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Tooley Street, Southwark Council Offices where AMA introduced
modern ways of working Images © 2012 Gareth Gardner |
Offices are in the news again, prompted in the UK by new advice
on the health benefits of standing at work and in Finland by the decision by Juha
Sipilä, the recently-elected Prime Minister of Finland, that his Cabinet will
work alongside officials in an open plan office*.
Following the news from Helsinki, the BBC World Service
asked Alexi Marmot to comment on open plan offices. Alexi pointed out that, whilst organisations
tend to cite better communication, collaboration and supervision, open plan
offices offer great economic gains - are generally cheaper to construct - requiring
fewer walls, less servicing, and simpler environmental controls. And they also
enable organisations to accommodate more people more efficiently.
Open plan space can be fine for routine work but can become more
controversial where work is confidential or privacy for conversation is needed.
The most frequent criticism from those working in open plan offices is that
they are noisy and disturbing but, says Alexi, noise is partly a function of
how you interpret sound: “It’s possible for people to get into a zone of
concentration in extremely noisy environments. Working in complete quiet can
also be a problem.”
Last week BBC Radio 4 re-broadcast The Search for The
Perfect Office http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b036wfzv a half-hour
programme presented by Claudia Hammond with contributions from researchers,
including Professor Dylan Jones and Dr Bill Macken (Cardiff
University School of Psychology;
Dr Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic (Professor of Business Psychology at
University College London and Columbia University and Professor Alexi Marmot
(UCL and AMA).
There certainly
seems to be a gap between our dreams of the “perfect office” and the
reality, with those interviewed hankering for a café table in an Italian square
or a garden room with a view.
As expected, architects come in for some criticism,
particularly over their choice of materials. Favoured finishes such as stone,
glass, metal and concrete are all hard, reflective surfaces that contribute to
the most common complaints about modern office life – noise and lack of
privacy.
There seems to be something of a paradox here as people
(both managers and staff) often say they like the “vibrant”, “buzzy” atmosphere
of their office whilst complaining that they can’t concentrate there and
retreating to the coffee shop or home.
The notion that lively, quirky offices are particularly
conducive to creativity was questioned by contributors. Quiet and noisy people,
introverts and extroverts are all creative, so we need to think about individual
traits rather than stereotypes.
The researchers pointed out the subtleties of acoustic
design. Volume is not necessarily important in terms of interference, change is
the key. A relatively loud background hubbub may also be preferable to perfect
silence which can be intimidating. Research shows that people do not get “used
to” intrusive noise - a point
picked up at the recent Healthy Workplace event, see http://aleximarmotblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/the-healthy-workplace.html)
Addressing the issue of research, Alexi Marmot said that
most architectural research is geared to the physical aspects of buildings,
rather than to the organisations and individuals that occupy them and their
perceptions. She explained that most office buildings are designed not for
occupiers but for the market, so cannot necessarily be attuned to specific users’
needs. The margins on most architectural work make it difficult to do new
research or even to spend time reading the research that exists.
“The building industry and clients generally don’t want to
hear bad news but when we do post-occupancy evaluations (POEs) we nearly always
identify quite small, simple things that can be fixed there and then, often
quite cheaply.”
Alexi pointed to the trend towards “activity-based working”,
which means people can move to places appropriate to the work that they’re
doing.
“Our research suggests that the ‘perfect office’ often
starts with where it is and how you reach it. Daylight and a view, especially
of nature, are important, along with environmental comfort and good IT support.
However, the best workplaces, as voted for by users, consistently demonstrate
more abstract values such as trust, respect and fairness. These are a function
of organisational culture but the physical space can also express these values.”
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