When the open-plan office was introduced, they said it would get people talking. Unfortunately, they have been making people talk less. If you have such a layout in your office, you'll notice it's quietly suppressing interactions.
According to Rivier University, approximately 70% of offices now have open layouts. If the goal of the open office layouts was more face-to-face collaboration, most offices with this design aren't achieving it.
With a full room of people in their boxes, the noise makes it hard to talk to your colleagues. As a result, your employees will often keep their heads down and headphones on. If they have to talk to each other, they often prefer to text each other.
Since open offices are backfiring, please make sure you know how they affect your company. To improve productivity, you have to create a smart workplace that brings focus and collaboration back.
Why Does an Open-Plan Office Make People Talk Less?
When you remove people's privacy, they're more likely to withdraw. It's often an act of protecting yourself.
Here are reasons why people are talking less in open-plan offices:
The Privacy Paradox
The theory behind creating open-plan offices was the assumption that when employees are visible to each other, they're more connected. However, constant exposure does the opposite.
If your conversations become public and your screen is visible, you feel like you're being watched. Once you have this feeling, you become more guarded instead of open.
It seems that privacy is what makes people comfortable enough to interact freely.
The Use of Headphones
The Harvard research found that face-to-face contact dropped by roughly 70% after the walls came down to create an open office plan. Instead of people choosing to collaborate more, they disappeared into their own bubbles.
Open office plans expose people to a lot of noise and stimulus. If you're faced with this, you'll tend to build your own walls. As a result, you're likely to turn to your headphones.
The Change to Digital Silence
Most employees in an open-plan office tend to use digital channels to communicate. Instead of going up to your neighbor, you choose to email or message them, since people can't overhear a typed note.
What Are the Hidden Costs of the Open Office?
Apart from less conversation, open offices have many disadvantages. Here are some issues you may face with this type of office design:
- Constant noise
- Frequent interruptions
- Higher stress and mental fatigue
- Reduced office privacy for sensitive calls, honest feedback, or just thinking
These issues make deep focus work almost impossible. As a manager, you'll notice the effects of the design through slower work, frayed nerves, and people calling in sick frequently.
A reported analysis on Speakwise found that employees in open layouts take 62% more sick days than those in private offices.
What Are Companies Adding to Get More Focus Back in the Office?
A lot of companies see the negative effects of the open layout. As a result, they're finding ways of adding back the privacy and quiet they took away.
Here's how they're doing it:
Phone Booths and Focus Pods
One solution that's on demand is the small, enclosed booth dropped right into the open floor. An office phone booth gives you a private, soundproofed space for a call or an hour of heads-down work. You don't have to redesign the whole floor to get it.
These pods are popular because they're helping reduce the total lack of privacy. Companies can also get them at a fraction of the cost of rebuilding the whole office.
Quiet Zones and Private Rooms
Apart from booths, companies are creating private spaces for better work. These spaces include:
- Silent rooms
- Focus areas with no-talking rules
- Small enclosed rooms that you can book for concentration or confidential conversations
These create a lot of options, so your employees can choose the level of quiet a task needs. They'll help restore office privacy as something available on demand.
Better Acoustics
Some of the most effective fixes are the ones you don't see. Investing in workplace acoustics softens the constant noise that makes open offices so draining.
As a manager, you can invest in:
- Carpeting
- Ceiling baffles
- White-noise systems
- Sound-absorbing panels
Good acoustic design adds no walls, but it reduces the noise on your floor. As a result, deep focus becomes possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do Office Design Changes Connect to the Return to Office?
Some remote employees are reluctant to return to office environments because of how the open floor plan makes focus impossible. Your open office is now competing with the quiet of a spare home office.
After years of remote work, your employees know exactly how productive they can be in a quiet space. The noisy open floor compares poorly.
If your company is pushing for your employees to return to work, you should discover that your layout itself is part of the resistance. Your staff may be wondering why they have to commute to a place where they can't concentrate. To bring your employees back successfully, consider redesigning your space to offer genuine focus and collaboration.
Why Did Companies Adopt Open Offices in the First Place?
Most companies said they adopted open offices for collaboration. However, cost and flexibility were some of the popular silent reasons.
For the company, open layouts pack more people into less space. This process lowers the cost per employee, making it easy to rearrange desks as their teams grow or shrink.
Does Working from Home Solve the Open Layout Problem?
For focus, yes, working from home can help. Home offices can offer the quiet and privacy an open office lacks, ensuring your employees get the deep work done.
However, it can weaken the spontaneous connection and team cohesion that a well-designed office offers.
Create Office Spaces That Enhance Focus and Collaboration
The open-plan office is slowly causing dissatisfaction among your employees. The noise and the lack of privacy are making people retreat to themselves, causing them to talk less.
Luckily, you can redesign your space with quiet zones, phone booths, and better acoustics to improve your employees' well-being. Subscribe to our newsletter to learn more about office layout tips.
This article was prepared by an independent contributor and helps us continue to deliver quality news and information.
