A large number of people in openspace interferes with concentration and leads to frequent diseases.

From time to time we see interesting statistics about how much of the time people actually spend on tasks. Social networks, blogs, online games, movies - all this can be more fun than routine actions, the usual attributes of office existence. It would seem that the scourge of our time is a high level of entertainment available at any moment, which is probably why deadlines are broken or tasks are performed at a level far from good. It turns out that we can not concentrate due to external stimuli. The human factor is that our brain perceives other people's conversations produced by neighbors in the openspace as noise, but misses the technical sounds of printers and scanners. And, of course, when the motivation to work is not very high from the very beginning, we ourselves subconsciously look for a reason to postpone the execution of tasks for an indefinite “a little later.”

Offices with open spaces began to appear in companies for the following reasons:

1. Designing and servicing open offices costs much less than maintaining traditional cabinets.
2. The low level of interaction between team members in a regular office versus the possibility of quick communication about tasks in the openspace.

The second paragraph is the problem. Gradually, employees can blur the boundaries between work and personal communication. Although the conversation interferes with privacy in any case - whether it is on someone else's project or someone else's secret. Another important factor that reduces productivity in open spaces is the common cold. If companies were more tolerant of sick leave, fewer employees would apply for them. Agree, each of us came with discomfort himself or saw a colleague appear in the office with symptoms of the disease only because he is afraid of losing his working hours.
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The relationship between the type of premises and the number of sick leave passes has been established.

One such study was conducted among residents of Denmark in the age group from 18 to 59 years. The sample consisted of 2403 wage workers who work in offices. The analysis showed that sickness absence is directly proportional to the number of people employed in the office. In the open spaces, where more than 6 people are located, employees took sick leave 62% more often than in the control group. For comparison: in openspace with jobs for 3-6 people, the level of absence due to illness was 36% higher than in the control group.

At the University of California, a study was conducted of how total employee satisfaction depends on factors other than environmental quality. Under the environment is meant the building in which the office is located. The lighting of the cabinet, the convenience of the place and so on. The report states that employees are more satisfied if they come to closed offices every day, and they also take fewer sick leave.

Save space - spend money on sick leave

The sphere of employees around the world has long had the following trend - an increasing percentage of people in all countries choose remote work. This applies not only to a group of young people. As one of the ways out of the low productivity situation in open spaces, managers are looking for ways to create secluded, quiet places in offices. At the same time, they try not to return to traditional office planning, in order not to increase office expenses. Companies can be understood - openspaces cost much less. And yes, initially open spaces served to interact with colleagues and exchange ideas, support team spirit. So far, they have not been used too intensively for personal pastime.

The golden mean is that the company's office has a choice: for those who want to retire, for those who want to discuss everything with several colleagues and not interfere with the rest. So people will be happier - because they will feel that they are not cornered or naked in the literal sense of the word. But at the same time, everyone must be assigned a workplace - this adds peace of mind and confidence, in contrast to the option when you need to look for a free table every day. There are also such companies where every day in the morning after joining one must go through a quest for finding a space for oneself and solving today's tasks. Personal items in such offices are stored in personal cells.

As a result, those companies that do not save on the comfort of their employees benefit. As you know, a happy employee is more resistant to disease, has a high working capacity, is more proactive and offers more original solutions. And let it be costly at the design stage of an office with different types of premises, additional methods of rest and isolation from the majority of colleagues, but it will definitely pay off after successful completion of projects.

What do those who have no choice

We are all human beings, and in any situation of dispute, it is first worth trying to agree, to find a compromise. For example, you can refer to the management of the company-employer with a request to arrange comfortable spaces to work in silence. These can be separate small and medium-sized rooms for occasional use alone or in the company of several colleagues. Another option - soundproof panels, which can be placed in any space where you can not make redevelopment.

Some companies are ready to allow at least part of the employee’s work time to work from home. Find out if there is such a practice in your office. Now there are all the technical capabilities to be in touch whenever you need your colleagues. If none of the above has worked, there are still a couple of solutions to reduce the level of stress and the number of stimuli, remaining among the noisy crowd of open space.

• Use signs: think up and write signs that you can put on the table or hang over the computer so that others understand that you are busy with important work and can only be torn off in case of a fire.
  
  
• Buy noise insulation headphones. You can, of course, use ordinary headphones if you are one of those people whom the background music tunes into the working mood and helps to focus on the task being performed. If not, then soundproof headphones of good quality will help to retire, although sometimes they can be a reason for sudden jokes from colleagues.

Have a nice November, less colds and more optimism.