The collaborative open office design is everywhere and is popular for creating more space for employees and promotes unity across departments in the workplace, but according to a study by Stegmeier Consulting Group (SCG), it may have an adverse effect on productivity.
Seventy-nine percent of the responses reported concerns of an open office that included audible distractions and uninvited interruptions as major culprits. The study also shows the decrease in privacy negatively affects the way workers conduct themselves with higher-level employees
How employees feel about open work spaces is important considering the progressive direction companies are moving toward workplace design. Across the board, participants in the study stated their company is moving toward open work spaces and leaving behind the assigned cubicles and private offices of the past. The future of workspaces is trending toward tearing down walls, but the open space creates new challenges for workers.
