Research Design Connection – Workplace Design: Psychological Implications
Hirst and Schabenland studied the effects of office design on employees’ psychological comfort. A press release Anglia Ruskin University issued related to their research reports that the duo found that, “Employees subconsciously act and dress differently in modern open-plan office environments…[Hirst and Schabenland] over the course of three years analysed the behaviour of around 1,000 employees at a UK local authority that moved from six separate departmental buildings into a…building [that] made extensive use of glass and incorporated large, open-plan offices and collective spaces…[Hirst] said: ‘When changing from a more closed, compartmentalised office space to a new open-plan, transparent and fluid working space, office workers were more conscious of their visibility and often found this unsettling rather than liberating. Women in particularly felt anxious about the idea of being constantly watched, and felt they had to dress in a certain way…[working] in an open space…was seen by some as a chance …
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