Open Space: How it Transforms Us
2 April 2014
Read by 2783 persons
It's office life, let's go. And what better way to start this new section than by addressing the issue of the office?
A necessary step for all employees in the ultra-dominant service sector, it has established itself as a place of life with its joys, but also its sorrows. Sound environment, lack of square meters, heating problems or difficult neighbors - the constraints of the office are reminiscent of another living space, the home.
At home, as at "work", the trend is the same: to knock down walls, to enlarge spaces to better forget that sometimes a few square meters are missing.
Today, it's difficult to ignore the open-plan office, which has become the standard in office design. Severely criticized by some, the best choice for others, what is also called "open space" or "landscaped office" has changed the game in terms of circulation, communication, but also human relations.
Silence, we're working
"In an open space, characters are revealed," notes architect and work psychologist Elisabeth Pellegrin-Genel*, who says that an open space means public; in a landscaped office, each employee has an audience and everyone is at the same level of information." Here, everything is exposed; it's the visibility of tricks, lies and schemes, always a double-edged sword.
A contemporary version of Jeremy Bentham's panopticon, a prison model where the supervisor can keep an eye on the inmates without being seen, the open-plan office also differs because if everyone is monitored, everyone is also monitoring... to the point that it is sometimes difficult to know how to behave. A daily illustration of this discomfort: "We no longer know how to say hello in the morning," says the architect.
The crux of the matter? Space, circulation, but above all noise... but also its absence. "In most of the open-plan offices I visit, there is not a sound; it's horrible. You hear everything, it's terrifying, and it confiscates speech; conversely, when a new team moves into an open space, at first they shout, then they start whispering... and finally they don't talk at all."
Everyone in their bubble
Headphones on, mouse in hand, and eyes on the screen, "everyone creates a bubble," observes Stéphanie Guemmi. A psychologist and ergonomist, she advises large companies on the layout of their premises at the Technologia firm. "Because the environment is generally quiet, noise becomes unbearable for some employees, often due to a glaring lack of prior reflection on the space," she notes.
Installing a team of ten people in charge of purchasing - necessarily noisy - in the same open-plan office? Bad idea. Placing a desk a few meters from the entrance to the restrooms? We've seen better. Creating an island to isolate oneself without providing employees with laptops? That's only doing things halfway.
"Those most penalized by poor space organization are those who want to work but can't," analyzes the psychologist. Hence the avoidance strategies that employees put in place. "For some it's staggered hours, others multiply trips outside, arrive earlier in the morning or leave later in the evening, all to avoid the stress created by the open-plan office," she continues.
The manager's dilemma
Paradoxically, those most penalized by the open-plan office may be the managers. "Installing them in the middle of a team can sometimes be anxiety-provoking," analyzes Elisabeth Pellegrin-Genel, "in an open space everything is a question of distance, neither too close nor too far."
The downside of a workplace where hierarchy has been abolished, "in the open-plan office, the manager must have charisma, be a good actor... by definition, management is about human relations, but here, managers must put it into practice in full view of everyone, which is sometimes very difficult."
In addition to this, there is a new element: new technologies that have radically changed the art and manner of communicating in companies. "Relationships become more brutal, not necessarily in a pejorative sense, but in form, everything is more raw, we don't round off the edges as much," she continues.
Creating a dialogue
However, we must work with it. Adapt the space to the members of your team, to their tasks and to their personalities. The most vulnerable? "It's better to place them in plain sight to keep an eye on them and allow them to create bonds," adds Elisabeth Pellegrin-Genel.
The shy, who by definition will have difficulty expressing their claims? "To allow them to express themselves, team meetings should be organized to address the issue of space; this is also the best way to open a dialogue on the team's work in general." Because some issues deserve to be addressed from a collective point of view.
This is particularly the case with the nuisances caused by the voluble, a true nightmare for workers wishing to concentrate. Jokes all day long, loud laughter, they are only surpassed by their colleague with tics, who keeps tapping their pen on the table.
For others, however, one must use cunning. "With the worker who smells bad, the best solution is to involve occupational health," suggests the psychologist. Or install a partitioned office.
Stanislas Kraland.
