Open space unproductive "There are too many distractions"

Born in 1964, the offices 'undivided' are increasingly criticized: they had to facilitate cooperation and ensure the equal information of all colleagues, but a large school of thought emphasizes the negative aspects. The ultimate test came on live TV in the United Kingdom of SARA Ficocella 
 
NOT ALWAYS invention conforms to the intentions of its creator. Robert Oppenheimer ran into trouble when he realized the potential of the atomic bomb and dynamite Alfred Nobel's experiencing his brother wounded in the legs. While not so catastrophic effects, even the open-plan office, designed by Robert Propst in 1964, has given headaches to fine its inventor and workers of these first 50 years of 'testing'. 

  In the face of those who, like the architect and psychologist Elizabeth Pelegrin-Genel, argues that the absence of walls to facilitate cooperation and provides the same level of information, there is a whole school of thought, which opened in 1998 from the book "Workplaces of the Future "the neurologist Paul Thompson, who says the opposite. The latest research in this direction was carried live on television in the science program "The Secret Life of Buildings", broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK: according to the tests of the popular Jack Lewis, a neuroscientist, working in open space reduces the performance business by 32 percent and decreases worker productivity by 15 percent. Primary responsibility is distraction, which winds bringing in employees to think about anything but the work objectives. 

Lewis conducted the experiments before the cameras, asking for volunteers - including familiar faces from television - to spend a morning in the office wearing a headset for the detection of brain waves. The results showed that the brains of those engaged in an open space wandered casually over the other.
"The offices are open - Lewis explains - in theory are designed to allow employees to collaborate better, move more easily and constantly exchange ideas and solutions. But it does not really work that way. If you're concentrating on something and suddenly a phone sounds behind you and someone starts talking, you lose your attention and you have to start over. The brain responds to distractions constantly, even though the spot did not realize it. " 

According to a study by the Polytechnic of Bari, published on "Occupational Medicine", to the loss of concentration are first of all the voices of colleagues (31 percent), then the phones (27%), air conditioning systems (15 %), office machinery (13%) and various external noise (13%). 

Confirmed findings from a study by the French Actinéo the quality of work, that only 51% of employees that has to do with an open floor plan can focus on their jobs, compared with 83% of employees that use ' individual office. The same French research has emphasized how provocatively the open space is no longer a melting pot of ideas and potential as another way to reduce cost and space available, and demonstrate the fact that the 15 square meters per person originally developed you are now reduced to 7, maximum 8. 

  Another problem, says the American neuroscientist, is the aseptic environment. Craig Knight, a psychologist at Exeter University, was one of the first to support the importance of allowing employees to customize the "location" in the belief that good for productivity. "If you work in a colorful, with pictures and plants, responds better to the input - Lewis precise - because it feels more at home, surrounded by a human context and comfortable." 

Even Professor Fred Gage of the Salk Institute's Laboratory of Genetics San Diego, California, tested the effects of office work, watching how the brains of mice kept in stimulating environments to increase in volume by 15 percent through increased influx of blood vessels and fast regeneration of neurons. 

And to think that the intent of Propst was just the opposite: he believes that open space would ensure privacy without resorting to the walls, giving each employee their own space to customize both horizontally, with the desk, or vertically, attacking fake papers and posters on the walls. The watchword of his "open work space" was "at hand", a concept which over time has been distorted by reducing these futuristic environments in hives made of many small cells next to the other one o'clock. 

  "From my point of view - the psychologist explains Annalisa De Filippo, author of the book 'Stress and resilience. Winning at Work' - the pros and cons of office work are not determined primarily by the work itself, but by the individual characteristics of the person . Everyone perceives this type of work according to their needs: some are worn for such work at the computer, while others prefer a profession in which relationships are in first place. The cons of open-plan offices may be due to lack privacy and increased exposure to noise and distractions, with increased stress and conflict: not perceive their own private space can make us feel insecure. The pros are that these offices facilitate human relationships and does not allow you to feel alone but part of a working group. "

Source repubblica.it