Open-Plan vs Private Offices: New Study Confirms Cognitive Strain in Shared Spaces
Since the global pandemic, office footprints worldwide have gradually contracted. Many organisations require less floor space and fewer desks as staff embrace hybrid working models, splitting time between home and the workplace. However, on days when more employees are mandated to attend in person, office environments can become noticeably busier and noisier. Despite extensive focus on encouraging workers back to offices, far less attention has been paid to the psychological impacts of returning to open-plan workspaces.
Now, fresh research confirms what many have long suspected: our brains must exert significantly more effort in open-plan areas compared to private offices. A recently published study from a Spanish university provides compelling neurological evidence for this phenomenon.
Measuring Brain Activity in Different Workspaces
In this innovative study, researchers equipped 26 participants, aged from their mid-20s to mid-60s, with wireless electroencephalogram (EEG) headsets. EEG technology measures brain activity by tracking electrical signals through sensors placed on the scalp, offering insights into cognitive workload.
Participants completed simulated office tasks including monitoring notifications, reading and responding to emails, and memorising and recalling word lists. Each individual was monitored while performing these activities in two distinct settings: an open-plan workspace with colleagues nearby, and a small enclosed work pod featuring clear glazed panels on one side.
The research team concentrated on the frontal brain regions, which govern attention, concentration, and filtering distractions. They analysed various brain wave patterns to assess mental states.
As neuroscientist Susan Hillier explains, different brain waves correspond to specific cognitive conditions: gamma waves relate to focused concentration; beta waves indicate higher anxiety and externally directed attention; alpha waves signify relaxed, passive attention; theta waves are linked to deep relaxation and inward focus; and delta waves occur during deep sleep.
Stark Contrasts in Brain Wave Patterns
The Spanish study discovered that identical tasks performed in the enclosed pod versus the open-plan workspace produced completely opposite neurological patterns.
Within the work pod, beta waves associated with active mental processing decreased significantly throughout the experiment, as did alpha waves connected to passive attention. Overall activity in frontal brain regions also diminished, indicating participants' brains required progressively less effort to maintain the same work output.
Conversely, open-plan office testing revealed the opposite trend. Gamma waves, linked to complex mental processing, climbed steadily. Theta waves, which track both working memory and mental fatigue, increased substantially. Two crucial measures also rose significantly: arousal (how alert and activated the brain is) and engagement (how much mental effort is being applied).
Essentially, in open-plan environments, participants' brains had to work considerably harder to sustain performance levels. Even when attempting to ignore distractions, the brain expends mental energy filtering them out. The pod eliminated most background noise and visual disruptions, allowing brains to operate more efficiently.
Researchers also noted much wider variability in brain activity responses within the open office setting. Some individuals exhibited dramatic increases in brain activity, while others showed more modest changes. This suggests significant individual differences in how distracting people find open-plan spaces.
Although involving only 26 participants, this study's findings resonate with a substantial body of research accumulated over the past decade.
Corroborating Evidence from Previous Research
In a 2021 study conducted by the author and colleagues, researchers identified a significant causal relationship between open-plan office noise and physiological stress. Examining 43 participants under controlled conditions using heart rate monitoring, skin conductivity measurements, and AI facial emotion recognition, they found negative mood in open-plan offices increased by 25% while physiological stress rose by 34%.
Another investigation demonstrated that background conversations and noisy environments can degrade cognitive task performance and heighten distraction for workers. Furthermore, a comprehensive 2013 analysis of over 42,000 office workers across the United States, Finland, Canada, and Australia revealed those in open-plan offices expressed less satisfaction with their work environment compared to colleagues in private offices, primarily due to increased uncontrollable noise and privacy deficiencies.
Just as ergonomically poor chairs are recognised as causing physical strain, years of research now illustrate how workspace design can result in cognitive strain.
Practical Solutions for Workplace Design
The capacity to focus and concentrate without interruption represents a fundamental requirement for modern knowledge work. Yet the value of uninterrupted work continues to be undervalued in contemporary workplace design.
Creating zones where employees can match their environment to specific tasks has become essential. In response to increased hybrid working post-pandemic, LinkedIn redesigned its flagship San Francisco office, halving the number of workstations in open-plan areas and experimenting with 75 different work settings, including dedicated spaces for quiet focus.
For organisations seeking to protect their workers' cognitive wellbeing, several practical measures warrant consideration:
- Establishing distinct work zones for different activities
- Implementing acoustic treatments and sound-masking technologies
- Installing thoughtfully positioned partitions to reduce visual and auditory distractions
While incorporating these features may involve higher initial costs than basic open-plan layouts, research demonstrates the significant hidden toll of poor office design on productivity, health, and employee retention. Providing workers with greater choice regarding their exposure to noise and interruptions should not be viewed as a luxury. To enhance productivity while reducing cognitive strain, improved workplace design must be recognised as an operational necessity.
