offices were introduced to encourage and cut costs.
The second aim was achieved immediately.
A firm fits far more staff into the same floor area without .
The first aim has not survived measurement.
Studies that tracked before and after a move found face-to-face contact fell.
Electronic messages rose to replace it.
The explanation offered is social rather than technical.
Without walls, a conversation is to twenty people, so staff withdraw into headphones.
Noise is the complaint that appears in every survey.
work suffers most, and concentrated work is what most offices are for.
working has changed the calculation again.
If staff attend two days a week, the office is used for meetings rather than for typing.
The sensible design for that pattern is many small rooms, which is what the open plan removed.