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"The Open vs Closed Office Debate"
The following are excerpts from "Offices that
Work" by Franklin Becker PhD and William Sims PhD: Cornell University:
International Workplace Studies Program http://iwsp.human.cornell.edu
"Fifty years after the introduction of panel-based
open plan office systems, we still vigorously debate the value
of
open vs closed offices. The reasons vary. They range from personal
preferences (most people prefer closed offices…), to cost considerations
and flexibility.
Organisations like open plan offices because they
tend to be smaller and thus cost less on a per employee basis (because
density is higher). They may also be more flexible, though this
is questionable, especially if some form of "universal" plan offices
are employed that reduces the cost of "churn".
The problem is that the question is in itself
wrong. Both open and closed serve useful purposes. The meaningful
question is,
'What's the right balance between open and closed
offices?'
close on its heels is,
'what do we mean by open office anyway?'
Is it a high-panelled cubicle (one cannot see
over the panel/screen when seated?
Is it a low panelled cubicle (one can see over
the panel when seated?'
Is it a cluster or 'pod' of low-panelled workstations
separated from another pod by higher panels?
Is it a shared enclosed office (2-12 people in
an enclosed space)? Is it a team-orientated bullpen, with a small
group of desks in a completely open area?
It is of course, all of the above. Which is why
describing a work environment as 'open' serves so little purpose.
It is like using 'meat' to describe everything from hot dogs to
filet mignon, or 'car' for everything from Ford Escort to Rolls
Royce."
"Finding the right balance of open and closed
offices requires understanding the purpose of the office, and even
more so, the nature of work being done".
"… today's office's primary (not only) value is
as a place for face-to-face interaction: a place to meet co-workers
and managers, to inspire, to coach, be motivated, share information,
debate goals and objectives, socialise, make friends, and so on.
It is much more a social setting as it is a refuge or technical
information centre."
Given this way of thinking, about what an "office"
is, the first question for organisational leaders struggling with
how to use the corporation's scarce resources to their fullest potential,
is how different forms of office design, from closed offices to
a variety of forms of open plan offices, affect communication and
interaction.
More particularly it is to understand how communication
and interaction affect valued organisational outcomes such as decision
speed, organisational learning and employee job satisfaction and
commitment."
Research undertaken by the International Workplace
Studies program: Cornell University has found the following
- The more open, the 'open plan' office environment,
the more conducive it is to overall work effectiveness, when communication
and interaction are critical elements of the work process. Few
jobs or professions don't qualify
- Most employees prefer closed offices
- Distinguishing between the different types
of 'open' environments is critical as is the age profile of workers
- Most people in their late thirties to forties and fifties prefer
a closed office
- It is easier to control unwanted distractions and interruptions
and noise is typically less of an issue in a closed office
- Few would argue that most employees need time
to think, concentrate and reflect, as well as communicate, share
information and interact socially. "The Holy Grail is finding
the right balance. What is surprising about our data is that the
more open type office environment, what we are calling team-orientated
bullpens and pods, as well as shared closed offices, may come
closer to achieving this balance than either closed offices or
high-panelled cubicles".
- Whilst communication occurs in closed offices,
the pace, frequency and nature of that communication are significantly
different from what occurs in more open settings such as team-orientated
bullpens and pods
- Conference calls, emails and scheduled meetings
are viewed by those in closed offices as providing sufficient
communication. People in closed office often referred to "frequent"
communication meaning interactions several times a week often
in a scheduled meeting. For those in an open workstation environment,
"frequent communication" and interaction meant literally dozens
of quite short communications throughout the day.
- "The more open the environment, the more frequent
the communication and the shorter the duration. Rather than being
viewed as interruptions, these short, frequent interactions provided
very fast feedback and response time, allowing work to move forward
overall."
- Open team-orientated environments with their
unobstructed visibility from a seated position, provide useful
clues that govern interaction and reduce unwanted interruptions
- "In organisations where teamwork and collaboration
are critical, socialising is the glue that binds a team together."
- Even though you get a lot of distractions when
you are in an open area, you can also ask questions very quickly.
And you aren't as tentative to go over and ask somebody a question.
If someone has an office and the door is close you have to wander
if you should knock and are you disturbing them
- Relationships between mangers and their team
is very different - manager's interactions with teams if manager
is in a closed or high cubicle is about 82% based on work and
5% non-work ; manager's interaction with team in an open workstation
environment is 64% work-based and 24% non-work
- Tacit learning occurs in a serendipitous, unplanned
way, as a by-product of our daily activities. "It is learning
that depends on being able to see and hear and observe how others
handle different situations. How does your supervisor handle upset
staff, or respond to difficult questions?" "We learn by watching
and hearing, not just by being formally 'instructed'". Work environments
that are more open create more opportunities for observing and
learning from those with more experience and different skills.
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