The Secret to Getting Work Done in an Open Office. Tip#1: Why Employers Like Open Office Plans
Open plan offices are bad for getting things done. They’re noisy and distractive, and employees can find it hard to focus. The idea that they promoted collaboration was recently debunked by Harvard University researchers, who found they do exactly the opposite. In their study, participants who were changed to an open plan office spent 72% less time interacting face-to-face and they sent 56% more emails and 67% more instant messages.
“There are no advantages for employees, but there are definite advantages for employers,” says Jason Fried, CEO and cofounder of the project management software platform Basecamp. “The economic reality is you have to sign a long-term lease for commercial lease–five to 10 years–and you don’t know how big you’ll be or what you’ll need in seven or even three years. Flexible spaces make sense because you can add more desks.”
You can also pack more people into an open space. “You can nudge desks together, you can squish people in a few feet,” says Fried. “I’m not suggesting these are good ideas, but they’re practical and workable. If everyone needs private offices, you’re going to need a lot more space, which means a lot more rent. That’s expensive.”
Managers aren’t bothered by open plan offices because they don’t need to protect their own time and attention as much, adds David Heinemeier Hansson, Basecamp cofounder and CTO. “Few managers have a schedule that allows, or even requires, long hours of uninterrupted time dedicated to a single creative pursuit,” he writes in a blog post. “And it’s these managers who are in charge of designing office layouts and signing leases. It’s also these managers who are responsible for booking photo shoots of the FUN-FUN office, giving tours to investors, and fielding interviews with journalists. The open office is an excellent backdrop for all those activities.”