Huffingtonpost.fr
Published February 3, 2014.
Posted April 2, 2014.
A necessary step for all employees in the ultra-dominant service sector, it has established itself as a place of life with its joys, but also its sorrows. Sound environment, lack of square meters, heating problems or difficult neighbors - the constraints of the office are reminiscent of another living space, the home.
At home, as at "work", the trend is the same: to knock down walls, to enlarge spaces to better forget that sometimes a few square meters are missing.
Today, it's difficult to ignore the open-plan office, which has become the standard in office design. Severely criticized by some, the best choice for others, what is also called "open space" or "landscaped office" has changed the game in terms of circulation, communication, but also human relations.
Silence, we're working
"In an open space, characters are revealed," notes architect and work psychologist Elisabeth Pellegrin-Genel*, who says that an open space means public; in a landscaped office, each employee has an audience and everyone is at the same level of information." Here, everything is exposed; it's the visibility of tricks, lies and schemes, always a double-edged sword.
A contemporary version of Jeremy Bentham's panopticon, a prison model where the supervisor can keep an eye on the inmates without being seen, the open-plan office also differs because if everyone is monitored, everyone is also monitoring... to the point that it is sometimes difficult to know how to behave. A daily illustration of this discomfort: "We no longer know how to say hello in the morning," says the architect.
The crux of the matter? Space, circulation, but above all noise... but also its absence. "In most of the open-plan offices I visit, there is not a sound; it's horrible. You hear everything, it's terrifying, and it confiscates speech; conversely, when a new team moves into an open space, at first they shout, then they start whispering... and finally they don't talk at all."
Everyone in their bubble
Headphones on, mouse in hand, and eyes on the screen, "everyone creates a bubble," observes Stéphanie Guemmi. A psychologist and ergonomist, she advises large companies on the layout of their premises at the Technologia firm. "Because the environment is generally quiet, noise becomes unbearable for some employees, often due to a glaring lack of prior reflection on the space," she notes.
Installing a team of ten people in charge of purchasing - necessarily noisy - in the same open-plan office? Bad idea. Placing a desk a few meters from the entrance to the restrooms? We've seen better. Creating an island to isolate oneself without providing employees with laptops? That's only doing things halfway.
"Those most penalized by poor space organization are those who want to work but can't," analyzes the psychologist. Hence the avoidance strategies that employees put in place. "For some it's staggered hours, others multiply trips outside, arrive earlier in the morning or leave later in the evening, all to avoid the stress created by the open-plan office," she continues.
The manager's dilemma
Paradoxically, those most penalized by the open-plan office may be the managers. "Installing them in the middle of a team can sometimes be anxiety-provoking," analyzes Elisabeth Pellegrin-Genel, "in an open space everything is a question of distance, neither too close nor too far."
The downside of a workplace where hierarchy has been abolished, "in the open-plan office, the manager must have charisma, be a good actor... by definition, management is about human relations, but here, managers must put it into practice in full view of everyone, which is sometimes very difficult."
In addition to this, there is a new element: new technologies that have radically changed the art and manner of communicating in companies. "Relationships become more brutal, not necessarily in a pejorative sense, but in form, everything is more raw, we don't round off the edges as much," she continues.
Creating a dialogue
However, we must work with it. Adapt the space to the members of your team, to their tasks and to their personalities. The most vulnerable? "It's better to place them in plain sight to keep an eye on them and allow them to create bonds," adds Elisabeth Pellegrin-Genel.
The shy, who by definition will have difficulty expressing their claims? "To allow them to express themselves, team meetings should be organized to address the issue of space; this is also the best way to open a dialogue on the team's work in general." Because some issues deserve to be addressed from a collective point of view.
This is particularly the case with the nuisances caused by the voluble, a true nightmare for workers wishing to concentrate. Jokes all day long, loud laughter, they are only surpassed by their colleague with tics, who keeps tapping their pen on the table.
For others, however, one must use cunning. "With the worker who smells bad, the best solution is to involve occupational health," suggests the psychologist. Or install a partitioned office.
Stanislas Kraland.
Huffingtonpost.fr
Published February 3, 2014.
Posted April 2, 2014.
