I'm not a fan of the "Open Office" concept.
I get that it's supposed to foster creativity and collaboration. That productivity is supposed to increase. A worker in an open office is more approachable and communication increases.
Perhaps that's all true. Personally, I don't buy into it. I think rather than fostering collaboration it's fomenting animosity towards fellow co-workers. Case in point: my desk is maybe 4' x 2'. I have a side divider that's probably 16" inches tall, and a divider on the back of my desk that's maybe 2, 2 1/2 feet. Before I switched from sitting on the left side of my desk to the right, I was literally about a foot away from my co-worker (thankfully, no one sits to my right). The person who sit across from me is at least 6'2" and likes to stretch his legs out under the desk. I don't blame him at all. We end up kicking each other a lot, as I like to do the same.
Distractions
The noise is another factor. Several times one or more people will be on a conference call, and while most of my co-workers use headphones, some don't. So I get to listen to their calls (and yes, they've been told headphones should be used). I don't even like having to attend my own conference call meetings, now I'm listening to others as well. Double aggravation points when two people are on the same call, one is on headphones, one isn't, and there is a nice echo and occasional feedback. Along those same lines are the habitual knuckle-cracker and the guy who really likes to masticate his food. I'm not sure what he's eating but he does it loudly, wetly, and way too often.
"The Open Office concept fosters communication!" Ok, maybe. But it also inhibits my ability to go heads down and get some work done. As a web developer, I like to "Get in the zone" as it were and have no distractions as I work on building out a new page or component. Not possible if I'm getting stopped every five minutes for questions, or getting distracted by the guy who is, even as I type this (yes, I'm blogging at work), chewing mightily on a bag of chips. They're only chips dude, not old beef jerky.
How about the guy who likes to shoot his trash into the bin about 12 feet away? He's no NBA candidate - he misses probably 75% of his shots. Which means he then gets up, walks over and throws it away like he should. More distractions.
Findings
They have found that open plan offices create unwanted activity in the brains of workers that can get in the way of them doing the task at hand. Studies have shown that there's a 15% decrease in productivity in an open office environment. One subject wore a cap that measured his brain waves while trying to work in an open plan office. The results revealed intense bursts of distraction. Another study found that 76 percent of Americans “hate open offices.” 76%. That's a huge number of your employees to be hating their work environment.
I get that it's cost-prohibitive for everyone to have an office. But if companies are going to stick with the open office concept, there needs to be some changes. Bigger desks, so I don't feel like I'm sitting on top of my neighbor. As a bonus, I could actually fit a picture of the family if I so desired. How about some spaces where there's an abundance of natural light? One of the saving graces for myself is that I'm close to a window. I have lots of natural light. People at the other end of the room, not so much.
And headphones. Perhaps because companies are saving money on offices, they should invest in some headphones for everyone. Honestly, same days having my music playing is my only saving grace.
I don't think the open office concept is going away anytime soon, but it's almost like there needs to be a course on how to be a considerate open office co-worker.
I'm looking at you, Mr. I eat my stinky eggs every day at 10:30.