Optimise the Open Office

Whether you’re wedged in the middle of a bank of desks, or sharing space on the living room table with your partner/housemate/ cats, this is our guide to thriving without a room of one’s own

After switching to an open floorplan, companies in a Harvard Business School study experienced a 70% drop in face-to-face interactions. Separate research in New Zealand concluded that hot-desking stresses people out, while a University of Sydney investigation into open offices found that half of all employees wanted more privacy. The good news: all of that is fixable without putting up walls again. Here’s how.