It's time to start thinking about how work will change when companies bring employees back and the biggest headache may be the same one you had before the COVID-19 pandemic: The open office floor plan.
Social distancing is likely to stick around even when the economy boots back up. Offices will open but have restrictions. Now enter the open office, which was designed for collaboration, saving space and the somewhat farcical idea that you never need to focus or have privacy.
Nevertheless, open offices gained momentum because companies could save on cost per square foot. The lack of privacy turns out to be cheaper for companies.
Enterprises have spent years retooling office spaces that revolve around open floor plans and the backlash started to brew last year. A study published in thePhilosophical Transactions of Royal Societyfound face-to-face conversations fell as much as 70% in open floor plans. Numerous publications such as theHarvard Business Review,EntrepreneurandPBShave chronicled the open office backlash.
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That backlash is going to escalate as the COVID-19 pandemic ends and people go back to offices that are too open. Here are a few reasons why the clock is ticking on open offices:
Bottom line: Open offices aren't going away completely but will significantly be rethought for the new normal in the workplace. Open offices may wind up serving half the employees they used to due to cost cutting, safety and the worker preferences.
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