The idea seems sound: Remove the physical barriers between employees, and they will be more likely to communicate and collaborate with one another. Do away with offices and, with it, the idea that managers are more important than rank-and-file workers. An open office will create energy and creativity. There’s just one problem: Everyone hates open offices. They are distracting. They are loud. There is no privacy. And this isn’t simply anecdotal evidence. Ever since open office floor plans became popular, studies have shown they don’t actually achieve their supposed benefits. Research shows people who work in open offices take nearly two-thirds more sick leave than those who work in a more traditional space, and they report greater levels of unhappiness and stress, and less productivity. A Harvard Business School study found face-to-face interaction in an open office is decreased by about 70 percent, and email and electronic messaging increases by about 50 percent. So why do we continue to see these office layouts? Some think it’s mostly symbolic. “When you talk to leaders in corporate real estate or CEOs about why they designed their space [in an open plan], most will give some fluffy answer,” says Ben Waber, co-founder and CEO of workplace analytics company Humanyze. “But when you dig down, it’s because this is what the workplaces look like at a couple of highly successful tech companies.” Rather than try to copy what’s trendy, employers should be more concerned with what will make their employees happy and productive.
