons why so many offices today have moved sharply away from the cubicle-based layouts that were once so common in decades past – they have a tendency to isolate employees, which can have significant effects both for their productivity and happiness at work, as well as (most importantly) their overall general wellbeing.
Glass partitions can help you and your team sidestep those risks by ensuring that people can still see and hear their colleagues, promoting that feeling of being part of one harmonious team. That encourages them to ask questions, interact, socialise, and work more closely together, improving their productivity and morale. (As an extra bonus, it can also improve employee retention, too.)
Very few people want to work in a silent office, but while some people find a healthy amount of background hubbub is actually good for their productivity, there’s always a delicate balance to be struck. In larger offices with big teams, noise levels can sometimes become a problem and a barrier to working effectively. That’s where glass partitions can help – glass partitions that have been carefully designed and installed can do wonders for muffling the worst of the noise, without compromising on spaciousness, natural light, or the general open feel of the office.
Even single-glazed partitions can offer sound protection of up to 44 decibels, while double-glazed partitions are capable of offering soundproofing of up to 55 decibels. Some team members can often find that helpful when they feel they need to really get their heads down and give particular focus to their current task – and it also allows their colleagues to have conversations at normal volumes about things that need discussing, without having to worry about disturbing others around them.
The soundproofing qualities of commercial glass partitions mean that they can be useful for defining the boundaries of client meeting rooms or mini-offices, as they can provide the peace of mind you’ll need to have sensitive conversations – for example, internal HR meetings, or legal formalities, or confidential agreements with partners or clients.
Portable and fixed glass panels alike have another major advantage over other partitions because they allow natural sunlight to keep flowing through a space largely unobstructed. That has a huge impact on employee morale, productivity and general wellbeing. That’s largely because when it comes right down to it, humans are diurnal (daylight) creatures, with our moods and energy levels strongly linked to our natural circadian rhythms.
We’ll spare you the detailed science lesson, but essentially greater amounts of natural daylight helps keep people happier and healthier, and more productive at work. The effects are especially clear to see during the dark winter months, where we’re especially vulnerable to low moods, motivation and energy levels, due to the generally reduced amount of sunlight we so often experience.
Besides the human element, there are a few more additional advantages associated with increased natural light, too. It can help you save money on running costs for your office for example, as you can keep the artificial lighting off for longer, and the natural warming effect of sunlight can even save you a bit on heating costs each month.
Since commercial glass partitions don’t involve making significant structural changes to the building (as we touched on above), rearranging the layout of your workspace is not only straightforward, but it’s low-cost too – whether you’re renovating an existing space, or building one from the ground up.
What’s more, there’s no shortage of options you can choose from to help you define the look and feel of the space. You can take your pick from a wide variety of styles and finishes, from single glazing to double glazing, frameless and aluminium framing, frosted or printed with branded graphics – it’s all up to you. That gives you plenty of freedom and creative avenues to make it unique to your company, and reflect your ethos and culture.
Glass partitions are known for their durability – they’re made of toughened glass that’s specifically engineered to be highly resistant to scratching and shattering, so you can be sure that it’ll easily withstand everyday knocks and bumps, and even the occasional moderate impact (although obviously, it’s not a good idea to deliberately test its capabilities!).
As well as being highly durable, it’s simple to clean and maintain as well, ensuring that your workspace always stays looking smart and professional.
Ready to make your plans a reality? That’s exactly where we can help at Altitude Glass. With more than 15 years of experience behind us, we’ve worked with a whole host of residential and commercial customers to achieve the look they were after. We helped to source the appropriate glass and the accompanying ironmongery, and ultimately install the finished product.
You can find out more about our products and sectors here, or just give us a call on 01254 812112 to get a free quote today. We’re here to help!
Sign up to our newsletter and follow us on social media
