Is the open office really 'hundreds of dollars and no one interest'?

by Masa Israel Journey

Many employees arrange desks in one office including their bosses and subordinates, and work in a space without dividing walls and doors is called an open office . In recent years, research results such as "reducing the efficiency of work in the open office" and "opening the office becomes distracting" have been reported, and there are many claims that "open offices are not good for employees" However, research results have been reported that "there is a merit for employees even in open offices".

Effects of office workstation type on physical activity and stress | Occupational & Environmental Medicine
https://oem.bmj.com/content/early/2018/07/27/oemed-2018-105077

Workers in open-plan offices 'more active' - BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-45247799

Wait, Is Your Open Office Plan Good Good or Bad? - Vogue
https://www.vogue.com/article/new-studies-open-office-plan-good-or-bad

At the beginning of the introduction, it was an open office that was touted as "a style of new work that increases communication among employees", but as negative research results are announced to the open office, We should strengthen the opinion that we should stop it. " However, according to the paper published by the University of Arizona , it seems that employees working in open offices are active more than employees working in offices that are not, and stress is also small.

The University of Arizona research team measured the amount of momentum and stress during work for 231 subjects working in three types of offices, open office, semi-private office and complete private room in various government facilities in the USA We did an experiment to do. The research team attached a chest sensor to the subject, measured the physiological stress measured from the subject's momentum and heartbeat interval over 3 days, and measured the stress of the subject even in a questionnaire frequently conducted on the smartphone during working hours .

As a result, it turned out that employees working at the open office exercised 32% more than full-time employees and 20% more than employees working in half-office offices. In addition, employees with high momentum during work at an open office said that the stress outside the office was 14% lower than in employees with low momentum working in private or semi-private rooms about. The degree of feeling stress is higher for older employees than for younger employees, and there is a tendency that men are more likely to exercise than females.

by Schezar

Mr. Esther Sternberg, who conducted the research , said office workers are more likely to sit more time than healthy workers, which is likely to cause health problems, so the increase in the amount of exercise generated by making an open office and the accompanying health Improvement of state should not be ignored. "Even if you urge people to do healthy actions, people do not move easily so easily, introducing an open office to encourage employees to take healthy actions can also create health problems It is one way to solve it, "said Sternberg.

Researchers are talking about the background that employees' momentum increased in the research conducted this time, "Employees may be communicating with other colleagues." Of course, not only for such positive reasons but also from the open office without divisions, there is a possibility that they have walked around looking for places where confidential talks can be made with other employees.

Although it is an open office with a lot of negative opinions, there is not only a negative side that employee efficiency decreases, but also a positive side that momentum increases. A company called WeWork, which provides a workspace for entrepreneurs, is a "shared space where employees can talk freely", "a space that needs to be quietly worked but confronted with conversation," a totally one It is best to think about the advantages and disadvantages of the open office and the office so that it can change depending on the circumstances, as providing three kinds of working space.

by Massachusetts Clean Energy Center