Posted on 07/14/2018 4:58:09 PM PDT by BenLurkin
While the concept behind open office spaces is to drive informal interaction and collaboration among employees, the study found that for both groups of employees monitored (52 for one company and 100 for the other company) face-to-face interactions dropped, the number of emails sent increased between 20 and 50 percent and company executives reported a qualitative drop in productivity.
“[Organizations] transform their office architectures into open spaces with the intention of creating more [face-to-face] interaction and thus a more vibrant work environment,” the study’s authors, Ethan Bernstein and Stephen Turban, wrote. “[But] what they often get—as captured by a steady stream of news articles professing the death of the open office is an open expanse of proximal employees choosing to isolate themselves as best they can (e.g. by wearing large headphones) while appearing to be as busy as possible (since everyone can see them).”
While this study is far from the first to point fingers at open office space designs, the researchers claim this is the first study of its kind to collect qualitative data on this shift in working environment instead of relying primarily on employee surveys.
From their results, the researchers provide three cautionary tales:
Open office spaces don’t actually promote interaction. Instead, they cause employees to seek privacy wherever they can find it.
These open spaces might spell bad news for collective company intelligence or, in other words, an overstimulating office space creates a decrease in organizational productivity.
Not all channels of interaction will be effected equally in an open layout change. While the number of emails sent in the study did increase, the study found that the richness of this interaction was not equal to that lost in face-to-face interactions.
(Excerpt) Read more at techcrunch.com ...
You got that right. During a temporary location shuffle my group was consigned to an open office space. Without the sound dampening of cubicle walls phone conversations carried all over the floor.
What made it worse was the guy with no self control. He was a brilliant techie, but while on the phone he would often lose control and start shouting and pound his fists on the table. I think he woke someone up in the next county one day.
But at least all the managers got to keep their offices. :-)
I hated being a cube rat. Too many distractions.
Company I work for had an open space model then moved to high wall cubes now we’re in lower wall cubes. I think the reason people interact less is due to electronic media. It’s easier and faster to send an email than to engage in the chitchat just to ask a question.
I do not think that word means what you think it means.
And if I forget the answer, I can simply go back to the email, it's good because it's a written record.
Who wants to be able to see the hot office chicks all day, knowing if you so much as compliment their hair or dress, you’ll be in H.R. within the hour, and at unemployment the next day?
Open Office is a subtle form of intimidation. Like when layoffs are expected.
I work in a small office with 9 people in cubicles.
The office building itself has about 250 people in it.
Over the years I have had several people move away to other cubes or leave altogether because of chatty nerds by me. Always and I mean always it is about Marvel movies and video games and tv shows and the best and worst Star Wars films. Some cannot handle hearing nerd talk so change cubicles to the opposite side of the room.
I am lucky as there is no one directly to my side and I sit in a corner.
My mom has a photo similar to that from her first job as a secretary. Except there were only about 15 desks in the room. And the desks were bigger.
And they were surrounded by the higher-ups’ offices all around - with big windows. Like working in a fish bowl!
I am not IT—but I have one of those jobs that requires a lot of complex analysis and concentration.
My office was so loud that the only way I could concentrate was to put on headphones with heavy metal music.
But—once I discovered that little trick life has been good...
Bam bam bam (too bad I can’t hear about single mom Leticia’s son in trouble with the law again....) ;-)
Sounds like hell on earth to me.
"Hey, why isn't any work getting done?"
"Well, we were just talking about how unfeasible the design of TOS Connie is."
"Yeah, but NCC 1701-A is totally doable."
I dunno, I'm rather partial to mine.
Show off. ;-)
The beatings will stop when morale improves.
The original call center.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.