Several studies in recent years indicate that office workers were more likely to feel more stressed and distracted in open-plan offices.
Jungsoo Kim and Professor Richard de Dear from the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning at Sydney Unversity found that open plan offices are disruptive to productivity.
"Open plan office layouts have been touted as a way to boost workplace satisfaction and team effectiveness in recent years," explains Mr Kim.
"We found people in open plan offices were less satisfied with their workplace environment than those in private offices.
"The benefits of being close to co-workers in open plan offices were offset by factors such as increased noise and less privacy," he said.
"Open plan offices dominate modern workplaces yet there is little solid evidence they improve interaction between co-workers," Mr Kim explains.
Another down-side to open-plan offices? You’re more likely to get sick. Researchers at the University of Stockholm's Stress Research Institute found that employees in open-plan settings took significantly more sick leave.
According to research, people who are “highly agreeable” get more stressed in open large office.
“The fact that agreeableness is a factor which may increase the stress level could be explained by the need to stand up for oneself in a large office environment. In a place with lots of disturbances, it is necessary to express your own needs”, says Aram Seddigh, Ph.D. at the Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University.
“Based on the overall results, I would say that it is important to adapt the workplace to the needs of the job based on factors such as requirements of concentration abilities or creativity. Small offices are preferable to large, and when you have your own office, it is important to use it correctly, such as turning off the mobile phone when you need to concentrate”, concludes Seddigh.
