open plan offices

Working In Open Plan Offices Is Getting A Bad Rap

Working in open plan offices is getting a bad rap. They were designed to improve teamwork, increase communication and collaboration between staff. However, staff who are required to work in open plan offices report difficulties associated with noise, distracting behaviors, bad smells (Tuna sandwiches) cramped work spaces and lack of privacy.

A recent survey from the University of Sydney by Jungsoo Kim and Richard de Dear found that workers were in fact experiencing stress, were distracted and productivity was down when compared to traditional office settings.

My own experience in training staff in communication skills is that common courtesy and good office etiquette would solve a lot of the problems associated with the open plan work space. One of the most common road blocks to developing positive working relationship with others in the open plan workplace is the assumption that other people view the world in the same way that we do. “I love tuna sandwiches and so should everyone else”.

If people did not speak so loud, or they kept their music down or had a sound proof head set, this would help. If they were aware of their bad odour or that their tuna sandwich that they are eating at their desk stinks, then they can and should change their behavior. If they knew that their constant chit chats across the room were interfering with your productivity they could limit these chats accordingly.

The secret here is confident and effective communication in the workplace. It is being assertive and speaking your truth and letting people know how you are being affected by their behavior.

The key is to increase people’s awareness of how they are currently communicating and behaving in the workplace and then provide them with additional tools to become more effective in maintaining boundaries whether that’s about not talking too loud in the office to not gossiping about another staff member or debriefing about clients in front of other staff.

So, as we look at all the negative press and bad reports around working in open plan offices, is it really the office design and environment that is to blame, or is it possibly the way we communicate, behave and abandon good etiquette that is the cause.

Interestingly the millennials view the open plan workspace in a more positive light and like the increased flexibility and the collaboration. There is a boom in shared workspaces for entrepreneurs and infopreneurs and tech start-ups across Australia and these are all based on open plan office. So the objections and problems with open plan work spaces are generally from those who have experienced their own private office and have been required to transition to an open plan office.

I think open plan offices are here to stay and what is more important is the way that we communicate and observe common sense and good etiquette with the open plan workspace.

If this article is of interest to you and your organisation, I do run a workshop entitled “Communication Etiquette In An Open Plan Office

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