Why we’re more anti-social in a shared office space

DOES your office put you in a bad mood? There’s a scientific explanation why.

THEY say that if we all work side-by-side in an open-plan office or “hot desk”, it will increase collaboration.

But it turns out this theory may be dead wrong — and, if you don’t have your own space, you could be better off working remotely with your cat for company.

Research conducted by Auckland University of Technology’s business school found that shared working spaces were plagued with “employee social liabilities” such as distractions, uncooperativeness, distrust and negative relationships.

Somewhat surprisingly, both co-worker friendships and perceptions of supervisor support actually worsened in this environment.

Although prior researchers have claimed shared work spaces can improve social support, communication and co-operation, the study indicated that co-worker friendships were of the lowest quality in hot-desking and open-plan arrangements, when compared to those with their own offices, or who shared offices with just one or two others.

They were significantly worse when compared to those who mainly worked from home or on the road.

It is possible that these shared offices may increase employees’ use of coping strategies such as withdrawal, and create a less friendly environment in a team.

A MANAGEMENT PROBLEM

Researchers surveyed 1000 working Australians, and asked them whether they shared their office space with others, what sort of co-worker friendships and supervisor support they had, in addition to any relationships problems such as lack of co-operation or distrust.

Shared environments did not improve co-worker friendships and, in addition, were associated with perceptions of less supportive supervision.

One explanation for the findings may be that employees who receive either too much monitoring or only informal supervision, perceive their supervision to be of lower quality than those who have dedicated supervision meetings.

It could also be that, as employees become more irritated, suspicious and withdrawn in a shared workplace, their relationships with their supervisors and colleagues deteriorate.

Other research also supports the idea that the benefits associated with shared spaces are aren’t all they are cracked up to be.

Instead, it showed that co-operation became less pleasant and information flow did not change in a shared office space.

This is not great news for employees in an age where shared space and hot-desking is increasing alongside the use of mobile technology like laptops, smartphones and tablets.

This, together with the high cost of office space, has brought about a desire to use physical office space more flexibly.

So, if this trend towards shared space is not likely to be reversed, how do employees survive?

OFFICE SURVIVAL GUIDE

If you can have your own office, share with just one or two others, or work from home, these are the best situations for workers we studied. However, we’re not all that lucky.

One way to combat visual distractions from nearby co-workers can be to use panels, book shelves, or “green walls” of plants. Noise from the office can be cancelled out with headphones.

But these interventions will depend on whether they are suited to your job, workplace or your fellow employees. Another option can be to create a mix.

Researchers Pitt and Bennett describe a large office redesigned to include not only hot-desking, but also “touchdown areas” (free desks to allow quick access to information), “bookable offices” (rooms that can be booked in advance), “collaborative workspaces” (for group work, possibly with teleconferencing capabilities) and finally “breakout workspaces” (relaxed couches and low tables for spontaneous, informal collaborative work).

No one is suggesting that workers should be afforded unlimited privacy and solitude; some spontaneous interaction is needed for many types of activity-based work to succeed.

Too much, and the distractions will outweigh any potential collaborative benefits. Too little, and the benefits are not evident.

Rachel Morrison is a senior lecturer at Auckland University of Technology’s business school.

This article first appeared on The Conversation and has been reproduced with permission.

Originally published as Why we’re more anti-social in a shared office space