Open Offices: Love ’em or Hate ’em

Some social scientists view the open-space environment as a way to enhance the sense of community and esprit de corps among office employees. They maintain that open configurations promote communication and information exchange among co-workers and thus foster teamwork, innovation and problem solving.

Detractors point out that the relentless noise and constant interruptions endemic to open workplaces take a toll on productivity as well as morale.

Generally, bullpen-style office configurations work best for workplaces that require a high degree of collaboration, such as newsrooms or trading floors. Workers whose jobs entail a great deal of concentration, intense focus and extremely detailed analysis tend to work more efficiently in a private office with a door.

The advantages of open-plan office configurations:

• They allow for free-flowing communication and interpersonal exchange.

• They’re cost-effective and help to maximize usable space.

• They enable shared use of infrastructure and technology.

• Equipment use is more efficient, and thus the facility is environmentally friendly.

The disadvantages of open office spaces:

• Noise and distraction levels can affect productivity and morale.

• It can be difficult to concentrate on high-level tasks.

• The lack of privacy can create serious stress and insecurity.

• Germs are easily transmitted, so absenteeism may spike during flu season.

Social scientists and managers have taken note of the complaints about cube farms. Some office designers have begun adding soundproofing materials to cubicles and experimenting with layouts that give workers privacy options, improve acoustics or offer quiet places to retreat.

A few companies have adopted sound-masking techniques, such as a pink-noise system that emits a soft whooshing sound. The system’s sound frequency matches human voices, so speech becomes unintelligible at a distance of about 20 feet. As well, many cubicle dwellers have devised their own creative ways of dealing with the distractions and lack of privacy:

• They fortify their partitions with books and papers to create an acoustic barrier.

• They wear earplugs andheadphones. In addition to mitigating noise, visible headphones establish a social wall that makes people less apt to interrupt them unnecessarily.

• They use fans, desktop fountains, soft music and sounds of nature to soothe and create a buffer. Earphones or low-volume speakers pipe in music or nonintrusive sounds.

• They are strategic about the location of their cubes, avoiding locations near reception areas and meeting rooms, as well as heavily trafficked corridors and aisles.

• They avoid locations that make them targets for interruptions, such as spots near the coffee-maker or the copy machine.

• They work at nonpeak times (early morning or late in the evening) when the office is quieter.

• They ask if they can telecommute.

Randy Bett www.BetterGroupRealEstate.ca