Struggle to cope...
Guest post by Sian Atkins.

Despite the prevalence of open-plan offices, mountains of data from scientific studies, coupled with anecdotal evidence from some of the millions who work in them, suggest they are far from beneficial in terms of worker productivity and wellbeing. The excessive noise levels and constant stream of distractions have been shown to reduce efficiency and impair memory. Unwanted interruptions and an imposed need to multi- task prevent workers from entering “flow”, a state described by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi as holding the “secret to happiness” and in which people are found to do their best, most focused and creative work. Other negative effects, some of which I’ve outlined here and here, range from decreased motivation, feelings of helplessness, raised blood pressure, increased social hostility and higher staff turnover.

What’s more, these effects are not confined to the most introverted or sensitive amongst us, although they are likely to be felt more acutely by these types. Background noise, interruptions, a lack of privacy and multitasking are known to be universally detrimental. To take one example, Daniel Levitin, in his recently published book, The Organised Mind, explains that multitasking is largely a myth which carries a high cognitive cost, particularly in those who are especially sensitive to dopamine – which includes introverts. Constantly switching between tasks has been shown to raise cortisol levels, suppress creativity, impair problem-solving abilities, and actually cause information we’ve learned to be directed to the wrong part of our brain.

In light of such findings, it’s clear that making attempts to move beyond open-plan offices (and even offices in general) would do a lot to improve our collective wellbeing and productivity. So I thought I would discuss the two main alternatives to open-plan working, highlighting their relative advantages as well as some of the potential challenges they pose.

Hybrid spaces

Perhaps the most obvious and relatively straightforward solution is to redesign our workplaces. In such a scenario, people would still come together in the same physical location everyday of the week, except that there would be a greater variety of workspaces and, in theory, more flexibility and control over your environment. Susan Cain, co-founder of the recently-launched Quiet Revolution, has already made moves in this direction. She teamed up with office design company Steel Case to spearhead Quiet Spaces, a project which creates hybrid spaces with private rooms and various nooks and crannies designed to provide more introvert-friendly options in an otherwise open-plan environment. You can watch an interesting video about this initiative here.

Advantages of redesigning offices in this way might include:
– Greater choice, flexibility and control than in open-plan offices.
– Perhaps hybrid spaces offer the best of both worlds? Extroverts and more
moderate introverts, especially, are likely to appreciate the chance to flit
between private and more public areas.
– I’m sure that many extroverts (and perhaps even some introverts!?) feel they
can easily tolerate and even enjoy open-plan working. So making a shift away from open-spaces may not be to everyone’s liking (though anecdotal evidence does suggest otherwise).
– This option is more straightforward to implement. It would also be easier to convince people to get on board as it represents less of a jump than making the shift to remote work.

Drawbacks: Does it really solve the problem?
Redesigning offices to incorporate more private space is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t remedy the fact that most people will still be working open-plan most of the time. Personally, I know that this set-up doesn’t suit me. I’d be more comfortable with an eight hour day being split up into six hours of solitude and two hours of company, rather than the other way around! I desperately crave and require silence and complete visual and psychological privacy to do my best work, and I’m sure that many other introverts, especially those who are highly sensitive, identify. Hybrid offices still deny the choice of a permanent private space to those who want it.

They also raise some other issues. You can only have a limited number of private rooms in an otherwise open-plan office. Demand will more than likely exceed supply, so getting your hands on one will likely require plenty of advance planning. And if you’re the sort of person who would make a lot of use out of private rooms, booking them out regularly may make you feel a little guilty of depriving others! Using them beyond what would be considered your fair share may also lead to raised eyebrows amongst co-workers. In addition, these rooms are obviously shared, so there’s no room for the personalisation and sense of ownership that a private office provides. Finally, looking at the copious use of glass walls in some of the Steel Case designs, I’m not sure how much visual privacy they’d afford.

