The Evidence on Open Plan Offices/h1>

A concise list of research findings on how open-plan offices undermine focus, health, and collaboration.

Harvard Business School – Bernstein & Turban (2018)

• Face-to-face interaction dropped sharply after shift to open-plan
• Email and instant messaging increased instead of real-world collaboration
• Workers withdrew socially to protect privacy and concentration

Experimental Research on Office Noise & Cognition

• Background speech impairs working memory
• Reduces reading comprehension and information retention
• Slows problem-solving and complex thinking
• Increases mental fatigue over the workday

Steelcase / Ipsos Global Study (2014)

• Large share of workers report inability to concentrate in open offices
• High dissatisfaction with noise and lack of privacy
• Around 86 minutes per day lost to distractions and interruptions
• Many rely on headphones as a coping mechanism rather than a preference

Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health – Pejtersen et al. (2011)

• Shared and open-plan offices linked to more sick days than private offices
• Higher sickness absence in large open rooms with many occupants
• Greater opportunity for viral spread and stress-related absence

Journal of Environmental Psychology – Kim & de Dear (2013)

• Open-plan offices had the lowest satisfaction of all layouts studied
• Private offices clearly outperformed open-plan on acoustics and privacy
• Loss of privacy was the strongest driver of dissatisfaction
• Frequent interruptions and crowding complaints in open plans

Research on Stress & Open-Plan Noise

• Open-office noise linked to elevated stress responses
• Workers report higher fatigue and emotional exhaustion
• Conflicts and irritation increase with constant proximity and noise

Cal Newport – Deep Work (2016)

• Deep, focused work is crucial for high-value knowledge tasks
• Frequent interruptions create “attention residue” that degrades performance
• Open offices structurally encourage shallow, reactive work instead of deep work

Short description

Across multiple fields, empirical research finds that open-plan offices reduce focus and satisfaction, increase stress and sick days, and fail to deliver the promised gains in collaboration.

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