Open-plan Workspaces Research Articles

Reconcile Voice Communication and Auditory Distraction in Military Open-Plan Workspace Design

Facilitating voice communication and reducing auditory distraction are common requirements in layout design of military open-plan workspaces. The implications of these requirements on between-operator adjacency however are often contradictory. To support the design of such work environments, a new analytical procedure was developed to evaluate layout options according to their impact on both requirements. This procedure was explained in a modeling study to compare two frequently used layout configurations, i.e., outward-facing versus inward-facing workstation setups. The results predicted a quieter vocal effort for the speakers and a lower risk of auditory distraction for all listeners in the outward-facing configuration. The study demonstrated the usefulness of this analytical procedure to support layout design of military workplaces where a balanced consideration of communication and distraction is required.

When a clean scent soothes the soul: Developing a positive attitude toward sharing service space with strangers

In the context of sharing services, this research examines how ambient scent can improve the perception of the presence of other sharers. Four experiments conducted in real conditions (open-plan workspaces, car-sharing services, rail-stations, and library) show that the diffusion of a clean scent promotes positive attitudes toward sharing space with others. Three alternative explanations are assessed: 1) perceived cleanliness of the space; 2) other users' behaviors; and 3) user's mood. The results indicate that throughout the four experiments, the effect of scents is mediated only by the positive mood induced by the scent.

Creating spaces of learning in academia: fostering niches for professional learning practice

ABSTRACT This paper analyses the move by an Australian university faculty to a new building featuring open plan and alternative workspaces. Through the lens of the theory of practice architectures, the paper examines how the new built spaces both enabled and constrained the professional learning practices of academics. Drawing on a case study of the transition, the paper explores the ways in which the move to the new building disrupted existing ecologies of practices around professional learning, and how academics subsequently sought to establish new ‘niches’ to foster professional learning practices. The six study participants, who are also the authors and represent a range of career stages, made efforts to establish conditions for professional learning practices and a praxis of ‘becoming an academic’. They did so by working with, around, and against the pre-figuring arrangements of the new built environment. The paper contributes to knowledge about how workspaces can disrupt and reconfigure the professional learning practices of educators. It addresses a gap in the literature on academics’ professional learning in relation to changes in physical workspaces, making visible the ways in which academic practices are shaped by and shape new arrangements for professional learning in response to the built environment.

The environment of open-plan workspaces: space utilization, user satisfaction, and environmental measures

ABSTRACT This paper aims to identify how indoor environmental factors are associated with space utilization and user satisfaction in flexible open spaces in an academic building. Data were collected through mixed methods, including a survey, observation, and objective environmental assessment. The mixed-methods assessed users' environmental perception and satisfaction, types of activities, types of users (group vs. individual), lighting, noise, temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide level in five open-plan spaces with different furniture configurations. The subject spaces were identified as underutilized because there was a mismatch between the demand and supply of furniture and spatial settings. Even though all subjective spaces were open-plan settings, students preferred space with shared-furniture or a combination of different types of furniture with individual-oriented furniture only. The findings of the study suggest a reevaluation of space planning and programming for increased spatial efficiency. The users were generally satisfied with the subject spaces, although ambient environmental measures were slightly outside the industry standards. The present study provides evidence of user preferences of spatial settings based on the type of users (group vs. individual) and type of activities performed in the space (i.e., paper-based work, laptop, phone/tablet, eating, resting, talking).

An Ambient–Physical System to Infer Concentration in Open-Plan Workplace

One of the core challenges in open-plan workspaces is to ensure a good level of concentration for the workers while performing their tasks. Hence, being able to infer concentration levels of workers will allow building designers, managers, and workers to estimate what effect different open-plan layouts will have and to find an optimal one. In this research, we present an ambient-physical system to investigate the concentration inference problem. Specifically, we deploy a series of pervasive sensors to capture various ambient and physical signals related to perceived concentration at work. The practicality of our system has been tested on two large open-plan workplaces with different designs and layouts. The empirical results highlight promising applications of pervasive sensing in occupational concentration inference, which can be adopted to enhance the capabilities of modern workplaces.

