Young employees are urging bosses to bring back the office cubicle, a 90s staple, saying open-plan layouts leave them feeling overstimulated and unable to concentrate.
One Gen Z worker, born in 2001, wrote on Reddit that they entered the workforce in the age of the open-plan office, where hardly anyone has a private space to get their head down. 'Man, it is horrible,' they added. 'I can't really focus on my work, and I can't get any privacy. I know people from my parents' generation rave about having open, bright and airy spaces compared to cubicles, but it's really a nightmare for me.'
A nostalgic plea for privacy
The office cubicle was born in 1964 thanks to designer Robert Propst, but reached its height of popularity in the 80s and 90s. Think of pre-promotion Chandler Bing in his grey cubicle, complete with a bulky CRT computer monitor.
Plenty online were quick to say they'd 'kill' for the office furniture to make a comeback. 'I recently changed to an open space office [from a cubicle] and I miss my walls and privacy,' someone said. 'They thought people hated the cubicles but most people miss them. If you wanted to talk to someone, you went out to do it. Now, everyone is more introverted cause everyone jumps into chat.'
One worker quipped: 'It's kind of funny how those same employers or managers insist on having their own office and force everyone else into an open space.' Others complained open-plan workspaces are 'hella overstimulating' and 'no sound dampening, making phone conversations harder'.
Not asking for anything radical
In a survey of 2,000 UK office workers by Oscar Acoustics, 24% say they've taken time off due to noise-related stress, while nearly a third (32%) admit to delivering lower-quality work or missing deadlines as a result.
'Gen Z aren't asking for anything radical,' Harriet Minter, leadership coach and partner at Lea_p Leadership, tells Metro. 'They're asking to be able to concentrate, which is what their parents had by default. Wanting quiet to do good work isn't fragile, it's sensible.'
The death of the cubicle and a bullpen office approach is something Harriet says has certainly caused more conflict between colleagues. 'Open plan asks everyone to agree on rules nobody ever wrote down,' she explains. 'Is it OK to take a call at your desk? Eat a tuna sandwich? Put headphones in? When there are no walls, every one of those becomes a small negotiation, and people are exhausted by negotiating.'
'Most workplace conflict I see isn't about big things, it's about friction that builds up: noise, interruptions, someone always hovering.'
Noise drives workers to consider leaving
More than one in four (26%) workers also claim noise causes them to snap at colleagues on a monthly basis, and almost half (45%) say it's led them to consider leaving their job. While Harriet doesn't think the cubicle is a complete solution to bad working relationships, she says it 'removes a lot of the low-level irritation' which can escalate into an argument.
For BACP psychotherapist Amanda Macdonald, a cubicle acts as a halfway point for workers who don't want to be isolated at home, but who cannot focus in a loud open space. 'This sense of having a space that isn't home but that's still yours gives people a sense of belonging and makes a job feel meaningful,' Amanda tells Metro.
'Gen Z has learned to understand their own sensory needs, they're more aware of neurodiverse traits they may have, including how they respond to noise and what they need to do to keep focused.' The psychotherapist believes a cubicle offers the chance to 'regulate in their own little place'.
'There's a sense we're all constantly being observed – from CCTV to keystrokes and cookies – we get used to being monitored, so it makes sense people want to carve in a little bit of privacy,' Amanda explains.
Flexibility matters
If you're an employer who sniffed at the revival of the office cubicle, Harriet asks you to think again. 'Allowing a level of flexibility (it doesn't have to be all one way or the other) so people can choose the working style that suits them best is really important, and it's what we see in the businesses that are thriving,' she says.
And, Amanda agrees. 'People enjoy that sense of belonging and purpose, as well as the income, so you need to allow them to be as productive as they can be to be a part of the workplace.'
