The Dumbest Management Fad of All Time?
Last week, I moved from a home office to a WeWork office in downtown Austin (Barton Springs). The office I chose does not have any dedicated desks available at the moment, so I signed up for the hot desk option at $410/month. While it is a bit annoying having to pack up my stuff before leaving every day, it is nice to be in a place where other people are working and interacting. I have put my name on the wait list for a designated desk, but it may be a few weeks before one comes available. In the mean time, I’ll enjoy the booth (see below) that I setup shop in each morning. It is private yet doesn’t feel like I’m sitting in a stale cube/office.
To be honest, I am EXTREMELY happy I made the move. Most notably my productivity has increased 100% as I have fewer distractions — no kids running wild while I try to work. Also, I have more of a daily routine to follow which is important for me to stay focused. At first, I wasn’t sure how I’d like the open floor plan. As you can see from the pic, it is very open and people are constantly milling about; however, anything beats my prior situation at home. That being said, I’d probably be even more productive given the opportunity to have a designated desk (not to mention the benefit of not having to lug my stuff around). Which leads me to the point of this post….
I was reading an article this morning discussing the false narrative that developed several years ago stating that open floor plan offices were better for collaboration and productivity. This got me thinking about the move that my previous employer made to such an open plan. At the time, I thought it was a horrible idea as I couldn’t understand how I’d somehow get more work done when there were more interruptions. Well, after reading this article, I feel vindicated! Not only are these floor plans less productive they also make teams less collaborative — another of the false benefits provided by proponents of these types of offices. Research suggests that employees are actually 15% less productive when placed in open floor plan offices. This “productivity tax” is also not offset by the cheaper rent that employers pay for open plan offices. In fact, employers could stand to lose several times more than they save from the decreased productivity. Not only that but the data shows that employees have shorter attention spans, decreased creative thinking, increased sick leave and decreased general well being (down by 32%) in open floor plan offices.
From my past experiences, I can relate to the title of the first article that open plans are one of the dumbest management fads of all time. However, in my current situation, I actually quite enjoy the hustle and bustle of my WeWork office, though, this is only my second week in. I suspect the novelty will wear off for me soon, but at the moment, it has been a great boost to my morale.