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11/15/2018

Some Dread-inducing Stats on Open-office Plans

These workplaces leave employees feeling spied upon, distracted and depressed

Do people really care about working in offices with social events and perks like cold brew taps and ping-pong tables? Or do people simply want a quiet, comfortable place to do their work in peace before heading home to their actual lives? According to an online survey of American office workers conducted by the public opinion survey company YouGov, it’s–surprise!–the latter.

The survey was commissioned by the company Room, which  makes modular workspaces and obviously has a strong motive to paint open-plan offices in a negative light. But the results are still interesting, for the picture they paint of life in American offices today.

Overall, the survey polled more than 4,000 workers, and more than 400 open plan workers specifically. A few notes on how this design paradigm makes people feel: 31 percent of people have “held back their true thoughts and opinions while on calls in the office because they don’t want coworkers to hear and judge them.” Sixteen percent of people feel their “overall quality of health has declined” in open plan offices. Thirteen percent say they’ve considered leaving their jobs because of their office layout.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Fast Co.Design.

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