A Furniture Consultant’s Take on Open-Plan Offices

The seed of the open plan office was planted in 1856 when a UK government report stated: “for the intellectual work, separate rooms are necessary so that a person who works with his head may not be interrupted; but for the more mechanical work, the working in concert of a number of clerks in the same room under proper superintendence, is the proper mode of meeting it”.

However, it wasn’t until the 18th century that buildings were made specifically to house offices. The earliest example of an open-plan office was the "Bürolandschaft" (office landscape), developed in Germany in the 1950s. This movement used irregular geometry and organic circulation patterns to create an open-plan office. Part of the theory behind the Bürolandschaft was that it encouraged all levels of staff to work together in a cohesive way, a reflection of the wider post-World War II social-democratic environment in many northern European countries.

Open plan offices have a somewhat controversial history, where productivity and revenue battled against employee wellbeing and health. As workplace furniture consultants, we need to learn from the past and selectively choose the successes of designs that came before us, incorporating them into new ideas. As such, we need to be able to analyse what went wrong and what went right.

Transparency

Open-plan offices have a high level of transparency. Everyone is out in the open in one big room together. That means everyone can see what’s going on, who’s at their desks, who’s meeting who, and whether or not people are working. In the early days of the open-plan office, this was a good thing as it enabled managers to oversee what their teams were up to. In recent years, it’s been frowned upon as micromanaging and a distrust in worker attitudes.

Flexibility

The Action Office was created in response to a desire for flexibility and the opportunity for such in the open plan setting. Open-plan concepts don’t lock people into fixed seating arrangements and assigned spaces. There may be a choice of work areas for different activities and modular furniture that can be repurposed for different uses. Flexibility in a workplace is ideal for growing businesses or teams that work in a hybrid model where the same people aren’t always in the office.

Cost Saving

Outfitting one large area is less expensive than a more complex space. Interchangeable furniture means space and resource-saving. Costs can be saved on decorating and furnishing, making open-plan offices suitable for start-ups with a tight budget and an unpredictable forecast for how their teams will work.

Communication

As with transparency, open-plan workspaces facilitate better communication as the whole team works together in one space. Team members can talk to each other and visit each other's workstations more easily. The unified workspace means it’s easier to tell who’s preoccupied and who’s not. However, the lack of privacy in the open plan office can mean the quality of communication is affected by distractions, and focus time is interrupted too often.

Productivity

Following the communication challenges, open-plan offices are now known to reduce productivity. In our article on productivity in the workplace, we reviewed a study by Brill et al (2001, p 26) that found 65% of open-plan office users are frequently distracted.

Productivity is also affected by numerous factors that cannot be controlled in a large space. We looked at a study titled Psychological and Work Outcomes in Open-Plan and Cellular Office Designs, which listed negative associations with open plan spaces as ‘noise, distractions, lack of privacy, lighting and glare, and lack of temperature control.

Illness Transmission

Logically, the nature of an open plan office leads to higher illness transmission risk, and when an employee comes to work with a bug, more staff members are likely to get sick. A 2023 study examined the link between office layout (open-plan vs. cell offices) and employee sick leave through a systematic review.

The study found that employees working in small open-plan offices (4–9 people) and various open-plan offices with ≥4 people had significantly higher odds of taking sick leave than those in traditional cell offices. Specifically, the odds ratios were 1.27 for small open-plan offices and 1.24 for larger open-plan settings, indicating a higher likelihood of sick leave in these environments.

Employee Happiness

Despite the desire for business owners to save money and micromanage, open-plan offices have a negative reputation among workers. A study in Environment and Behavior revealed that employees relocated to open offices experienced increased stress, poorer coworker relations, and lower perceived job performance, with dissatisfaction persisting six months later.

In Summary…

Find out about the history of workplace furnishing.

An open-plan office is a black slate in terms of design. We have a wide open space to work with, unhindered by individual rooms and walls that result in different natural lighting situations, capacities, and permanent fixtures. Furniture creates imaginary rooms, conceptual spaces, and zones in an open-plan office. The joy in this is that spaces are not permanent and can be adjusted or completely overhauled to meet the needs of the business. In a climate where business changes so rapidly, this is not only a cost-saving solution but one that is guaranteed always to meet the needs of the team using it.

However, getting this right requires nuance, and it comes down to effective furniture design and consultancy to ensure the right decisions are made and opportunities seized. While open spaces are designed to encourage collaboration and transparency, they can often lead to distractions and a need for more personal space. To address this, furniture can be strategically used to create distinct zones within the larger office environment.

Incorporating modular furniture, partition screens, and strategically placed storage units means furniture consultants can create semi-private areas that allow employees to focus without completely isolating them from the team. Acoustic panels and high-backed seating can further reduce noise and visual distractions for a sense of privacy, even in open settings.

These furniture strategies divide the space but also connect it. They also allow for easy reconfiguration to suit the changing tasks or needs of those using the space and accommodate team size and structure changes. For example, movable walls or flexible seating arrangements can create collaborative areas when needed and revert to quieter, more private spaces as required.

Maintaining a balance between collaboration and individual focus is the foundation of a good open-plan office. It’s this that allows us to provide privacy in a shared space.

While open-plan offices encourage teamwork, they can also lead to constant interruptions and a lack of personal space, negatively impacting productivity. Numerous studies and surveys show that people using open-plan offices experience these issues. To combat this, privacy within a shared space can be achieved through intentional design and furniture choices.

Strategically placed furniture, such as modular partitions and flexible dividers, can create designated quiet zones that offer employees a retreat from the bustling open office. These barriers can be easily adjusted or moved to suit the changing needs of the workspace.

In addition to functional dividers, elements like shelving units, plants, and decorative screens can subtly delineate spaces for a more comfortable and personalised work setting. Meeting pods can provide enclosed oases for total privacy during calls and meetings if there's space and budget.

Find out about meeting pods and other solutions to break the monotony of the workplace.

Browse our blog for more expert insight into workplace furnishing. If you have an open plan office that needs the care and attention of a furniture consultant, contact us about getting a quote.