(1) Shared Space
・Island Layout： Employees are seated side by side and face-to-face.
Benefits： Easy to develop team spirit, communicate and share information. Managers find it easy to supervise staff.
Drawbacks： Difficult to concentrate. Easy to be distracted by the noise and movements of neighboring colleagues. Little privacy. Difficult to relax under the constant observation of a supervisor and other colleagues.
・Back to Back Layout： Employees are seated back to back so that they don't actually see each other.
Benefits： Provides an effective balance between developing team spirit, easy communication, concentration and privacy. Heat emitted from the rear of personal computers does not affect other colleagues.
Drawbacks： Difficult to supervise what staff are doing.
・Classroom Layout： Every employee is seated in such a way that they face the same direction. This is usually towards the door of the office.
Benefits： Appropriate for a section that receives visitors on a day to day basis. Employees may talk with them face-to-face.
Drawbacks： Low ranking officials are usually seated in the front rows and high ranking officials in the back. The former may feel pressure from being observed from behind.
・Free Layout： Employees are free to sit any place they wish(non-territorial type) or they may book whichever desk they wish on a weekly basis(hotel type).
Benefits： Relinquishes the need for each employee to have their own individual desk. This is useful where most employees work outside and it is rare for every member of staff to be in the office at the same time. Employees may feel more relaxed in the office and might become more creative as a result. For this type of layout to function properly, there needs to be a computer network which every member of staff can access from any personal computer in the office or a telephone system where staff can receive calls directly to any desk in the office.
Drawbacks： The cost of introducing the above mentioned information systems is sometimes prohibitive. It is difficult to locate who is sitting where and face-to-face communication may not be easy to arrange.
(2) Individual Office Space
・Private / Booth
Benefits： Easy to concentrate. Little pressure. Employees are given a sense of independence.
Drawbacks： Difficult to develop team spirit. Requires more space than a shared office to accommodate every employee. Difficult for supervisors to monitor what staff are doing. No one answers telephone calls for other employees in their absence. There is a lack of communication among staff.
