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The Open Office Is Destroying the Workplace
HughPickens.com writes: Lindsey Kaufman reports in the WaPo that despite its obvious problems, the open-office model has continued to encroach on workers across the country, with about 70 percent of U.S. offices having no or low partitions. Silicon Valley has led the way — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg enlisted famed architect Frank Gehry to design the largest open floor plan in the world, housing nearly 3,000 engineers within a single room that stretches 10 acres. Michael Bloomberg was another early adopter of the open-space trend, saying it promoted transparency and fairness. Bosses love the ability to keep a closer eye on their employees, ensuring clandestine porn-watching, constant social media-browsing and unlimited personal cellphone use isn't occupying billing hours.
But according to Kaufman, employers are getting a false sense of improved productivity. A 2013 study showed many workers in open offices are frustrated by distractions that lead to poorer work performance. Nearly half of the surveyed workers in open offices said the lack of sound privacy was a significant problem, and more than 30 percent complained about the lack of visual privacy. The New Yorker, in a review of research on this nouveau workplace design, determined that the benefits in building camaraderie simply mask the negative effects on work performance.
While employees feel like they're part of a laid-back, innovative enterprise, the environment ultimately damages workers' attention spans, productivity, creative thinking, and satisfaction says Kaufman. "Though multitasking millennials seem to be more open to distraction as a workplace norm, the wholehearted embrace of open offices may be ingraining a cycle of underperformance in their generation," writes Maria Konnikova. "They enjoy, build, and proselytize for open offices, but may also suffer the most from them in the long run."
But according to Kaufman, employers are getting a false sense of improved productivity. A 2013 study showed many workers in open offices are frustrated by distractions that lead to poorer work performance. Nearly half of the surveyed workers in open offices said the lack of sound privacy was a significant problem, and more than 30 percent complained about the lack of visual privacy. The New Yorker, in a review of research on this nouveau workplace design, determined that the benefits in building camaraderie simply mask the negative effects on work performance.
While employees feel like they're part of a laid-back, innovative enterprise, the environment ultimately damages workers' attention spans, productivity, creative thinking, and satisfaction says Kaufman. "Though multitasking millennials seem to be more open to distraction as a workplace norm, the wholehearted embrace of open offices may be ingraining a cycle of underperformance in their generation," writes Maria Konnikova. "They enjoy, build, and proselytize for open offices, but may also suffer the most from them in the long run."
The "open office" is just cost-reduction masquerading as some sort of innovation.
It's the march towards ever less expenses to allow more profit to funnel to the few.
And the many embrace it. The few have managed to get the many to embrace their own destruction.
Mostly random stuff.
Managers have no confidence in themselves-- they know they are incompetent at motivating people so they have to resort to big-brother intimidation techniques and vacuous pep rallys with inane slogans and sports metaphors. It then becomes self-fulfilling for the most part, you get what you pay for...
Constant noise and distraction, getting interrupted 1000 times by co-workers. It leads to starting some tasks over and over and forgetting about others.
Bad idea, created by "Twitter Generation"
*uninstalls OpenOffice and installs a crazy outdated version of StarOffice*
Web browsing on company time is a self correcting problem. It's accepted (at least where I work) that quick breaks throughout the day are almost a necessity. I usually do so when I get hung up or frustrated by something. A quick glance through any one of several sites I frequent gives my brain a break, and then I find I can get back at it.
Last year I spent a few months working on site for a client that has a zero tolerance policy for personal use of internet. When I learned about this I was horrified and almost declined the contract, but as soon as I started working there I found out that not only did my productivity improve, my general mood also improved. Hours flew by even if the project was not that interesting. At the end of the day I had more energy, and I also took more pleasure in non-work activities in the evening.
I am not kidding. Try it for a week: no personal email, no personal web browsing, no funnies, nothing like that during business hours (including the phone). Also cut the chitchat and the gossiping around the watercooler (or espresso machine). You won't believe how better you will feel. It's almost zen.
lucm, indeed.
I think one of these would be helpful in an open work space.
Every time I read an article that mentions Zuckerberg I know it is going to contain some idea, process or plan I am going to hate. Zuck is the worst possible CEO to have so much power which we know translates to the tech industry following his lead and also legislation. It is dbags like the Zuckerbergs that make me want to get out of tech since with people following their lead things are only going to get worse for the rest of us.
I used to be one of those 'multitaskers'. I took pride that I could crank on 3-4 things at a time.
It took me years to figure out I was doing 3-4 things badly. I now deliberately do 1 thing at a time. I make everyone set the priority they want. I make it CLEAR they what they are costing (time, money, resources). I use the scrumm burndown list method to focus my boss. I also make it clear that spinning people off task for that brain fart you had this morning costs productivity. I do not use online burndown tools on purpose. Most of them are exceptional at what they do. I can use it with some people to good effect. But my current boss seems to forget to actually manage it. So I use a manual process to put it in front of him. As it is in front of him as he is a 'swing by' kind of boss. "lets check the list" is a very good way for him to figure out what to do.
Multitasking is just a way of telling your workers you do not care about priority. Not everything can be at the top of the list. *SOMETHING* must be bellow the top. It may be a close call but you have to decide. In the words of the highlander there can be only one. Not everyone will be working on the top of the priority list either. Some will be getting number 2 and number 3 underway. However, something must be #1.
If you do not make it clear what people should do you get people wandering off task to do other things. Micromanaging is a symptom of trust issues that are fed by them finding you doing other things. People wander off because they were not told properly up front what the priority was. It all feeds on itself.
Each engineer had a desk. No deviders or walls.
All of the desks faced the same direction.
At the front of the room was a raised platform (about 1 foot high). On that platform sat the managers.
Four engineers shared one phone. That phone was on a swing arm that would swing in a circle above the four desks.
Oh, and I forgot. Your desk had to be completely bare when you left in the afternoon. And you do not want to be caught reading a newspaper anytime after the whistle blows at 8 AM.
Most Respectfully Yours Mark Allyn Bellingham, Washington
you sound like a person who talks about work instead of DOING work.