YourSphere: Supporting Flexible Environmental Switching in Open-plan Workspaces via Augmented Reality

YourSphere: Supporting Flexible Environmental Switching in Open-plan Workspaces via Augmented Reality

The impact of office design on medically certified sickness absence.

Objective The aim of this study was to determine the impact of three different office designs (cellular office, shared office, and open-plan workspace) on the risk of medically certified sickness absence and the number of days, respectively, of medically certified sickness absence over a 12-month follow-up period. Methods The study relied on a combination of self-report survey questionnaire data on office design supplemented with official registry data number of days with sickness absence from the Norwegian Labor and Welfare Administration. The sample comprised 6328 Norwegian office workers (57% women, age range: 19-70 years, mean age: 44 years). Results Adjusting for survey year, employees working in a shared office [risk ratios (RR) 1.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10-1.27] and an open-plan workspace (RR 1.12, 95% CI 1.02-1.22) had significantly higher risk of having had medically instances of certified sickness absence when compared to employees working in a cellular-office. Office design was not related to the number of days with absence. The associations were consistent across organizational affiliation, age, gender, whether the respondent had leadership responsibility, and educational level. Conclusion The use of shared offices and open-plan workspaces is a risk factor for medically certified sickness absence. Providing employees with the opportunity to work in cellular offices may reduce absence rates.

Partitioning open-plan workspaces via augmented reality

Open-plan workspaces are becoming common because of their compact footprint, economic advantages, and capacity for fostering communication. However, users of open-plan workspaces often report a high level of distraction, undermining their performance especially on individual cognitive tasks. Existing common solutions require recurrent physical changes, which are neither practical for companies and employees nor desired by interior architects. In this paper, we examine the use of augmented reality (AR) midair pervasive displays and visual separators to address the problem of visual distractions in open-plan workspaces. While past applications of AR in workspaces mostly focused on content creation and manipulation, we use AR to superimpose visual barriers—what we refer to as virtual partitions. To evaluate the impact of virtual partitioning on the occupants’ cognitive performance, we conducted two user studies with a total of 48 participants. The design of assessed virtual partitions was informed by interviews that we conducted with 11 professional space designers. The analysis of collected data suggests that virtual partitions can reduce visual distractions and enable users to personalize the visual attributes of their space leading to an improved experience of shared workspaces.

Relationship between attributes of individual workers and concentration at work

Working environments are becoming far more diverse. For example, Activity-Based Working (ABW), a new style of working where workers choose their own work environment, is now attracting attention. An office that introduces ABW is comprised of various spaces, including open plan workspaces, corresponding to the ways of working. However, such an office may result in distraction. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the environmental factors that affect individual workers’ concentration at work. This study aimed to ascertain the relationship between individual workers’ attributes, such as the Big Five personality traits, personal control, and age, and the factors that distract them from their work. A questionnaire-based field survey was conducted at an office that partially adopted ABW to investigate the relationship between selection of seats and concentration at work. The results revealed different tendencies among workers for the type of work environment needed to concentrate according to their individual attributes. Additionally, it was suggested that the changing of seats lead to improved concentration at work, thus increasing productivity.

Hefur hið opinbera mótað stefnu varðandi opin vinnurými? Upplifun opinberra starfsmanna

Greinin fjallar um innleiðingu opinna vinnurýma hjá hinu opinbera. Afar skiptar skoðanir eru á svokölluðum opnum vinnurýmum (e. open-plan). Meginmarkmið rannsóknarinnar er að skoða upplifun opinberra starfsmanna af jafn umfangsmiklum breytingum og þeim að flytjast í opið rými og hvernig til tókst við innleiðinguna. Þá er því velt upp hvort hið opinbera hafi mótað formlega stefnu varðandi opið vinnurými. Afar fáar innlendar rannsóknir hafa verið gerðar á upplifun starfsmanna á því að flytjast í opið vinnurými og er þetta fyrsta rannsóknin á viðhorfi opinberra starfsmanna til slíkra breytinga. Í þessari rannsókn voru valdar tvær stofnanir og tvö ráðuneyti sem nýlega hafa innleitt opin vinnurými. Könnun var send á 182 starfsmenn hjá þessum stofnunum og ráðuneytum og tóku 90 starfsmenn þátt og svöruðu spurningum um hvernig til hefði tekist við breytingarnar. Svarhlutfallið var því tæp 50%. Þá voru tekin viðtöl við stjórnendur hjá hinu opinbera varðandi það hvort stefna hafi verið mótuð fyrir innleiðingu opinna vinnurýma. Megin niðurstöður eru þær að helmingi þátttakenda líkar opnu rýmin vel en ívíð fleiri myndu kjósa hefðbundnar skrifstofur. Þrátt fyrir það telur meirihluti þeirra að minna næði sé til að sinna starfinu, hávaði hafi aukist og að dregið hafi úr einbeitingu. Þá telur þriðjungur að dregið hafi úr framleiðni. Þá hefur engin stefna verið mótuð af hálfu hins opinbera varðandi innleiðingu opinna vinnurýma.

