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- This type of office space makes employees take inappropirate actions towards the organisation & other employees
This type of office space makes employees take inappropirate actions towards the organisation & other employees
A study with 300 something office goers sheds light on how the type of office leads to delinquent behaviour
shaurya jain
January 28, 2024
Intro
More and more companies have been opting for Open plan offices.
For those who dont know, Open plan offices are office spaces where there are no walls or partitions between the employees.
Its like a playground sans the kids, fun and physical exercise
It supposedly increases “collaboration”
But does it?
Key Takeaway
This research has found out that Open plan offices significantly increase the feeling of privacy invasion from Peers and supervisors which in turn lead to delinquent behavior by employees.
While this study looks at the relation between open floor offices/privacy and delinquent behavior, other studies about open floor have shown lower productivity and job satisfaction due to such office design.
Research Findings
38% of the employees felt crowded in their open plan offices.
The feeling of crowdedness increases the feelings of privacy being invaded by colleagues
Increase in the feelings of privacy being invaded by colleagues increases norm breaking behavior like slacking off, being rude with colleagues, damaging company’s property etc
Underlying causes
In an open plan office, you can see everyone and everyone can see you. Subconsciously, the brain becomes more aware of how you are looking, acting, doing etc which takes away a lot of bandwidth that could have been used towards work.
with no partitions, from peers to supervisors, anyone can take a peek at what you are doing on your screen. This leads to decrease in feeling of autonomy and privacy.
An individual gets more audio and visual stimulation in an open plan office as compared to one with partitions or private cabins. This stimulation invades a person personal space in a way because they dont want this kind of stimulation while trying to focus.
Putting it into Practice
If you are considering moving to a new office space with your team, please consider one with partitions. The more privacy you can give to your employees, the better their behavior and productivity will be.
Or if you are not happy with your team’s current behavior and productivity, then consider installing partitions after having a chat with your team if such a move will help them.
About the study
The research was carried out in Tehran, Iran with 299 office goers from different IT companies which had open plan offices. Iran is a highly individualistic society where people prioritize their personal space. Therefore the results will be applicable to western countries