Physical

This relates to the physical attributes of the environment the communication takes place in. This means such things as the layout of the office and access to privacy.

Many individuals operate in open plan offices, which whilst offering easy access to other members of the team when working within a group, can make other tasks more time consuming than necessary. Developing ideas or strategies, for instance, may require a quieter, more private environment, with few or no interruptions.

Organizations generally conduct a wide variety of tasks, and management need to provide environments to suit different tasks if their workforce are to operate and communicate effectively. For example, providing access to private rooms as well as open plan offices, and being willing to allow people to work from home, offers a choice of environment to best suit the task at hand.