Research Design Connection: Worker Experiences in Open Offices

YouGov, a respected research organization, polled workers to learn more about their in-office experiences. The investigators determined that, “In just the past six months, open office workers in major cities across the U.S. [New York, LA, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Detroit, Seattle, San Francisco and Houston] have: Gone to a closet or hallway to take a phone call: Almost 1 in 3 (31%); Gone to the bathroom to take a phone call: 1 in 8 (12%);…Had difficulty finding a private area within their office to take a work-related call: More than 1 in 4 (27%); Held back their true thoughts and opinions while on calls in the office because they don’t want co-workers to hear and judge them: Nearly 1 in 3 (31%).” Also, “1 in 4 (27%) U.S. open office workers feel self-conscious on work-related calls because they feel as if their co-workers and bosses are eavesdropping, suggesting a lack of focus in the office.”

Data were collected via an online poll of 4,037 adults in a nationally representative sample (which included 434 open office workers) in 2018 and through a 2018 online survey of 3,037 adults in New York, LA, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Detroit, Seattle, San Francisco and Houston, with about 300 participants in each of these cities.

Room. “2018 Open Office Woes Report.” 2018. https://files.getroom.com/ROOM-2018-Open-Office-Woes-Report.pdf

Sally Augustin, PhD,a cognitive scientist, is the editor of Research Design Connections (www.researchdesignconnections.com), a monthly subscription newsletter and free daily blog, where recent and classic research in the social, design, and physical sciences that can inform designers’ work are presented in straightforward language. Readers learn about the latest research findings immediately, before they’re available elsewhere. Sally, who is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is also the author of Place Advantage: Applied Psychology for Interior Architecture (Wiley, 2009) and, with Cindy Coleman, The Designer’s Guide to Doing Research: Applying Knowledge to Inform Design (Wiley, 2012). She is a principal at Design With Science (www.designwithscience.com) and can be reached at sallyaugustin@designwithscience.com.