When noise cancelling headphones are worn 8 hours a day at work this should signal a problem. Some jobs, by their design (duties/tasks/scope), require private space and quiet, thus an open office plan is not suitable. You always thought completely open offices were a f***ing stupid idea, subscribed to by weak leaders slavishly following corporate fashion herds. Your only solution is to ‘work from home’ more and everybody knows what that euphemism means. It gives you the taste for self-employment, which transition you’ve effected successfully beyond your dreams of inspiring workplace, so maybe you should be full of praise. But for you, open-plan sits alongside other ‘brilliant’ ideas like getting expensive, skilled staff to waste much of their days running their own calendars, booking their own travel and typing their own correspondence and presentations. Cretinous.
Related: Seven Home Workplace Ergonomics
Is this more about how does your business communicate
Since a decade or so, the trend in some parts of the world has been away from radical ‘open-planism’ to some hybrid solution, where the open plan is complemented by quiet rooms or similar solutions, and offices floors the size of hangars are subdivided into areas for operational teams using temporary dividers, bookshelves, floor-to-ceiling plants, etc. An open plan can work in some instances eg a shared service however even in such an environment there are tasks that need complete concentration and the open plan does not allow this. The other issue with open office is constant people interaction is actually exhausting for many people (introverts). Even the most gregarious people need to be mindful and ‘in their own heads’ to turn creative into practical, so break out rooms and scheduled meetings help the whole team to collaborate in a focussed manner. Open concept environments work when you have a good group of people on your team. All it takes is adding one (often very loud) person who does not settle well into the natural rhythm of the group and everyone suffers… as well as the productivity.
Related: Everything you should know about Setting up Workplace
The provision of quiet rooms and an open acknowledgement of ground rules such as ‘closed door open calendar’ enable success for employees. Things don’t need to end at these extremes either open plan or closed doors. Introducing the right space choices to accommodate different users is key. ABW. Allowing autonomy for individuals to make their own work choice is empowering. You could check out the Happy Homework Hut as seen on the late tv show in Ireland a few weeks ago. It has a portable privacy screen that you can pop up for privacy and fold away when you are done. The trendy design also promotes cross infection when there are plenty of infections being coughed around the room!
Isn’t working in complete silence a product of oppressive environments?
The open plan office is here to stay; the financial benefits cannot be ignored. The improvements in productivity through collaboration are also embedded in the modern psyche. But, and it’s a big but, there has to be a balance. Employers need to provide a variety of working environments to allow their people to move around as it suits their working day. Building in focus areas, quiet rooms and project spaces designed for more noisy, collective working is essential. We’re not robots, nor do we have uniform needs every hour of every day. Designers and those who pay the rent have to remember that.
Related: Work Life Balance You Want