Being appropriately professional: the interaction between professionalism,ICTand knowledge transfer

This article examines how professionalism impacts on the interaction and knowledge transfer of professionals within open plan workspaces and between distributed workplaces when usingICT. Knowledge is key to the system of professions and the power of professionals. At the same time, professional work requires professionals to behave in an appropriate and professional‐like manner, and this includes sharing knowledge with colleagues. Yet, the ideology of professionalism is changing. Alongside, professionals are working differently, including across distributed workplaces and often interacting viaICT. These shifting contexts make understanding the interaction between professionalism, knowledge transfer andICTcrucial. Drawing on Goffman's work, particularly his exposition of interaction rituals, interviews with accountants reveal that when usingICT, the professional framework of interaction – what can be said, who has the right to speak and who is the audience – meets appropriateness in sometimes contradictory ways, potentially limiting the growth and propagation of knowledge.

The Paradox of Collaboration: A Built Environment Perspective

Large and flexible spaces, an absence of interior walls, and a variety of workstations that accommodate different types of work and sizes of groups characterize open-plan offices. The original motivations (i.e. cost effectiveness and collaboration) that drove the introduction of open-plan workspaces continue to drive new and retrofitted open-plan construction, yet, paradoxes abound. Open-plan workspaces are imbued with psychological, cognitive, and relational tradeoffs and their success continues to be hotly contested with little resolution or tangible evidence to inform future practices. In a space where everyone can be seen, it becomes very difficult to find any one person. Encouraged conversations that promote knowledge transfer and innovation often become distracting noise for others. Visibility is perceived by others to signal availability. While an open-plan workspace is intended to foster community, employees invent isolating mechanisms. Therefore, the purpose of this panel symposium is to engage a...

Privacy in the Workplace Design

The world is experiencing an era of transformation and nowhere is change being felt more than in the work environment. Flexibility, productivity, creativity, teamworking are the new buzz words which appear in any discourse on office environment. New, innovative, flexible working methods have been introduced such as hot-desking, hotelling etc, as well as the re-examination of the open plan work spaces with which we have become familiar. The innovative methods are well documented. However, there is little published about the actual effect of these environments on the employees who work there. Guidelines setting standards for space, lighting, heating and cooling are generally based on pure ergonomics and technical data rather than consideration of the psychological needs of the employees. The need for privacy is a vital issue which has not been given due consideration in many workspaces, particularly open-plan configurations. The need for teamworking and interaction is recognized as a necessity of today's work environment which cannot be achieved by reverting to individual private offices. However, employees do need a certain level of privacy and confidentiality; the solution of pre-bookable rooms accessed directly from the open-plan area may not satisfy this need (Stansall, 2000, p.46). Office design must aim to achieve a balance between the requirement for collaborative working methods and the personal needs of the individual. Ultimately it is this balance that will improve productivity and creativity. The people making decisions about the layout and furniture of an office environment can have an enormous impact on the well-being and eventual productivity of employees. But on what do they base their decisions? Is it all just based on assumption? Do office workers need privacy? Do all workers need privacy all the time? What level of privacy is required? This paper reflects on employees' needs and preferences for privacy in the workplace through the examination of the results of the authors' research findings. The issue of privacy was considered not in isolation but in the context of several physical and psychological factors that can affect the health and wellbeing of employees in the workplace. The research comprised a nationwide questionnaire and interview with recorded observations, and provides statistical data to guide designers and managers in future decision-making.