Are open-plan offices bad for work?

Feel stressed? Can’t stay productive for more than a few minutes? Know what’s to blame? Your company’s open floor plan.

Research from Queensland University of Technology’s Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation claims that open floor plans, while favored by businesses because of their lessened construction costs, might do more harm than good.

According to head researcher Dr. Vinesh Oommen, “The outcome of working in an open-plan office was seen as negative, without offices causing high levels of stress, conflict, high blood pressure and a high staff turnover.”

Those symptoms occured in 90% of employees who worked in open offices.

Open floor plans make it easier for co-workers to talk to one another, but that may be more of a distraction than anything, claims Dr. Oommen. “There are privacy issues because everyone can see what you are doing on the computer or hear what you are saying on the phone, and there is a feeling of insecurity,” the study reads.