Why tearing down walls might be doing more harm than good.

In many offices I go to, I see vast rooms filled with row after row of desks squeezed together, with aisles barely wide enough to navigate without bumping into someone. The air buzzes with the sound of voices—people on calls, chatting with each other, and the constant hum of activity. While the energy feels electric, I can’t help but wonder if people are truly finding the space to focus, think deeply, or be fully productive.

Open offices burst onto the scene back in the early 20th century as a bold rebellion against the partitions that architects like Frank Lloyd Wright scorned as “fascist, totalitarian” cages. Post-WWII, fuelled by the economic boom and a hunger for fresh ideas, the open office became the playground of a new work era. The 1960s saw American company Herman Miller shaking things up with the first modular office systems, paving the way to Robert Probst’s cubicle—an office with removable partitions 1.5 metres high that provided office workers with privacy while giving them a peek of the other offices if they stood up. By the 1980s, the open-plan office was everywhere, hailed as the ultimate space-saving, cost-cutting saviour. Companies embraced it with a cult-like fervour, sometimes packing employees into sprawling, partition-less floors where personal space became a rare luxury.

In a post-Covid world, as companies urge employees back to the office, isn’t it time to rethink the open-plan design? Sure, it’s cost-effective, but at what expense? What about the impact on productivity? Where does employee privacy fit into this equation? And how can we carve out spaces for deep, focused work in a sea of distractions?

It’s time to ask if the open office is really working for you.

So, this week let’s dive into the downsides of open-plan offices. Can these spaces be adjusted to minimise their flaws? And what other workspace alternatives should we explore to create a better environment?

Companies are often attracted by the reduced cost of open-plan offices, which can accommodate more employees in a smaller area, as compared to traditional office layouts. Open-plan offices have long been thought to bring co-workers closer by organically fostering openness, trust and spontaneous interaction.

However, many experts now consider this view outdated or simply wrong.

High levels of noise and distraction are key issues with open-plan layouts. According to one survey, 99% of employees found it difficult to focus in such a setting. Communication also takes a heavy hit: one study found that face-to-face interactions actually fell by around 70% after companies adopted open-plan layouts. Instead, employees resort to digital communication—emails, Slack messages, and other tools—to avoid the noise and constant interruptions around them. Noise-cancelling headphones have become the new cubicle walls, and employees long for a quiet corner or a meeting room to get some real work done.

Another problem is that certain types of work are simply unsuitable in open-plan environments. Think of sales or client management functions, which by their very nature require frequent calls, meetings and visits, making it nearly impossible not to distract others in the vicinity.

There is also the question of transparency. In open-plan spaces, co-workers are constantly privy to each other’s meetings and conversations. Certain workplaces may benefit from this kind of openness, which can create a sense of community and belonging. But in contexts where privacy and confidentiality are a concern, such as banking or healthcare, too much transparency could be undesirable.

Interestingly, decreased privacy is also an issue for employees in non-sensitive roles. In one study, 31% of employees working in open-plan offices stated that the lack of privacy made them hold back while talking to colleagues or on the phone. In other words, as the floor plan becomes more open, communication becomes less open!

Optimise your open-plan office

While open-plan offices may appear cost-effective initially, the hidden costs are substantial. The constant distractions result in decreased productivity, more errors, and slower project timelines. The impact on employee well-being leads to higher turnover rates and increased absenteeism. In the post-COVID era, the lack of physical barriers also raises significant concerns about health safety and hygiene.

So, why do so many companies still cling to the open-plan model? Part of the answer lies in inertia—once a trend takes hold, it can be hard to reverse. However, there may also be a more troubling reason: it’s an easy way for leadership to project an image of modernity and innovation without making meaningful investments in a genuinely better work environment. Open-plan offices offer a superficial semblance of a collaborative culture without addressing the deeper elements that make a workplace truly productive and engaging.

"The future of work requires a fundamental rethink in office design. Companies must create spaces that balance collaboration with privacy, that respect the need for focus as much as they encourage social interaction.

Here are five suggestions to help initiate this change:

1. Identify the right kind of interactions.

Maximising interaction isn’t necessarily the end goal. What companies need to aim for is the right type of interactions, between the right people. Understanding the interaction needs of your workplace will help you shape your office space accordingly. Is intra-team interaction vital for the kind of work you do? Would increasing cross-departmental communication benefit outcomes? Or does deep solo work form the core of your productivity?

2. Tweak spaces for desired interactions.

Foster the right type of interactions by making thoughtful choices with regards to your office layout. For example, to maximise intra-team communication, consider seating each team in a separate area. To improve inter-team interactions, seat the relevant teams on the same floor, next to each other. Research shows that proximity is overwhelmingly the strongest predictor of social interaction. You could also rethink the placement of office amenities like coffee machines and snack stations, which offer a natural gathering point for colleagues.

3. Integrate features for privacy and focus.

Experts recommend a variety of approaches to enhance privacy and concentration in open-plan spaces. Review the following suggestions — are any of them feasible for your office?

• Provide portable barriers for employees to create private focus zones, when needed.
• Reconfigure the space to create shared offices for small teams (3-6 people). This allows people to collaborate while blocking out unwanted distractions.
• Offer more breakout rooms for private and semi-private work, where employees can meet one-on-one or talk on the phone.
• Consider solutions like sound-absorbing acoustic panels to dampen ambient noise — the single-biggest source of distraction in open-plan layouts.
• To open up more space for private workspaces, consider allowing solo-work-focused employees to work from home.

4. Foster a Culture of Respect for Focus Time.

Encourage a culture where focus time is respected. Implement “focus hours” where meetings are discouraged or use visual indicators (like desk flags or software tools) to signal when someone should not be disturbed. Train managers and employees alike on the importance of respecting colleagues’ need for uninterrupted work time.

5. Apply the rules consistently.

In the long run, open-plan layouts work only if everyone follows the same rules. Ideally, this means team leaders and managers should be seated in the same space as other employees, not hidden away in private offices. (Keep in mind that this may be a no-win situation. Senior employees could feel like they have “earned” a private office and become unhappy if made to sit with everyone else. Here, leaders will need to make a trade-off they can live with.)

Avoid assigning the “good desks” to favoured employees — this is sure to create feelings of frustration and resentment. Devise a neutral method of allocating workspaces and stick to it. Private meeting rooms tend to be another common source of contention. Over-enthusiastic employees might book these coveted spaces for long durations, leaving others high and dry. Set reasonable limits on meeting room usage so everyone can make use of these facilities.

Alternatives to open-plan layouts

As it becomes increasingly clear that open-plan offices are problematic, forward-thinking companies are tailoring workspaces by function and department. So, creative teams like marketing or product development may get a shared office with lots of comfortable seating and whiteboards. While those with more detail-oriented tasks, like accounting or coding, could get a mix of private cubicles and shared meeting facilities.

A concept called activity-based working (ABW) is also starting to make waves in the corporate world. ABW combines open-design areas with task-oriented, private spaces. It is often complemented by an “agile” seating model, meaning employees don’t have an assigned desk — rather, they can choose where they want to work based on the task at hand. This approach provides a range of environments, such as quiet zones for focused work, collaborative spaces for team discussions, creative areas for brainstorming, and relaxation zones for breaks. Providing this kind of flexible ecosystem can reduce many problems associated with open-plan offices.

The open-plan office was a bold idea, but it’s now time to move to office spaces that reflect the future of work.  Instead of holding on to an outdated paradigm, let’s create work environments that genuinely promote innovation, creativity, and well-being. Because ultimately, a happy, healthy, and focused employee is far more valuable than any square foot saved.