Office partitions help with three different problems in an open-plan office: what people can see, what they can hear, and how the floor is divided. Each problem calls for a different type, so the quickest way to choose is to work out which distraction costs you the most focus and pick the lightest option that deals with it.
What Partitions Can and Can’t Do
Partitions reduce visual distraction, such as people walking past or glancing at your screen, and some types absorb part of the sound in a room. They do not make a desk soundproof, so confidential calls still belong in a meeting room or a quiet space.
The research points the same way. In a 2013 study in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, Jungsoo Kim and Richard de Dear analysed occupant surveys from the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for the Built Environment. Enclosed private offices outperformed open-plan layouts in most aspects of indoor environmental quality, especially acoustics and privacy, and the benefit of easier interaction did not make up for the extra noise and lost privacy. Noise and privacy remained the main complaints across open-plan layouts, so treat partitions as a way to cut distraction, not remove it.
If the Problem Is What You See: Desk Divider Panels
Desk divider panels sit on the desk between neighbours and block the line of sight to the next person’s screen and movement. Our PS Series panels are free-standing and removable, so you can move them as seating changes. They come in 800 x 300 mm and 1200 x 300 mm in polyester fibre, which absorbs some sound, and in 800 x 300 mm in frosted acrylic. Check the product page for the colour options.
Size the panel to the desk. The 1200 mm panel is half as long again as the 800 mm one and matches the width of a 1200 mm desk, while the shorter panel suits a narrower desk or a gap between two monitors.
If the Problem Is the Layout: Foldable Screens
A foldable partition screen separates areas of a floor, such as a training corner or a team zone, without building anything. Our U-PS011 screen is 32 mm thick and made to your own height and width, with the option of lockable castor wheels so it can be moved, and the colour can be selected. Installation is included.
Because each screen is made to your size, send your measurements and layout through our contact form for a quotation before you order. We don’t accept returns once a product is sold, so it pays to confirm the size first.
If You’re Planning a New Layout: Desks With the Partition Built In
For a new team, a partition workstation builds the divider into the desk from the start. Each desk in our Flexibility modular desk range includes a partition, a modesty panel and a mobile pedestal, in one-seater, two-seater and four-seater layouts. A single workstation measures 1240 x 620 x 1100 mm including its 1100 mm partition, and a 1500 x 700 mm version is also listed under our partition workstations.
Adding divider panels to desks you already own is the lighter route, so choose partition workstations when you are buying desks anyway. Our post on why office desks with partitions help with focus and privacy looks at that option in more detail.
Before You Order
Measure the desk edge each panel will sit on, and decide what you want to block: sightlines, sound or an area of the floor. Match the height to the task, with lower options where people need to talk and taller ones only where they need to concentrate. Then check the listed size on the product page against your desks.
Shop Now to see desk panels, foldable screens and partition desks together, or use the contact form to ask for a quotation if you need a screen made to size.