1. The picture doesn't resemble what we have as an OFP. We have individual (albeit cozy) cubicles, with partitions (albeit low ones) between us and area (albeit not extravagant) to actually make a personal space. What the picture shows is to us what we are to folks having traditional high-wall cubes and walled offices.
2. Do open plan setups lead to more illness? Well, I suspect it depends on actual proximity and company culture. Again, in the former, we aren't nearly as sardine-packed as the picture, which would certainly increase illness. We also have a culture that encourages folks who are sick, if possible, to work from home.
3. Yes, nobody likes noise. Yet most noise is socially manageable within appropriate physical bounds. We also use white noise generators in general, and employees use music and headphones in particular.
The conclusion to me (as the further items follow along the same patterns as these points) is that there's "open" and there's "cramped" — and in the latter, as exemplified by the picture, humans react like any other animal too crammed into a space — with resistance, outburst, and aggression.
Open-plan offices make employees less productive, less happy, and more likely to get sick
A well-designed office is a happy office. As facilities managers strive to save space and cash, they’re reshuffling desks and fiddling with temperature gauges. All of which has an impact on workers’ performance. Open-plan offices may make some kinds of collaboration easier, but are they more conducive to productivity? What’s the most irritating workplace distraction? And are those state-of-the-art workstations actually more comfortable? Here’s th…
I am so glad I'm a freelancer/telecomuter.
That whole open-plan office thing looks horrible.
Honestly, I'm not having a problem with it. I actually appreciate the connection with folks around me.
That picture looks more like a LAN party than an office environment.
Agreed. While I have no doubt there are offices organized that way, I can imagine they are as bad as the article paints.