“Finally proven: open-plan offices are a bad idea.”
Every so often, an article with a title like “People are dissatisfied and unproductive in open-plan offices” or “Finally proven: open-plan offices are a bad idea” makes the rounds. These articles often focus on the inability to concentrate in an open office environment. On the surface, this seems obvious: where many people work together, there is a higher risk of distractions. However, the issue is often oversimplified. The problem frequently lies in the definition—what exactly is an open-plan office?
Ask the right questions!
When reading these types of articles, it’s important to ask yourself a few key questions.
To begin with: how many desks in a shared space qualify as an open-plan office?
It seems clear that it refers to several desks placed together in an open space, but how many desks does that mean? There’s a significant difference between an office space with six desks grouped together and one with 20 desks in the same area.
The next question to consider is: what is the density of these workstations?
This seems like a more challenging factor to pin down. However, the farther apart workstations are, the less pronounced the negative elements associated with an open environment will be. Four desks in a 20-square-meter space are very different from four desks in a 200-square-meter space.
Furthermore, various acoustic solutions in offices can significantly reduce noise levels, while partitions and plants can contribute to greater visual tranquillity. These are just a few spatial design factors that can have a substantial impact.
Activity-based use of space by employees
In addition to these physical factors, there are other elements to consider when thinking about distractions in an open-plan office—factors that may be even more important. The majority of noise and distractions in the office come from our colleagues. Therefore, we also need to ask: how do people use the workspaces in the office?
In some offices, everyone has their own desk, while in others, desks are shared. This naturally affects how people experience the work environment. In an open space with assigned desks, you need a bit of luck—if you’re seated next to pleasant, quiet colleagues, you’re likely to work productively. But if you’re sitting next to the office chatterbox, it may be a different story.
In work environments where desks are shared, and activity-based working is implemented, you have the option to move if you can’t concentrate. You can choose a space that’s better suited to the task at hand.
Defining shared behaviour
Finally, it’s essential to remember that we share open work environments with others. When discussing how workspaces are used, we must also talk about behaviour, agreements, and how we interact. Every office has (often unwritten) conventions and rules. In an open environment, different agreements may need to be made to ensure the space functions effectively.
In conclusion…
If we define an open-plan office as a large open space with more than ten workstations crammed together, little attention to acoustics or visual privacy, assigned desks, and no clear agreements on how to use the space collectively, then yes, open-plan offices are indeed a terrible idea!
