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Open Offices Bring Challenges, Rewards

August 11th, 2015  •   Comments

Tags: Open office, Plantronics, Business, Background Noise

Step into any business building today, and you will probably see an open office environment. Typically, phones are ringing, workers are typing, talking on the phone (sometimes on speakerphone!), and talking with each other over their desktops. The space looks busy, productive and efficient.

More than 70 percent of workers in the United States work in these barrier-free environments. Seen as the modern way of doing business (compared to a traditional work place

with offices and doors) the philosophy of an open workplace: to keep co-workers accessible and immediately available, is admirable. The open office “breaks down” the walls of status and division, keeping managers and employees in the same space.

There is a dark side to all of this openness, as open office floor plans have increased turnover and work-related stress, as well as lowered overall productivity (up to 40% as one Plantronics study found). For some workers whose senses stay on high alert all day, it is common to leave the office tired and stressed about not accomplishing daily tasks. Realistically, the open office doesn’t allow for concentration or private conversation.

There are both pros and cons to open offices. Some of the benefits are:
  1. Easily adaptable and expandable
  2. Greater collaboration
  3. Workers appear to be busy
  4. Not as unattractive as cubicle arrangement
  5. Lowered square foot per person: more people in one space, and less real estate cost

On the other hand, the drawbacks include:
  1. Distracting: employees unable to focus
  2. Lack of privacy: Worry of co-workers counting bathroom breaks, overhearing personal phone calls, etc.
  3. Noisy: Plantronics reports that 53 percent of employees say they are disturbed by others when trying to focus
  4. Lack of control over lighting and temperature
  5. Illnesses and germs freely spread
  6. Fortune magazine asserts “age discrimination” in the open office – those age 55 and older seem to flee the business once an open office is implemented

With all of the research – both anecdotal and scientific – available today, some environmental changes can be implemented to meet needs of both the business, and the employees. For example, huddle rooms (for two or more people working in collaboration) with a table and a door are utilized by teams that need to freely discuss projects and other items. For solitary creative work, such as writing, project planning and more, secluded rooms with a door (similar to a traditional office) are a great solution.

Employees themselves are their best managers, as they know which environmental triggers distract them. Is there a time during the day when you need to unplug from the environment, and plug into your thoughts? A great active noise-cancelling headset can be the answer to your problems. Short of moving to a secluded island (which is inconvenient, and of course, offers no wifi connection!) what are some of the ways we can manage our environment, and not let it manage us?

What we have lost in privacy, silence, and the time to think, we have hopefully gained in collaboration; ultimately, however, it is up to each individual to manage themselves within the open office environment. In part 2 of this series, we discuss some solutions to surviving – and even thriving – in the pervasive modern open office environment.

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