The days of striving to get the corner office at work are gone, with more and more employers adopting open floor plans to encourage collaborations among workers. Unfortunately, it sounds like having everyone sitting in one open room together isn’t necessarily good for business.
A new Robert Half survey finds that 56% of human resources managers say that in recent years their companies have "gone open." And while 65% of workers say that having that open floor plan is good for employee collaboration, many think other office set ups work just as well. For example 69% of people say a combo of open and private spaces can still lead to employees working together while 68% say the same for semi-private cubicles, and 60% agree for private offices.
And employers really should take note of this. Because the survey finds that overall, those workers who are in offices with open floor plans andsemi-private cubicles report the lowest productivity levels. Those in private offices note having the highest productivity levels. And that’s not all, 31% of those in semi-private cubicles and 25% of those working in a open plan environment say they feel stressed because of their workspace, while 59% of those in private offices say they are relaxed in their space.
Source: Robert Half