An article I came across on the Quiet Revolution website about adapting to open-plan offices makes reference to the author’s experience of booking out a private meeting room on an ad-hoc basis in an effort to gain some relief from the main office. She worked alone for a couple of hours without any interruptions and describes it as “the two most blissful hours of my open-plan office life!” The author says the experience made her feel brilliant and start to long for an office of her own. If it feels so great, this makes me wonder why not go the full distance and ditch the open-plan part of hybrid spaces entirely?

Go remote

There is a growing trend and discussion around remote work at the moment, with a growing number of people opting out of office life. Working from home – or from anywhere you fancy – can involve being a remote employee or else striking out alone as a freelancer or business owner. The former brings many of the benefits of a regular job, minus the commuting, open-plan space and office politics. The latter, meanwhile, provides greater freedom, control and flexibility than employment, with the downsides being increased risk and perhaps isolation for some.

Jason Fried, co-founder of software company 37signals, is one amongst a growing number advocating remote work. In his TED talk, he stresses the detrimental effects of meetings and managers in terms of getting things done. He also cites anecdotal evidence of people choosing to go anywhere but the office if they’re looking to get important work done.

Here is a list I’ve compiled on the many advantages of going remote:
– Avoid all of the drawbacks associated with open-plan offices: noise, distractions, interruptions, meetings, small talk, office politics, and more.
– Increased productivity and less wasted time. Get your work done faster, freeing .up time for other activities (or additional work!)
– Control and choice over where you work.
– Greater flexibility over when you work.
– Get more things done at home during breaks, such as housework, food preparation or child care.
– A more comfortable environment. You get to choose the furnishings, lighting, temperature, decor, music and smells!
– Easier to get into a state of “flow”.
– Solitude is a catalyst for creative thinking.
– No commuting.
– Save money on transport, clothes and food.
– Reduced stress and greater physical and mental wellbeing because of all of the above.
– Greater flexibility over where and how you live.
– Location-independence. You can take your work on the road if you want.
– There’s still the option of working in livelier environments surrounded by people as and when you want, for example in coffee shops or co-working spaces.
– There’s a larger pool of potential jobs to select from as you’re no longer constrained by location (if employers get on board that is).

The common arguments against remote work are mainly things that employers will be concerned about, including:
– Reduced opportunities for face-to-face communication and collaboration.
– It may be harder to get a hold of people, which might have negative repercussions when you need an immediate response.
– People may get distracted, bored or lonely at home.
– Employers have less power to supervise and monitor workers.
– Corporate culture and camaraderie may suffer.

Many of these arguments are busted in the book Remote by 37signals, which I would definitely recommend checking out. The myth that group work and collaboration foster creativity is still especially prevalent and is a common argument amongst proponents of open-plan working. Yet the research is actually suggestive of the opposite effect. Teamwork gives rise to group think, whilst a lack of visual and sound privacy has been shown to inhibit meaningful exchanges between colleagues. Sharing ideas with others is of course important, but our most creative ideas and focused work emerges from extended periods of solitude.

There are already signs that work is starting to shift in radically new directions. Reports show a steady rise in the number of remote workers and some predict this to reach as high as 40% of the US workforce by as early as 2020. Thanks to technology, the barriers to starting a business have never been lower. More companies are outsourcing work and hiring contract workers, creating more opportunities for freelancers. The alternatives to open-plan offices already exist and are only likely to gather force in the coming decades. This will be to almost everyone’s benefit, and especially good for introverts. So I say we help speed the process along by doing everything we can to highlight the many downsides of open-plan work environments along with the numerous advantages of living an office-free existence.

 

introvert-sian-blog-postSian is a freelance writer and blogger at sianatkins.com, crafting content for clients on personal development, nutrition, travel and the outdoors. She also runs Introvert Ideal (www.introvertideal.com), a site dedicated to cultivating understanding, shifting attitudes and enacting change in society for the benefit of introverts and highly sensitive people. You can find her on twitter @SianIAtkins, and if you have a writing project you need completing be sure to get in touch!

Top image by patrisyu from freedigitalphotos.net