I’m not sure why I bother but here’s another report (from last year) belaboring the obvious: workers hate open office spaces. They hate them for all the obvious reasons: too much noise, lack of privacy, lack of ability to concentrate, and so on.
Oh, and by the way, Mr. Employer, they aren’t buying that nonsense about increased collaboration. They know that that’s a bunch of hooey meant to disguise the real reason you love them: it saves money on office space and buildout.
One interesting result from the survey that the report is based on is that many employees would consider changing jobs to escape an open office environment. Perhaps that’s what it will take to put an end to this abomination. But probably not. Employers will still want to save money and the fairy tale about increased collaboration allows them to convince themselves that open spaces are in everybody’s best interest despite research that shows collaboration decreases in open offices.