Open office concept will die, pandemic will ensure it!

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70% reduction in face-to-face interaction when firms switched to open office - as per an article published in HBR. Just like actors or basket ball players try to isolate from chaos and distractions to focus on scene or game, employees also tend to create invisible walls to maintain privacy and focus on work. it's called fourth wall. So open offices are possibly not so open. 

Surprisingly, new age companies are still in favor of open spaces which can supposedly increase collaboration and happiness among employees. But personally I have never found any employee happy about open offices except for those who suggested the change. Somehow, this employee friendly decision, always, came top-down. Isn't it demeaning or condescending? As if the management does not have faith on employees to collaborate, suo-moto; and so the employees have to be conditioned in an enforced surrounding.

Theoretically, open office architecture compromises privacy for collaboration and vice versa for the cubicles. Even though it is difficult to prove that open office can improve collaboration, but, let's give benefit of doubt to it. When pandemic hit, the same employees worked from home, apart by miles from each other and in closed rooms. Somehow the productivity had increased and collaboration was not a problem thanks to digital tools like Microsoft Teams and etc. Hence, my inference: the open-office can increase productivity is a myth:


There was a revolt among Apple employees when they were moved from cubicles to open workspace in 2017 (source) and management expected good number of attrition. Now, post pandemic, if employees are forced to work in open-office moving away from WFH & privacy, what will be the response? 

It is time for management to rethink about open office in hybrid work-culture. The collaboration will not be bound by physical surroundings as it will always happen in digital dimension. Then, why should office compromise on privacy?

Management needs to gear up for post-pandemic changes!!!



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