RESEARCH
Open season on open plan THE PANDEMIC HASTENS THE DEMISE OF NOISY, STRESSFUL WORKPLACES by Reon Suddaby
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hat do Covid and a ringing phone have in common? On the face of it, not a lot. But the global pandemic, alongside office noise such as phone calls, printers and talking colleagues, is spearheading a growing trend towards people working from home. The distraction caused by open-plan office environments and what that means for the next generation of workers has been explored in new research by Bond University Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour Dr Libby Sander, alongside Bond colleagues Assistant Professor Dr Oliver Baumann and Associate Professor of Computer Games Dr James Birt. The study placed volunteers in a simulated office setting to compare the effects of open-plan office noise with a quieter, private office. The volunteers were exposed to sounds including people speaking, walking, and printing papers, as well as ringing telephones and keyboard typing noises. Participants were asked to complete a proof-reading exercise under both sets of conditions, while sensors were used to track changes in heart rate and sweat response – both reliable indicators of physiological stress. Dr Sander and her colleagues found a causal relationship between open-plan office noise and both stress and negative mood. Sweat response increased by 34 per cent and negative mood by 25 per cent. Dr Sander says businesses need to be mindful of the unique needs of their employees when considering their work environment. “I think the key thing is that there’s no one size fits all. Companies really need to think carefully about what kind of workers they have and what kind of work they’re doing, and design different | 22 |
environments to suit that. Being together in a very small space is not something that a lot of people enjoyed before the pandemic, and they’re probably not going to enjoy it very much afterwards either.” Some companies are paying attention and making changes. Software giant Atlassian has told employees they only need to come into the office for four days a year, while those working for graphic design company Canva need to visit the office for just eight days annually. “70 per cent of staff in recent surveys internationally have said they will look for a new job if their employer doesn’t offer flexibility about where they can work and the ability to work from home for at least some of the time, so we’re going to see that very much become part of this war for talent,” Dr Sander says. The Covid pandemic has permanently altered the workplace dynamic, now and into the future, Dr Sander says. “We’ll see smaller head offices, people coming in for meetings, more of that social contact. But what the pandemic showed us is a lot of people can work more productively, they can concentrate more, they can get less distractions, working from home. And that’s as well as the benefits of not commuting.” According to Dr Sander, businesses should consider whether their staff need to be in the office and, for those that were required to come in, using acoustic treatments to reduce noise could also help. She says the pandemic has led to people reconsidering the balance between work and the rest of their lives. “I think people are ... questioning much more the role of work in their lives. We’re seeing that coming out in research as well, whether or not the trade-off they make is worth it.”
“People are questioning much more the role of work in their lives... whether or not the trade-off they make is worth it.”
