Open Plan Office Working - Is It The Best Solution?

I'm in the process of setting up a new team for an upcoming project. I always like this stage, because it's now you get to make lots of adjustments based on what went well or what could be improved from previous projects.

One area I've been giving a lot of thought to, is the physical office set up. A lot of the time offices get set up as per previous standard set ups or as per national agreements with very little thought as to what actually works.

A few years ago, I was working on a large project which was completely open plan apart from one office. That office had been specially constructed for one senior staff member who resolutely refused to work in open plan. My initial impression was that it wasn't very team spirited. As time went on I changed my mind, I got to know the person and understood their reasons for choosing to work that way.

I then started to consider how I like to work, one thing I know for sure, is that I absolutely do not like working in open plan offices! Why? Well several reasons ...

1. Whilst I do have a gift to 'zone out' at will (a teacher once wrote on a school report of mine - Christopher will frequently disappear into his own world) which helps me concentrate. I still find open plan offices disturb me from concentrating as much as I would like, particularly when say writing a monthly programme, which I find requires un-disturbed time or it takes exponentially longer.
2. If people want to have private conversations with me (which is a relatively frequent occurrence), you can't do that in open plan. I then have to get up and find somewhere to have a conversation and all that takes much longer than it would if it was just a conversation.
3. I have bad hearing and it isn't just the general noise level of an open plan office that causes me to strain for a conversation, it's the acoustics of large open plan areas, they make a huge difference to sound quality and my ability to hear properly.
4. Taking TEAMS calls. Times have shifted fast over the past couple of years to a place where virtual meetings are common. Now whilst I'm not a huge fan of multi-person, long duration TEAMS meetings, I do really value short, 15 minute one on one or small focus group TEAMS calls. I find those sort of TEAMS catch up meetings really effective. Have you ever tried taking those TEAMS calls in an open plan office though? Absolutely hopeless for the person on the other end trying to listen to you.
5. Virus transmission - We all know about this one right? Someone in 2020 got very rich selling perspex, anti-virus screens to keep us all safe in our open plan areas. Going forwards, hopefully we won't be looking at pandemic levels of problems, but if someone comes in with flu or another transmissible disease, then an open plan environment is possibly not the best solution for reducing the spread.

Consider why open plan working came about, it was to promote collaborative working right? I've researched quite a lot about the effectiveness of open plan working and I think it's fair to say the Jury is out. In fact a study by the Havard Business School concluded open plan spaces reduced face to face communication by as much as 70%!

I've heard sometimes members of staff say that if an office is open plan, then they sometimes pick up on information by over-hearing a conversation. I question how true that really is. I'm trying to think over the years I've worked, of any key piece of information that I've heard just through coincidence .....Hmmm ... well... nope can't think of any ... or maybe that's because I just zone out, or maybe because I can't hear well .... or maybe it's because I regularly get off my chair and go around and talk to my team members to find out what's going on without waiting to overhear a chance conversation.

Do we really want to rely on critical information being transferred through chance conversation ? Is it better instead to promote approachable culture and a structured transfer of information ?

There are other reasons why open plan working may not be the best solution ...

1. Lack of Privacy - The fact is we all have lives outside of work and sometimes we need to make a private call or check some private information, which is not really possible in open plan. I understand some people will be thinking if you give people private space they'll spend ages chatting to their friends, playing computer games, watching YouTube or applying for other jobs! Well yes that's true, it is possible, but the problem there is the motivation of the team member, not that you have given them a space to work. Perhaps you should be focusing on your team's morale and motivation, not the piece of plasterboard which has just been put up.
2. Anxiety - Some people are introverts or not so comfortable in a place with fifty pairs of eyes watching as they walk to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, judging the way they walk. Some people are naturally more comfortable in places with fewer eyes on them.
3. Lack of Individuality - If people are given their own space, they often personalise it. This may just be a photo of their family, a Star Wars model on the desk, or a 6ft cheese plant called Wilbert. I was having a conversation recently with an ex-teacher who was telling me they had left the profession because they were told what colour pen to use to mark, exactly what script to teach, all pin boards to be covered with brown hessian and all class rooms were to look identical. I thought this sounded horrendous, if it is true. I'm pretty sure that Mr Scuffam, my Science Teacher at primary school, would not have inspired me with science if he was only allowed a hessian covered board and standard issue Bic biro (in green). Personally, I value individuals. They bring diversity and creativity and seeing people personalize their workspace helps me understand the person.

There must be some benefits to open plan working though, right ? Of course ...

1. Efficiency - The obvious one, they are very space efficient, you can get the most people into a smaller space. There are no two ways about it, money matters and space is expensive (I'm already over budget on my office set up on the new project, I may have to forego the solid oak flooring and gold taps in my office) Open plan maximizes the amount of desk space you can fit in a given area.
2. Flexibility - A lack of walls make if far easier to re-arrange spaces to accommodate changes to team structure or when new members join.
3. Culture - Creating culture is something I work a lot on. Having the right culture on site not only ensures the Project goals are being maintained, but it can also help make a place an interesting, fun and inspiring place to work. It's fair to say hiding people away in their own workplaces can definitely make building culture more challenging. That does not mean it can't be done however. The key is to recognise that barriers have been placed in the way of this and a plan must take these into account, so that culture can still be allowed to flourish.
4. Eliminates hierarchy - Interesting one this. Where Senior Members are not so approachable, giving them a separate office will potentially exacerbate the issue. So here an open plan working environment can help break down those barriers down. On the flip side, it can blur the lines of leadership, which can be detrimental to team working.

To summarise, before we all charge off and order the company standard office set up for the next project, perhaps give some thought as to actually what will help get the best from the team, who needs to interact with who and how are you going to provide proper facilities for focus time. Speak with the team before you set the offices up and ask them how they prefer working.

I'd love to hear your thoughts or experiences on open plan working or offices you have had that have worked really well. You can find me in my own private office, just remember to knock on the door and wipe your feet before treading on my inch thick Wilton carpet. Or you could just drop me a message.

Chris Jones